Tag: Flying boat

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New Miniatures: Curtiss HS-1L and HS-2L Flying Boats

The Curtiss HS flying boats were operated with great success by the US Navy during WWI, starting with the Curtiss HS-1L. They were powered by the 330hp Navy Liberty engine (providing the “L” in the name). HS-1Ls operated out of several bases in France as well as seeing extensive use in the States.

In order to increase the bomb load, the six-foot panels were added to each wing, the rudder was enlarged, and minor changes were made, creating the Curtiss HS-2L. The HS-2L was deployed near the end of the war, and it saw extensive use afterwards. Most HS-1Ls were eventually converted to HS-2Ls.

The original HS-1 (without the Liberty “L”) was driven by a 200hp Curtis VXX engine. The first to be reassembled and flown in the European theatre were on 13 June 1918. Gradually they replaced the Tellier T.3s previously in use by the US Navy in Europe. Mainly they were used for anti-submarine patrol, but they also performed mine-spotting and convoy escort.

Some HS-1Ls and HS-2Ls were flown by the US Marines out of Ponta Delgada in the Azores on anti-submarine duties. HS-1Ls and HS-2Ls formed the backbone of the newly-formed Royal Canadian Naval Air Service, with patrols flying out of Nova Scotia.

Paintable 1:144 miniatures for the Curtiss HS-1L and HS-2L are now available from Great War Planes by Reduced Aircraft Factory.

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New Miniature: Levy-Besson “Alerte” Flying Boat

The Alerte class of triplane flying-boat was intended for long patrols and carried a radio and small bomb loaded, with the intent of spotting enemy planes, seaplanes, and submarines and radioing for help when needed. Levy-Besson’s entry for this class was based on a triplane fighter.

One hundred Levy-Besson Alerte Flying Boats were built and used by Aviation Maritime, entering service in October 1917. It was used primarily in the anti-submarine role. Production of triplane flying boats was relatively limited because they were harder maneuver on water.

A paintable 1:144 miniature of the Levy-Besson “Alerte” Flying Boat is now available from Great War Planes by Reduced Aircraft Factory.

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New Miniatures: The Tellier T.3 and T.6

Naval aircraft month continues with the release of these French flying boats, the Tellier T.3 and T.6. The T.3 was also used by the U.S. Navy.

In WWI the French were great proponents of flying boats, and the Tellier T.3 served with distinction alongside flying boats from F.B.A., Donnet-Denhaut, and Levy-Besson. Tellier was already accomplished at building boats before the war, and the Tellier flying boats had the reputation of having the best hull of any flying boat. About 190 were built and from February 1917 through the end of the war they were used for anti-submarine and mine patrols.

The USA inherited at least 32 T.3’s, which they operated from Le Croisic Naval Station starting in November 1917. Russia, via Dux, had plans to build at least twenty, but the hulls and wings were still in storage awaiting the arrival of engines when Russia exited the war. The RNAS acquired two for evaluation but there was never a production order.

In an effort to provide a cannon-armed flying boat, the Tellier T.3 was re-armed with a 47mm Hotchkiss cannon. To balance the weight of the gun, the hull was lengthened by almost a meter. The Tellier T.6 premiered in late 1917, where they were useful for patrol and convoy escort. At least fifty-five T.6s were built for Aviation Maritime.

Great War Planes by Reduced Aircraft Factory has released two new 1:144 flying boat miniatures: the Tellier T.3 and T.6.

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New Miniature: The Curtiss H-12 “Large America”

The history of the Curtiss H-8, which led to the Curtiss H-12, is somewhat muddled. But it is clear that the first of the new larger flying boats as successors to the Curtiss H-4 were named the H-8 by the British. The first remained in its original configuration with twin 160hp Curtiss engines; the rest were the order of fifty were refitted with 250hp Rolls-Royce engines and re-designated the H-12.

The fifty Curtiss H-12 “Large America” were ordered in Britain and began arriving for Royal Navy Air Service use in March 1916. The new engines increased the plane’s capabilities remarkably.  There is some confusion over the difference between H-12s, H-12Bs, and H-16s. After the initial batch with the 250hp engine, another twenty-four were upgraded with the 375hp Rolls-Royce and were designated the H-12B, and a further fifteen were ordered as H-12s without engines, delivered as H-16s, and fitted with the 375hp Rolls-Royce. Other sources, rather than equating the H-16 with re-engined H-12s, designate the H-16 as a larger airplane using the 400hp Liberty. Most likely some fifteen H-12s were converted to H-16s while most H-16s were built from scratch.

Lessons learned from flying the H.12s led to the excellent Felixstowe F.2, with a stronger hull and improved hydrodynamics.

Perhaps the H-12’s finest moments were on 14 May 1917 when a RNAS Curtiss shot down the Zeppelin L22 and on 14 June 1917 when L43 was shot down by another. H-12s operated widely and had frequent encounters with German seaplanes and submarines.

The US Navy experimented with H-12s (including some with Liberty engines), but the type was not used internationally. Curtiss HS.1L’s filled that role instead.

A paintable 1:144 Curtiss H-12 is now available from Great War Planes by Reduced Aircraft Factory.

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New Miniature: The F.B.A. Type H

Hydravions Franco-British Aviation (F.B.A.) built several flying boats during WWI, and the F.B.A. Type H was the most numerous. In fact, it may have been the most numerous flying boat of the entire war, with 982 built in Italy and several hundred in France. It was a development of the Type B airframe, but a 150hp Hispano-Suiza vee engine was used for increased power. The wings were redesigned and about half a meter wider, the tailplane was altered, and the hull was strengthened. A crew of three was carried: two flight personnel and a nose gunner. They were also used in small numbers by Belgium, Spain, the U.K., and the U.S.A.

In Italy, at least 982 were built: 38 in 1916; 367 in 1917; and 477 in 1918. A handful of Italian Type H’s were shifted to the RNAS at Otranto. A full 28 squadriglias used the Type H, mostly supplied under license by SIAI (Societa Idrovolanti Alta Italia). These latter machines used a 170hp Isotta-Fraschini engine. SIAI could not keep up with the demand and spread production over six subcontractors. The Type Hs were used all along the Italian coast and by war’s end there were still 382 in service.

A paintable 1:144 -scale F.B.A. Type H is now available from Great War Planes by Reduced Aircraft Factory.

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