The North Island era: Birth of naval aviation

First hydroplane flight to a ship

Part one: What the Navy wanted

	Glenn Curtiss (center) inspects his hydroplane prior to its flight to the U.S.S. Pennsylvania.

The Secretary of the Navy wrote a letter indicating interest in these events (take-off and landing aboard ships), but stating that the Navy could not consider encumbering a fighting ship with a deck such as those built for these demonstrations. What was needed, he said, was a plane that could be carried on board ship and lowered over the side. It would take off from the water, go on its scouting mission, return to land along side the ship and be hoisted aboard again.

With this in mind, as soon as Curtiss had a successful hydroplane, he contacted Captain Pond, of the USS Pennsylvania to ask when he could make a demonstration flight. The ship was anchored in San Diego harbor at the time and the Captain immediately replied, "Come on over." This was on February 17, 1911.

Curtiss used was a tractor plane (with the propeller in front) for this flight, the only tractor that Curtiss would build for some years. Putting the propeller in the front kept it out of the spray generated by the float. Close examination of pictures of some of the pusher hydroplanes show damaged the propeller tips, apparently from the spray.

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