The twin-engine F5L was one of the Felixstowe F series of

flying boats A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...

developed by

John Cyril Porte Lieutenant Colonel John Cyril Porte, (26 February 1884 – 22 October 1919) was a British flying boat pioneer associated with the First World War Seaplane Experimental Station at Felixstowe. Early life and career Porte was born on 26 Feb ...

at the Seaplane Experimental Station,

Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town in Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest Containerization, container port in the United Kingdom. Felixstowe is approximately 116km (72 miles) northea ...

, England, during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

for production in America. A civilian version of the aircraft was known as the Aeromarine 75.

Design and development

Porte had taken the Curtiss H-12, an original design by the American

Glenn Curtiss Glenn Hammond Curtiss (May 21, 1878 – July 23, 1930) was an American aviation and motorcycling pioneer, and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle racer and builder before moving on to motorcycles. As early a ...

, and developed it into a practical series of flying boats at the Felixstowe station. They then took their F.5 model and further redesigned it with better streamlining, a stronger hull using veneer instead of doped linen and U.S.-built 330 hp (later 400 hp) Liberty 12A engines. The prototype was built and tested in England and the design then taken over by the Naval Aircraft Factory,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, where further modifications were made to suit their production methods under wartime conditions. The American-built version was also known as the Curtiss F5L and (in civilian operation) as the Aeromarine 75. The F5L was built by the

Naval Aircraft Factory The Naval Aircraft Factory (NAF) was established by the United States Navy in 1918 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was created to help solve aircraft supply issues which faced the Navy Department upon the entry of the U.S. into World War I. ...

(137), Curtiss (60) and Canadian Aeroplanes Limited (30). Some were converted for civilian use by the Aeromarine Plane and Motor Company in 1919.

Operational history

The F5L entered U.S. service at the end of the war and was the U.S. Navy's standard patrol aircraft until 1928, when it was replaced by the PN-12. In civil service, named the Aeromarine 75, the Felixstowe F5L could accommodate 10 passengers and was operated by Aeromarine Airways on flights from Key West to

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, carrying the first

U.S. Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the Federal government of the Uni ...

international air mail on flights from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

to Atlantic City, and from

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Operators

; *

Argentine Naval Aviation ) Gulf War , anniversaries = , decorations = , battle_honours = , commander1 = President , commander1_label = Commander-in-Chief , commander2 ...

; *

Brazilian Naval Aviation Brazilian Naval Aviation ( pt, Aviação Naval Brasileira; AvN) is the air arm of the Brazilian Navy operating from ships and from shore installations. History The Brazilian Naval Aviation branch was organized in August 1916, after creation of ...

– Curtiss F5L ; *

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

* Aeromarine Airways

Accidents and incidents

On 13 January 1923, the Aeromarine Airways Aeromarine 75 ''Columbus'' suffered engine failure during a flight from Key West to Havana and landed in the

Florida Strait The Straits of Florida, Florida Straits, or Florida Strait ( es, Estrecho de Florida) is a strait located south-southeast of the North American mainland, generally accepted to be between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, and between t ...

. Buffeted by 10-to-15-foot (3-to-4.5-metre) waves, its hull began to fill with water. Four passengers died, but the ferry ship ''H. M. Flagler'' saved the other three passengers and both crew members.

Survivors

Both a hull and float from a US Navy F5L are preserved at the National Air and Space Museum ( Smithsonian). The hull is only partially skinned with wood to reveal structure. Both artifacts are presently in storage and not available for public display.

Specifications

References

Bibliography

* Bruce, J.M.
The Felixstowe Flying-Boats: Historic Military Aircraft No. 11 Part 1".
''

Flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

'', 2 December 1955, pp. 842–846. * Bruce, J.M.
The Felixstowe Flying-Boats: Historic Military Aircraft No. 11 Part 2".
''Flight'', 16 December 1955, pp. 895–898. * Bruce, J.M.

''Flight'', 23 December 1955, pp. 929–932. * Donald, David and Jon Lake, eds. ''Encyclopedia of World Military Aircraft''. London: AIRtime Publishing, 1996. . * * Taylor, Michael J.H., ed. ''Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation''. London: Studio Editions, Ltd., 1989. . * Thetford, Owen. ''Aircraft of the Royal Air Force since 1918''. London: Putnam & Co., 1979. .

''Flight'', XI (31), No. 553, 31 July 1919, pp. 1024–1026. Retrieved: 4 February 2011.

''Flight'', XI (32), No. 554, 7 August 1919, pp. 1058–1062. Retrieved: 4 February 2011.

''Flight'', XII (32), No. 606, 5 August 1920, p. 865.

External links

Canadian Aeroplanes Ltd
: Photographs including the first Felixstowe F5L built by the factory.
Canadian Aeroplanes Ltd
Photographs including construction and assembly of the first F5L built by the factory from 30 April 1918.
Film of US Navy F5Ls flying in formation

Film of US Navy F5Ls parked and sinking
SMS Ostfriesland, July 1921
Film of an F5L being maneuvered on a beaching trolley and other Curtiss types

{{Aircraft manufactured in Canada F.5L 1910s United States patrol aircraft Flying boats Curtiss aircraft Naval Aircraft Factory aircraft Biplanes Aeromarine aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1918 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft