Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company (1909 – 1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer originally founded by

Glenn Hammond 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 ...

and

Augustus Moore Herring Augustus Moore Herring (August 3, 1867 – July 17, 1926) was an American aviation pioneer, who sometimes is claimed by Michigan promoters to be the first true aviator of a motorized heavier-than-air aircraft. Biography Herring was born in ...

Hammondsport, New York Hammondsport is a village at the south end of Keuka Lake, in Steuben County, one of the Finger Lakes of New York, United States. The Village of Hammondsport is in the Town of Urbana and is northeast of Bath. History Lazarus Hammond founded ...

. After significant commercial success in its first decades, it merged with the

Wright Aeronautical Wright Aeronautical (1919–1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Paterson, New Jersey. It was the successor corporation to Wright-Martin. It built aircraft and was a supplier of aircraft engines to other builders in the ...

to form

Curtiss-Wright The Curtiss-Wright Corporation is a manufacturer and services provider headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, with factories and operations in and outside the United States. Created in 1929 from the consolidation of Curtiss, Wright, and v ...

Corporation.

History

Origin

In 1907,

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 ...

was recruited by the scientist Dr. Alexander Graham Bell as a founding member of Bell's

Aerial Experiment Association The Aerial Experiment Association (AEA) was a Canadian-American aeronautical research group formed on 30 September 1907, under the leadership of Dr. Alexander Graham Bell. The AEA produced several different aircraft in quick succession, with eac ...

(AEA), with the intent of establishing an aeronautical research and development organization. According to Bell, it was a "co-operative scientific association, not for gain but for the love of the art and doing what we can to help one another."Milberry 1979, p 13. In 1909, shortly before the AEA was disbanded, Curtiss partnered with

to form the Herring-Curtiss Company.Gunston 1993, p. 87. It was renamed the Curtiss Aeroplane Company in 1910 and reorganized in 1912 after being taken-over by the Curtiss Motor Company.Bell 2002, p. 87.

Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company

The Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company was created on January 13, 1916, from the Curtiss Aeroplane Company of

, and Curtiss Motor Company of

Bath, New York Bath is a town in Steuben County, New York, United States, with an area of 96.3 square miles (249 km2) and a population of 11,426 in 2020. Its largest settlement is the Village of Bath, which has an area of 2.9 sq mi (7.5 km2) and a population ...

Burgess Company The Burgess Company was a U.S. airplane manufacturer between 1910 and 1918. History The business was incorporated in 1910 as the "Burgess Company and Curtis, Inc." (after W. Starling Burgess and Greely S. Curtis, its co-founders with Frank Henr ...

Marblehead, Massachusetts Marblehead is a coastal New England town in Essex County, Massachusetts, along the North Shore. Its population was 20,441 at the 2020 census. The town lies on a small peninsula that extends into the northern part of Massachusetts Bay. Attache ...

, became a subsidiary in February 1916.Mondey and Taylor 2000, p. 197. At the same time, the Curtiss Engineering Company was established as a subsidiary in Garden City, New York. With the onset of

World War I 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 ...

, military orders rose sharply, and Curtiss needed to expand quickly. In 1916, the company moved its headquarters and most manufacturing activities to

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, where there was far greater access to transportation, manpower, manufacturing expertise, and much needed capital. The company housed an aircraft engine factory in the former

Taylor Signal Company-General Railway Signal Company Taylor Signal Company-General Railway Signal Company is a historic industrial complex located in Buffalo, Erie County, New York. It was designed by the architectural firm of Esenwein & Johnson and built between 1902 and 1906. The daylight factory ...

. ''Note:'' This includes an
''Accompanying photographs''
/ref> An ancillary operation was begun in Toronto, Ontario, that was involved in both production and training, setting up the first flying school in Canada in 1915. In 1917, the two major aircraft patent holders, the

Wright Company The Wright Company was the commercial aviation business venture of the Wright Brothers, established by them on November 22, 1909, in conjunction with several prominent industrialists from New York and Detroit with the intention of capitalizing o ...

and the Curtiss Company, had effectively blocked the building of new airplanes, which were desperately needed as the United States was entering

. The U.S. government, as a result of a recommendation of a committee formed by

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

, then

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (ASN) is the title given to certain civilian senior officials in the United States Department of the Navy. From 1861 to 1954, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy was the second-highest civilian office in the Depar ...

, pressured the industry to form a cross-licensing organization (in other terms a

Patent pool In patent law, a patent pool is a consortium of at least two companies agreeing to cross-license patents relating to a particular technology. The creation of a patent pool can save patentees and licensees time and money, and, in case of blocking ...

), the

Manufacturer's Aircraft Association The Manufacturer's Aircraft Association (MAA) was a trade association and patent pool of U.S. aircraft manufacturers formed in 1917. The U.S. military and other elements of the U.S. federal government pressured the Wright Company, the Curtiss Aero ...

. Later that year, Curtiss was acquired by the automobile manufacturer

Willys-Overland Willys (pronounced , "Willis" ) was a brand name used by Willys–Overland Motors, an American automobile company, founded by John North Willys. It was best known for its design and production of World War II era and later military jeeps (MBs) ...

. Curtiss was instrumental in the development of U.S. Naval Aviation by providing training for pilots and providing aircraft. The first major order was for 144 various subtypes of the Model F trainer flying boat. In 1914, Curtiss had lured B. Douglas Thomas from Sopwith to design the Model J trainer, which led to the JN-4 two-seat biplane trainer (known affectionately as the "Jenny"). The Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company worked with the United States' British and Canadian allies, resulting in JN-4 (Can) trainers (nicknamed the "Canuck") being built in Canada. In order to complete large military orders, JN-4 production was distributed to five other manufacturers. After the war, large numbers of JN-4s were sold as surplus, making influential as the first plane for many interwar pilots, including Amelia Earhart. A stamp was printed to commemorate the Curtiss JN-4, however a printing error resulted in some having the aircraft image inverted, which has become very valuable, and one of the best known rare stamps, even being featured in a number of movies. Curtiss plane - College Park

The Curtiss HS-2L flying boat was used extensively in the war for anti-submarine patrols and was operated from bases in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. The

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 ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

and Curtiss worked together to improve the design of the Curtiss flying boats resulting in the

Curtiss F5L The twin-engine F5L was one of the Felixstowe F series of flying boats developed by John Cyril Porte at the Seaplane Experimental Station, Felixstowe, England, during the First World War for production in America. A civilian version of the air ...

and the similar

Felixstowe F.3 The Felixstowe F.3 was a British First World War flying boat, successor to the Felixstowe F.2 designed by Lieutenant Commander John Cyril Porte RN at the naval air station, Felixstowe. Design and development In February 1917, the first pro ...

. Curtiss also worked with the

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 ...

to develop the

NC-4 The NC-4 was a Curtiss NC flying boat that was the first aircraft to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, albeit not non-stop. The NC designation was derived from the collaborative efforts of the Navy (N) and Curtiss (C). The NC series flying boats w ...

, which became the first aircraft to fly across the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

in 1919, making several stops en route. By the end of World War I, the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company would claim to be the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, employing 18,000 in Buffalo and 3,000 in

. Curtiss produced 10,000 aircraft during that war, and more than 100 in a single week. Peace brought cancellation of wartime contracts. In September 1920, the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company underwent a financial reorganization and

cashed out his stock in the company for $32 million and retired to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. He continued as a director of the company but served only as an advisor on design. Clement M. Keys gained control of the company from Willys-Overland and it later became the nucleus of a large group of aviation companies. Curtiss seaplanes won the

Schneider Cup The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider, also known as the Schneider Trophy, Schneider Prize or (incorrectly) the Schneider Cup is a trophy that was awarded annually (and later, biennially) to the winner of a race for seaplanes and flying ...

in two consecutive races, those of 1923 and 1925. The 1923 race was won by U.S. Navy Lieutenant David Rittenhouse flying a Curtiss R3C to . Piloted by

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

Lt. Cyrus K. Bettis, a Curtiss R3C won the

Pulitzer Trophy The National Air Races (also known as Pulitzer Trophy Races) are a series of pylon and cross-country races that have taken place in the United States since 1920. The science of aviation, and the speed and reliability of aircraft and engines grew ...

on October 12, 1925, at . Thirteen days later,

Jimmy Doolittle James Harold Doolittle (December 14, 1896 – September 27, 1993) was an American military general and aviation pioneer who received the Medal of Honor for his daring raid on Japan during World War II. He also made early coast-to-coast flights ...

won the

Schneider Trophy The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider, also known as the Schneider Trophy, Schneider Prize or (incorrectly) the Schneider Cup is a trophy that was awarded annually (and later, biennially) to the winner of a race for seaplanes and flyin ...

in the same aircraft fitted with floats with a top speed of . The

Curtiss Robin The Curtiss Robin, introduced in 1928, was a high-wing monoplane built by the Curtiss-Robertson Airplane Manufacturing Company. The J-1 version was flown by Wrongway Corrigan who crossed the Atlantic after being refused permission. Design The ...

light transport was first flown in 1928, becoming one of the company's biggest sellers during the Great Depression, and the 769 built helped keep the company solvent when orders for military aircraft were hard to find.

Curtiss-Wright Corporation

On July 5, 1929, Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company together with 11 other Wright and Curtiss affiliated companies merged to become the

Curtiss-Wright Corporation The Curtiss-Wright Corporation is a manufacturer and services provider headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, with factories and operations in and outside the United States. Created in 1929 from the consolidation of Curtiss, Wright, and v ...

. One of the last projects started by Curtiss Aeroplane was the ambitious

Curtiss-Bleecker SX-5-1 Helicopter The Curtiss-Bleecker Helicopter was an American prototype rotary wing aircraft, introduced in 1926. The thrust of the aircraft was distributed from a central mounted engine through shafts to propellers mounted on each rotor blade. Design and ...

, a design that had propellers located midpoint on each of the four large rotors that drove the main rotors. This design, while costly and well engineered, was ultimately a failure."New Plane May Fly Straight Up In The Air."
''Popular Science,'' September 1930.

Curtiss Aviation School

Curtiss also operated a flying school at

Long Branch Aerodrome Long Branch Aerodrome was an airfield located west of Toronto, Ontario and just east of Port Credit, now Mississauga, and was Canada's first aerodrome. The airport was opened by the Curtiss Flying School, part of the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Com ...

Toronto Township, Ontario Toronto Township is a former municipality now mostly part of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, with its northern extremity now a part of Brampton. It is directly west of but not part of the city of Toronto, and its land area makes up the majority of pre ...

, from 1915 to 1917 before being taken over by the

Royal Flying Corps Canada The Royal Flying Corps Canada (RFC Canada) was a training organization of the British Royal Flying Corps located in Canada during the First World War. It began operating in 1917. Background As the war progressed, Great Britain found that i ...

.Long Branch

Atlantic Coast Aeronautical Station

Glenn H. Curtiss sponsored the

Atlantic Coast Aeronautical Station A Curtiss Jenny on a training flight Curtiss Flying School at North Beach California in 1911 The Curtiss Flying School was started by Glenn Curtiss to compete against the Wright Flying School of the Wright brothers. The first example was locat ...

on a 20-acre tract east of the

Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

boat harbor in the Fall of 1915 with Captain

Thomas Scott Baldwin Thomas Scott Baldwin (June 30, 1854 – May 17, 1923) was a pioneer balloonist and U.S. Army major during World War I. He was the first American to descend from a balloon by parachute. Early career Thomas Scott Baldwin was born on June 30, 18 ...

as head. Many civilian students, including Canadians, later became famed World War I flyers.

Victor Carlstrom 1st Lieutenant Victor Carlström (April 13, 1890 – May 9, 1917) was a record-holding Swedish-American pioneer aviator. He set a cross-America flight air speed record until the record was beaten by Ruth Bancroft Law. Biography He was born i ...

Vernon Castle Vernon and Irene Castle were a husband-and-wife team of ballroom dancers and dance teachers who appeared on Broadway and in silent films in the early 20th century. They are credited with reviving the popularity of modern dancing. Castle was a st ...

Eddie Stinson Edward Anderson Stinson, Jr. (July 11, 1893 – January 26, 1932) was an American pilot and aircraft manufacturer. "Eddie" Stinson was the founder of Stinson Aircraft Company. At the time of his death in 1932 in an air crash, he was the world's ...

and General

Billy Mitchell William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer who is regarded as the father of the United States Air Force. Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, command ...

trained here. The school was disbanded in 1922.

Products

Aircraft

Aircraft engines

Curtiss A-2 (engine) The Curtiss A-2 was a small 2 cylinder V-type engine built by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company (1909 – 1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer originally founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss and ...

Curtiss OX-5 The Curtiss OX-5 was an early V-8 American liquid-cooled aircraft engine built by Curtiss. It was the first American-designed aircraft engine to enter mass production, although it was considered obsolete when it did so in 1917.Smith, 1981, page ...

Curtiss OXX The Curtiss OXX was an early, dual ignition water-cooled V-8 aero engine derived from the Curtiss OX. Variants ;Curtiss OXX-2: ;Curtiss OXX-3: ;Curtiss OXX-5: ;Curtiss OXX-6: Applications * Aeromarine 39 * Aeromarine 40 * Burgess-Dunne * Curt ...

* Curtiss C-6 *

Curtiss D-12 The Curtiss D-12, sometimes identified with the military designation Curtiss V-1150, was an aircraft engine of 18.8 liter displacement. It was a water-cooled V12, producing 443 hp (330 kW) and weighing 693 lb (314 kg). It wa ...

(Curtiss V-1150) *

Curtiss K-12 The Curtiss K-12 was a milestone in the development of liquid-cooled aircraft engines and was regarded as one of the most advanced in the world for its time. Design and development Designed by Charles B. Kirkham and first tested in 1916, the K ...

Curtiss V-2 The Curtiss V-2 Type 3 (V-2-3) was a liquid-cooled V8 aircraft engine. Specifications ''Data from:'' Aerofiles Powerplants References {{Curtiss aeroengines V-2 The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), wit ...

Curtiss V-1570 The Curtiss V-1570 Conqueror was a 12-cylinder vee liquid-cooled aircraft engine. Representing a more powerful version of the Curtiss D-12, the engine entered production in 1926 and flew in numerous aircraft.Gunston 1989, p. 46. Design and de ...

Conqueror *

Curtiss H-1640 The Curtiss H-1640 Chieftain was an unusual American 12-cylinder radial aero engine designed and built by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company in the mid-1920s.Gunston 1989, p. 46 Design and development The H-1640 was an air-cooled 12 cylin ...

Chieftain * Curtiss R-600 Challenger *

Curtiss R-1454 Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company (1909 – 1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer originally founded by Glenn Curtiss, Glenn Hammond Curtiss and Augustus Moore Herring in Hammondsport, New York. After significant commercial success in it ...

Helicopters

References

Footnotes

Notes

Bibliography

* Bell, Dana, ed. ''Directory of Airplanes, their Designers and Manufacturers''. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 2002. . * Bowers, Peter M. ''Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947''. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1979. . * Casey, Louis S
''Curtiss, The Hammondsport Era, 1907–1915''
New York: Crown Publishers, 1981. . * Gunston, Bill. ''World Encyclopedia of Aircraft Manufacturers''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1993. . * Mondey, David, ed., revised and updated by Michael Taylor. ''The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft.'' London: Greenwich Editions, 2000. . * Milberry, Larry. ''Aviation in Canada.'' Toronto, Ontario, Canada: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1979. . * Milberry, Larry. ''Aviation in Canada: The Pioneer Decades, Vol. 1.'' Toronto, Ontario, Canada: CANAV Books, 2008. . * Molson, Ken M. and Harold A. Taylor. ''Canadian Aircraft Since 1909''. Stittsville, Ontario: Canada's Wings, Inc., 1982. . * Sobel, Robert. ''The Age of Giant Corporations: A Microeconomic History of American Business, 1914–1970''. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1972. . * Roseberry, C.R. ''Glenn Curtiss: Pioneer of Flight''. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, 1972. . * Studer, Clara. ''Sky Storming Yankee: The Life of Glenn Curtiss''. New York: Stackpole Sons, 1937.

External links

The Curtiss Company: U.S. Centennial of Flight Commemoration

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curtiss Aeroplane And Motor Company Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United States History of Buffalo, New York Curtiss-Wright Company Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1916 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1929 Manufacturing companies based in Buffalo, New York Defunct companies based in New York (state) Defunct aircraft engine manufacturers of the United States Defunct helicopter manufacturers of the United States