Felixstowe F.1

Felixstowe F.1
Prototype Felixstowe F.1 (No.3580)
Role Military flying boat
Manufacturer RNAS Felixstowe
Designer John Cyril Porte
Retired January 1919[1]
Primary users Royal Naval Air Service
Royal Air Force
Number built 4
Developed from Curtiss H-4
Variants Felixstowe F.2

The Felixstowe F.1 was an experimental British flying boat designed and developed by Lieutenant Commander John Cyril Porte RN at the naval air station, Felixstowe based on the Curtiss H-4 with a new hull.[2] Its design led to a range of successful larger flying boats that was assistance in promoting Britain as a leader in this field of aviation.[1]

Development

Before the war Porte worked with American aircraft designer Glenn Curtiss on a trans-atlantic flying boat. Due to the start of the Great War he returned to England, eventually to command of the naval air station at Felixstowe, Suffolk.[2] Porte decided that the original Curtiss flying-boats that the Royal Navy acquired could be improved and a number of modifications to in-service flying-boats were made.[2] The modifications had a mixed result so Porte using the experience gained, developed with his Chief Technical Officer John Douglas Rennie,[1] a new single-step hull known as the Porte I.[2]

The Porte I hull used the wings and tail unit of an original H-4 (No.3580) powered by two Hispano-Suiza 8 engines; the new flying boat was designated the Felixstowe F.1.[1][2] During trials of the F.1 two further steps were added to the hull and a deeper V-shape which greatly improved the performance on take off and landing.[1][2] Porte went on to design a similar hull, the Porte II for the larger Curtiss H-12 flying boat, which became the Felixstowe F.2.[2][3]

Operators

 United Kingdom

Specifications

Data from [1]

General characteristics

2 × Anzani 10-cylinder, 100 hp ( kW) each

Performance

Armament

See also

Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Related lists

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Chorlton, Martyn, ed. (2012). Aeroplane Collectors' Archive: Golden Age of Flying-boats. Kelsey Publishing Group, Cudham, Kent. p. 23. ISBN 978-1-907426-71-1.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Orbis 1985, p. 1775
  3. Rennie, Major John Douglas (1923). Pritchard, J. Laurence, ed. "SOME NOTES ON THE DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF FLYING BOATS". The Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society. University of Toronto: Royal Aeronautical Society. XXVII: 136–137. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  4. "British Anzani - a company history". THE BRITISH ANZANI ARCHIVE. British Anzani Archive. 2000. p. 1. Retrieved 18 September 2015.

Bibliography

  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing. 
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