Curtiss NC

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss_NC

The Curtiss NC (Curtiss Navy Curtiss, nicknamed "Nancy boat" or "Nancy") was a
flying boat built by Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company and used by the United
States Navy from 1918 through the early 1920s. Ten of these aircraft were built,
the most famous of which is the NC-4, the first airplane to make a transatlantic
flight. The NC-4 is preserved in the National Museum of Naval Aviation, at NAS
Pensacola, Florida.

Manufacture of the "NC"s began in 1918 during World War I. The U.S. Navy wished
for an aircraft capable of long ocean flights, both for Anti-submarine warfare
patrol, and if possible with capability to fly across the Atlantic Ocean under
their own power to avoid having to be shipped through ocean waters menaced by
German submarines. This was a very ambitious undertaking, given the state of
aviation at the time. The Navy and Curtiss came up with one of the largest
biplane designs yet produced, equipped with sleeping quarters and a wireless
transmitter/receiver. It was originally powered by three V12 Liberty engines, of
400 hp (298 kW) each; during the testing phase Marc Mitscher recommended the
addition of a fourth engine to help create enough power to lift the boats out of
the water. The fourth engine was added to the midline in a pusher configuration.
The maximum speed was 90 mph (144 km/h) and the estimated maximum range was
1,500 mi (2,400 km). Called NC boats, with the "N" for Navy and "C" for the
builder Curtiss, they were nicknamed "Nancys".

As originally completed the NC-1 had three tractor engines in nacelles located
midway between the mainplanes, the centre nacelle housing the cockpit for two
pilots. Due to a lack of power the centre nacelle was raised, elongated forwards
and a pusher engine added. With this engine arrangement the pilots cockpit was
moved to the hull in a more conventional position.

NC-2 differed in having the centre engine, of its complement of three, fitted as
a pusher, retaining the pilots cockpit in the centre nacelle. Also suffering
from a lack of power, the NC-2 was modified with four engines in tandem outer
nacelles, (due to the outer nacelles being built closer to the centre nacelle,
the three tractor/one pusher arrangement was impractical). Initially the centre
cockpit nacelle was retained but this was soon removed and a similar
conventional cockpit to NC-1 was added.

NC-3 onwards continued with the later NC-1 arrangement of 3x tractor/1x pusher
engines and conventional cockpit in the hull.


Role
Long-range patrol

National origin
United States

Manufacturer
Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company

First flight
4 October 1918

Primary user
United States Navy

Number built
10

Variants
NC-4

On 4 October 1918, the first of these aircraft, the NC-1, made its first test
flight with the early three-engine configuration. On 25 November, it flew again,
with a world record 51 people on board. Armistice Day, signaling the end of the
war in Europe, came before testing of the first NC and construction of the other
three of the Navy's initial order had been completed.

The NC-2 suffered damage during the testing phase and was cannibalized for spare
parts.

The other three NCs, NC-1, NC-3, and NC-4, set out on what was intended as the
first demonstration of transatlantic flight, via Newfoundland and the Azores, on
8 May 1919. As junior officer, Mitscher, who had been allotted to one of the
commands, lost his command when NC-2 had to be broken up for parts. He went on
the flight as one of the pilots of the NC-1. The group met heavy fog off the
Azores, making flight in the crudely instrumented aircraft extremely dangerous.
Without a visible horizon it was extremely difficult to keep the aircraft in
level flight. NC-1 tried different altitudes and soldiered on for several hours
before eventually putting down just short of the Azores and was damaged beyond
repair in the rough seas.

Only the NC-4 made it through. The crew of NC-1 was rescued at sea. Attempts to
tow the aircraft to the Azores failed. NC-3 was forced to land some 205 mi (330
km) distance from the Azores, but the crew, led by Commander John Henry Towers,
managed to sail her to Ponta Delgada unaided.

The Navy had two more sets of NCs constructed, numbered NC-5 to NC-8, and NC-9
and NC-10, up to 1921.

Specifications (NC-4)

General characteristics
Crew: 5
Length: 68 ft 3 in (20.80 m)
Wingspan: 126 ft (38 m)
Height: 24 ft 5 in (7.44 m)
Wing area: 2,441 sq ft (226.8 m2)
Empty weight: 16,000 lb (7,257 kg)
Gross weight: 28,000 lb (12,701 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 27,386 lb (12,422 kg)
Powerplant: 4 × Liberty L-12A V-12 water-cooled piston engines, 400 hp (300 kW)
each

Performance
Maximum speed: 85 mph (137 km/h; 74 kn)
Stall speed: 62 mph (100 km/h; 54 kn)
Range: 1,470 mi (1,277 nmi; 2,366 km)
Endurance: 14.8 hours
Service ceiling: 4,500 ft (1,400 m)
Rate of climb: 220 ft/min (1.1 m/s)
Wing loading: 11.5 lb/sq ft (56 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.06 hp/lb (0.1 kW/kg)

Armament

Guns: Machine guns in bow and rear cockpits




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