| Curtiss NC | |
|---|---|
 "NC-1" after completion, in three-engine configuration, 3 October 1918. | |
| General information | |
| Type | Long-range patrol |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company |
| Primary user | United States Navy |
| Number built | 10 |
| History | |
| First flight | 4 October 1918[1] |
| Variant | NC-4 |
TheCurtiss NC (Curtiss Navy Curtiss, nicknamed "Nancy boat" or "Nancy") is aflying boat built byCurtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company and used by theUnited States Navy from 1918 through the early 1920s. Ten of these aircraft were built, the most famous of which is theNC-4, the first airplane to make atransatlantic flight. The NC-4 is preserved in theNational Museum of Naval Aviation, atNASPensacola, Florida.
Manufacture of the "NC"s began in 1918 duringWorld War I.[2] The U.S. Navy wished for an aircraft capable of long ocean flights, both foranti-submarine warfare patrol, and if possible with capability to fly across theAtlantic Ocean under their own power to avoid having to be shipped through ocean waters menaced byGermansubmarines. This was a very ambitious undertaking, given the state ofaviation at the time. The Navy and Curtiss came up with one of the largestbiplane designs yet produced, equipped with sleeping quarters and awireless transmitter/receiver. It was originally powered by threeV12Liberty engines, of 400 hp (298 kW) each; during the testing phaseMarc Mitscher recommended the addition of a fourth engine to help create enough power to lift the boats out of the water. The fourth engine was added to the midline in apusher configuration.[3] The maximum speed was 90 mph (144 km/h) and the estimated maximum range was 1,500 mi (2,400 km). Called NC boats, with the "N" for Navy and "C" for the builder Curtiss, they were nicknamed "Nancys".[3]
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As originally completed the NC-1 had three tractor engines in nacelles located midway between the mainplanes, the centre nacelle housing the cockpit for two pilots. Due to a lack of power the centre nacelle was raised, elongated forwards and a pusher engine added. With this engine arrangement the pilots cockpit was moved to the hull in a more conventional position.
NC-2 differed in having the centre engine, of its complement of three, fitted as a pusher, retaining the pilots cockpit in the centre nacelle. Also suffering from a lack of power, the NC-2 was modified with four engines in tandem outer nacelles, (due to the outer nacelles being built closer to the centre nacelle, the three tractor/one pusher arrangement was impractical). Initially the centre cockpit nacelle was retained but this was soon removed and a similar conventional cockpit to NC-1 was added.
NC-3 onwards continued with the later NC-1 arrangement of 3x tractor/1x pusher engines and conventional cockpit in the hull.[4]
On 4 October 1918, the first of these aircraft, the NC-1, made its first test flight with the early three-engine configuration.[1] On 25 November, it flew again, with aworld record 51 people on board.[5]Armistice Day, signaling the end of the war in Europe, came before testing of the first NC and construction of the other three of the Navy's initial order had been completed.
The NC-2 suffered damage during the testing phase and was cannibalized for spare parts.
The other three NCs, NC-1, NC-3, andNC-4, set out on what was intended as the first demonstration of transatlantic flight, viaNewfoundland and theAzores, on 8 May 1919. As junior officer,Mitscher, who had been allotted to one of the commands, lost his command when NC-2 had to be broken up for parts. He went on the flight as one of the pilots of the NC-1.[6] The group met heavy fog off theAzores, making flight in the crudely instrumented aircraft extremely dangerous. Without a visible horizon it was extremely difficult to keep the aircraft in level flight. NC-1 tried different altitudes and soldiered on for several hours before eventually putting down just short of the Azores and was damaged beyond repair in the rough seas.[7]
Only the NC-4 made it through. The crew of NC-1 was rescued at sea. Attempts to tow the aircraft to the Azores failed. NC-3 was forced to land some 205 mi (330 km) distance from the Azores, but the crew, led byCommanderJohn Henry Towers, managed to sail her toPonta Delgada unaided.[5] The Navy had two more sets of NCs constructed, numbered NC-5 to NC-8, and NC-9 and NC-10, up to 1921.
Data from Curtiss Aircraft 1907-1947[4]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Related development
