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The Curtiss SC Seahawk was a
Work began in June 1942, following a US Navy Bureau of Aeronautics request for observation seaplane proposals. Curtiss submitted the Seahawk design on 1 August 1942, with a contract for two prototypes and five service test aircraft awarded on 25 August. A production order for 500 SC-1s followed in June 1943, prior to the first flight of the prototypes.Swanborough and Bowers 1976, p. 153.
While only intended to seat the pilot, a bunk was provided in the aft fuselage for rescue or personnel transfer. Two 0.5 in (12.7 mm)
Review by Richard Stracey of the SMER model of the Curtiss SC Seahawk
{{USN scout aircraft SC Seahawk Floatplanes World War II reconnaissance aircraft of the United States Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1944
scout
Scout may refer to:
Youth movement
*Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement
**Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom
**Scouts BSA, sectio ...
seaplane designed 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 Augustus Moore Herring in Hammondsport, New York. After significant commercial success in its first deca ...
for the United States Navy. The existing Curtiss SO3C Seamew and Vought OS2U Kingfisher were gradually replaced by the Seahawk in the late stages of the war and into peacetime.Bridgeman 1946, pp. 221–222.
Design and development
Work began in June 1942, following a US Navy Bureau of Aeronautics request for observation seaplane proposals. Curtiss submitted the Seahawk design on 1 August 1942, with a contract for two prototypes and five service test aircraft awarded on 25 August. A production order for 500 SC-1s followed in June 1943, prior to the first flight of the prototypes.Swanborough and Bowers 1976, p. 153.
While only intended to seat the pilot, a bunk was provided in the aft fuselage for rescue or personnel transfer. Two 0.5 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine gun
The M2 machine gun or Browning .50 caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed towards the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, w ...
s were fitted in the wings, and two underwing hardpoints allowed carriage of 250 lb (113 kg) bombs or, on the right wing, surface-scan radar. The wings were foldable. The main float, designed to incorporate a bomb bay, suffered substantial leaks when used in that fashion, and was modified to carry an auxiliary fuel tank.
The first flight of a prototype XSC-1 took place 16 February 1944 at the Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
Curtiss plant.Green 1962, p. 166. Flight testing continued through 28 April, when the last of the seven pre-production aircraft took to the air. Nine further prototypes were later built, with a second seat and modified cockpit, under the designation SC-2; series production was not undertaken.
Operational history
The first serial production Seahawks were delivered on 22 October 1944, to .Green 1962, p. 167. All 577 aircraft eventually produced for the Navy were delivered on conventional landing gear and flown to the appropriate Naval Air Station, where floats were fitted for service as needed. Capable of being fitted with either float or wheeled landing gear, the Seahawk was arguably America's bestfloatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...
scout of World War II. However, its protracted development time meant it entered service too late to see significant action in the war. It was not until June 1945, during the pre-invasion bombardment of Borneo, that the Seahawk was involved in military action. By the end of the war, seaplanes were becoming less desirable, with the Seahawk being replaced soon afterward by helicopters.
Tri-color camouflage and markings on the Seahawk were in accordance with US Navy regulations from 1944, 1945, and later postwar regulations.
There are no known surviving examples of the Seahawk today.
Variants
;XSC-1 : ;SC-1 : ;SC-2 :Specifications (SC-1, float-equipped)
See also
References
Notes
Bibliography
* Bowers, Peter M. ''Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947''. London: Putnam, 1979. . * Bridgeman, Leonard. "The Curtiss Seahawk". ''Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II''. London: Studio, 1946. . * Green, William. ''War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Six: Floatplanes''. London: Macdonald, 1962. * Mondey, David. ''American Aircraft of World War II'' (Hamlyn Concise Guide). London: Bounty Books, 2006. . * Swanborough, Gordon and Peter M. Bowers. ''United States Navy Aircraft since 1911''. London: Putnam, Second Edition 1976. .External links
Review by Richard Stracey of the SMER model of the Curtiss SC Seahawk
{{USN scout aircraft SC Seahawk Floatplanes World War II reconnaissance aircraft of the United States Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1944