The American Flying Boat

This work is a comprehensive, heavily illustrated history of the many flying boats and amphibious aircraft designed and built in the United States. It is divided into three chronological sections: the early era (1912-1928), the golden era (1928-1945), and the post-war era (1945-present), with historical overviews of each period. Within each section, individual aircraft types are listed in alphabetical order by manufacturer or builder, with historical background, technical specifications, drawings, and one or more photographs. Appendices cover lesser known flying boat and amphibian types as well as various design concepts that never achieved the flying stage.

First published in 1979, this fully illustrated study includes complete data on all of the Navy's flying boats since 1912.

When the China Clipper shattered aviation records on its maiden six-day flight from California to the Orient in 1935, the flying boat became an instant celebrity. This lively history by Robert Gandt traces the development of the great flying boats as both a triumph of technology and a stirring human drama. He examines the political, military, and economic forces that drove its development and explains the aeronautical advances that made the aircraft possible. To fully document the story he includes interviews with flying boat pioneers and a dynamic collection of photographs, charts, and cutaway illustrations.

Beginning with races that were staged at elegant French resorts in the early part of the century, flying boats and seaplanes have played an integral part in aviation history. World War I spurred the development of these machines, and by the 1930s, flying boats and seaplanes had become pioneers in transcontinental flight. This photo-filled history recalls the role of flying boats and seaplanes in civil and military aviation history, and the enthusiasm of the engineers and pilots who are associated with their development. In addition to the golden years of hydraviation prior to World War II, author Nicolaou examines the decline of the seaplane, and its subsequent renaissance in nations that are today considered seaplane paradises. The saga is illustrated by more than 200 rare photographs uncovered in archives around the globe.

"Illustrated with rare period photographs, vintage travel posters, magazine ads and colorful company brochures, Pan American Clippers covers every aspect of the era of flying boats, from 1931-1946. Trautman explains PanAm's founding and growth, their wartime activities, and the design choices that made the company a symbol of luxury. "--

Most often, when Joint Operations are conducted by a larger service, individual Armed Service Historians tell the story of events ignoring, sometimes even trivialising, participation of the other Armed Services. Sometimes, Navy historians inferred Navy credit for a naval event conducted by a Coast Guard individual or the Coast Guard by documenting the event but ignoring Coast Guard presence. Documentation of history resulting from both similar and diverse contributions and authorities from a different sea-service is lost by this historian approach. For example, Navy historian Roy A. Grossnick, in his June 2001 book United States Naval Aviation, 1910-1995 only mentions Coast Guard participation in early Naval Aviation and the World War once when “The secretary of Navy was advised LT E.F. Stone, USCG was ordered to NAS Pensacola for aviation training.” As this book documents, Coast Guard individuals and the Coast Guard service gave many contributions to the World War and to development and growth of Naval Aviation during that period.

Float Planes And Flying Boats: The Coast Guard And Early Naval Aviation is a single comprehensive volume telling the history of early Naval Aviation; the Navy, the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard. A unified history of all naval aviators, it describes interrelationship and mutual support. In years leading to 1920, the Marine Corps and Coast Guard did not own aircraft. The three sea service’s aviators flew Navy aircraft on Navy missions from Navy ships and Navy Air Stations, commanded by Navy and Coast Guard aviators. The bond between them was born. It was a unique time.

The book is documented with 427 endnotes, and features 281 vintage aviation photographic images and a nautical chart of historical note embedded within its text. This balance of photographs and endnote documentation provides both visual and written history that will come alive for the reader.

Take your seats, and by all means, fasten your seat belts! Come on a journey back in time to aviation's most daring and innovative era. Travel back nine decades, when for the first time, airplanes determined the victors of global wars--a time that altered the course of the world. Hear never-before-told true stories penned by still-living flight crewmembers and passengers. Learn about the remarkable men, women, and aircraft builders who launched an aviation phenomenon. Thrill to the romance, adventure, and danger air travelers encountered flying to far-flung, exotic lands. Marvel at art deco air terminals, the world's only flying boat museum, and onboard luxuries rivaling five star hotels. Like mythical Camelot, it was a brief, shining moment. But this was no myth. It was an extraordinary point in global history when Pan American's quintessentially magnificent flying boats ruled the skies.

The history of the development and operations of flying boats in the early twentieth century is a vibrant one, full of colourful characters and experimentation. In Fabulous Flying Boats, Leslie Dawson captures this spirit of dynamism, reminding us of the most successful early pioneers of the seaplanes development, including a little known and oft-overlooked rival to the Wright Brothers, working to put their mutual successes in context. He goes on to describe, in clear and vivid detail, and using first hand-accounts, what it was like to be aboard one of the resulting huge passenger flying boats, as air crew and as a passenger. He also recounts the part played by the military boats inevitably seconded to such use. Incredibly well researched, the narrative embraces the globe-trotting air routes, from Europe to the Far East and to the Americas, and is well supported with evocative images from private and corporate collections, and the worlds aviation museums. The in-depth Appendix is virtually a book in itself. The book is sure to be a welcome addition to any Aviation enthusiasts library as it covers a particularly important period of Aviation development which formed a fertile environment for a host of young experimenters. The process of development continues to this day. AUTHOR: Leslie Dawson was born in Southgate, North London. An enthusiastic member of No 85 Squadron Air Training Corps, he first flew from Hendon, now the home of the RAF Museum. He went on to train Glider Pilots at Christchurch Gliding School, a prestigious Aviation establishment. Surrounded by planes for the majority of his working life, his enthusiasm and experience mean he is well placed to offer such a history. He is the author of Wings Over Dorset, a book depicting the county's aviation history. The success of this title secured the author a series of television interviews, including one with the BBC. b/w illustrations

From Henri Fabre's first successful take-off from water, to the introduction of a hull (rather than floats) by American Glenn Curtiss, to the world-wide development of huge, ocean-crossing flying boats on both sides of the Atlantic - the passenger flying boat era continues to fascinate aviation enthusiasts and historians alike. It is a sadly missed epoch of flight. In this pictorial account, the reader embarks on a fast-moving journey, from the pioneering early years to the present day. The book features images sourced from private, public and corporate archives around the world.