Plane

The Big Catapult Airplane

During the 1930s and into the early 1940s, the U.S. Navy considered flying boats the key for long-range scouting for the battle fleet.

Norman Polmar, Author, Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet
July 2021
An R3C-2 before the 1925 Schneider contest, believed to be piloted by Lieutenant (later Vice Admiral) Ralph Ofstie. The Navy’s two racers entered in that year’s contest failed to complete the course. Note the insignias on upper wing surfaces and tail.

The Curtiss Racers

Jacques Schneider, a wealthy French aero-enthusiast, originated the races as a stimulus for seaplane design and the development of overwater flying.

Norman Polmar, Author, Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet
February 2021
The XF10F-1 Jaguar taking off. The variable-sweep-wing aircraft was an unsuccessful but important experimental design.

The Jaguar that Couldn’t

The variable-sweep-wing XF10F-1 Jaguar was an unsuccessful but important experimental design.

Norman Polmar
December 2020
An F-5L from Utility Squadron 1. Note the open cockpits. The tail has red, white, and blue stripes; on the upper wing surfaces are white stars with red center circles on blue circles

A Convoluted Success Story

The Curtiss F-5L flying boat probably has the most convoluted history of any aircraft. 1 Its predecessors saw action in the Great War (1914–18) and established the flying boat as ...

Norman Polmar, Author, Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet
October 2020
A Sikorsky HO3S-1 helicopter rests on the carrier USS Philippine Sea (CV-47) during the Korean War. These helicopters were flown in large numbers during the conflict for VIP and mail delivery, search and rescue, gunfire spotting—and mine-spotting.

Clean Sweeping

During the 20th century and into the 21st, mines have sunk more surface ships than any other weapon.

Norman Polmar, Author, Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet
June 2020
The Navy’s first airship—the DN-1

The First ‘Blimp’

Airships—often termed blimps—were popular in the U.S. Navy for more than four decades.

Norman Polmar
March 2020
A P2Y-1 of Patrol Squadron 10F in flight, 1934.

A Flying Boat Progenitor

In many respects, the precursor of the military flying boats of the 1940s and beyond was the Consolidated P2Y.

Norman Polmar
January 2020