__NOTOC__ The Burgess Model H was an early

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

airplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spe ...

and one of the first air machines specifically designed and built for military use.

History

Classified as the "Model H military tractor", it was developed and built in 1912 by Burgess Company and Curtis, which in 1914 became the Burgess Company. Powered by a 70 hp

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...

with the

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

in the

tractor configuration In aviation, the term tractor configuration refers to an aircraft constructed in the standard configuration with its engine mounted with the propeller in front of it so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. Oppositely, the pusher co ...

, the

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

trainer had tandem open cockpits after a redesign in 1914 by

Grover Loening Grover Cleveland Loening (September 12, 1888 – February 29, 1976) was an American aircraft manufacturer. Biography Loening was born in Bremen, in what was then Imperial Germany, on September 12, 1888, while his American-born father was statione ...

, then a civilian engineer with the U.S. Army. Loening was the first person to receive an advanced engineering degree in aeronautics, from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

in 1910, and later was a founding member of both

Sturtevant Aircraft Company Sturtevant may refer to: * Aaron Paul Sturtevant (born 1979), better known as Aaron Paul, American actor * Albert D. Sturtevant (1894–1918), American naval officer * Albert Morey Sturtevant (1876–1957), American academic of Scandinavian phil ...

and Loening Aircraft Engineering. The Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps purchased its initial Burgess Model H as Signal Corps No. 9 in August 1912, then five more of the Loening design for the

1st Aero Squadron First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

at North Field,

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between November 1913 and July 1914. They were the 24th through 28th aircraft acquired by the Army. A seventh Model H went to the U.S. Navy, where it was known first as the D-2 and later as the AB-7 (Heavier-than-air/flying boat, model 7).

Operators

; *

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

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 ...

Specifications

References

* {{cite book , last= Taylor , first= Michael J. H. , title=Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation , year=1989 , publisher=Studio Editions , location=London , page=216
Burgess Company airplanes, Aerofiles

Model H The Triumph Model H (also known as the 'Type H' and 'the Trusty') is a British motorcycle made by Triumph Engineering Co Ltd in Coventry, England. A total of 57,000 Triumph Model H motorcycles were made from 1915 until production ended in 1923. ...

Single-engined tractor aircraft Biplanes 1910s United States military trainer aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1912