| CS / SC | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Reconnaissance and torpedo bomber aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Curtiss Aeroplane Company,Martin |
| Primary user | United States Navy |
| Number built | 83 |
| History | |
| First flight | 1923 |
TheCurtiss CS (orModel 31) was a reconnaissance andtorpedo bomber aircraft used by theUnited States Navy during the 1920s. It was a large single-engine biplane with single-bay unstaggered wings, the design conventional in all respects other than that the lower wing was of greater span than the upper. The CS was built to allow its undercarriage to be quickly and easily interchangeable between wheeled, tailskid undercarriage, and twin pontoons for operation from water. Provision for the carriage of a torpedo was semi-recessed into the underside of the fuselage, blended in behind an aerodynamic fairing. The pilot and gunner sat in tandem open cockpits, while accommodation inside the fuselage was provided for a third crewmember who served as bombardier and radio operator. This station was also provided with a dorsal hatch aft of the gunner's position, and a ventral blister aft of the torpedo recess, which was used for aiming bombs or torpedoes.
Curtiss produced sixCS-1 prototypes for the Navy in 1923, which were mostly used for engine tests. Two examples of the improvedCS-2 were built the following year and set a number of world speed, distance, and endurance records for seaplanes in its class. The Navy ordered both the CS-1 and CS-2 into production, but when Curtiss tendered with a price of $32,000 per aircraft, Martin undercut them with a tender of $25,200 for each CS-1 and $19,863 for each CS-2 and won the contract. Curtiss refused to provide full sets of drawings and data to Martin, so Martin-built machines were in part reverse-engineered from a Curtiss-built CS-1 provided by the Navy. By the time the Martin-produced aircraft were delivered in 1925–26, the Navy's designation system had changed, and they entered service as theSC-1 andSC-2. Martin-built SC-2s suffered from poor handling characteristics and soon earned the nickname "Sea Cow". Meanwhile, theNaval Aircraft Factory made extensive modifications to the two Curtiss CS-2s leading them to be redesignatedCS-3. Further development of the design was carried out by Martin as theT3M andT4M, and eventually byGreat Lakes as theTG.
In 1924, the CS-2 was used to break numerous world records for seaplanes in its class in three long-range flights. The first of these took place overnight between 22 and 23 June, when LtFrank Wead and LtJohn D. Price set five records – distance (963.123 mi, 1,544.753 km), duration (13 hours, 23 minutes, 15 seconds), speed over 500 km (73.41 mph, 117.74 km/h), speed over 1,000 km (74.27 mph, 119.12 km/h) and speed over 1,500 km (74.17 mph/118.96 km/h).[1] Between 11 and 12 July, the same pilots broke the distance and duration records again (994.19 mi/1,594.58 km over 14 hours, 53 minutes, 44 seconds).[1] On October 10, these same two records were exceeded by Lt Andrew Crinkley and Lt Rossmore Lyon in a flight of 1,460 miles (2,350 km) in 20 hours, 28 minutes. While these would have been new world records, the flight was not officially timed and was therefore not recognized as such.
On 23 October 1925, the U.S. Navy brought 23 CS-1 floatplanes toBay Shore Park on theChesapeake Bay, 14 miles (23 km) fromBaltimore,Maryland, with the intention of flying them in anair show demonstration before the 1925Schneider Cup Race on 24 October. Due to bad weather, the race was postponed until 26 October,[2] and the CS-1s remained at the park to await the postponed race. While they waited, a storm with 80-mile-per-hour (129 km/h) winds struck the area early on 25 October. Thegale-force winds broke 3-inch (76 mm) mooring and anchor ropes on 17 of the biplanes, which were blown onto shore or dashed againstseawalls, destroying seven and damaging 10 of them.[3] The 26 October afternoon edition of theBaltimore Evening Sun had the headline "Plane Disaster in Harbor Called Hard Blow to Navy"[4] and quotedUnited States Army Air ServiceBrigadier GeneralWilliam "Billy" Mitchell, who called the loss of the CS-1s "staggering" and blamed it on U.S. Navy mismanagement of its aviation program.[5]
Data from United States Navy Aircraft since 1911[9]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Media related toCurtiss CS at Wikimedia Commons
