Curtiss NC-4

Shortly after the USA's entry into the First World War in April 1917, the US Navy Bureau of Construction and repair collaborated with Curtiss in the design of a flying boat able to cross the Atlantic and be immediately available for operation. This NC (Navy Curtiss) design had a short hull supporting biplane wings and three tractor engines, while the biplane tail unit was located at the end of three booms, two of them projecting from the upper wing and the third from the rear of the hull. Construction of 10 boats was planned (four by Curtiss and six by the Naval Aircraft Factory), but only the first Curtiss boat had been completed by the end of the war, and another three from the same source were finished in 1919. The type's claim to fame rests with the first, third, and fourth boats, which left Trespasser Bay in Newfoundland on 16 of May 1919 for the first aerial crossing of the Atlantic. On the 31 of May only NC-4 arrived in Plymouth after four intermediate stops.

Description	Specifications
Manufacturer: Navy / Curtiss	Length: 68 ft. 3 in.
First Flight:	Height: 24 ft. 5 in.
Model: NC-4	126 ft. 0 in. Wing Span:
Crew: 5	Wing Area: 2,441.0 sq. ft.
Nickname:	Empty Weight: 16,000 lb.
Basic Role: Long range flying boat.	Max. Weight: 28,000 lb.
Other Versions: NC-1 three 360-hp Liberty inline in a tractor layout, then four engines as three tractors and one pusher. NC-2 two tractors and one pusher, then two tractor/pusher tandem pairs. NC-3 as four engine NC-1. NC-4 as NC-3	Armament: None
Principal User: U. S. A.	Propulsion
Performance	Power Plant: Packard Liberty 12A inline piston engine.
Range: Endurance 14 hours 45 minutes.	Horsepower: 400-hp (298-kW
Max. Speed: 85 mph.	No. Of Engines: Four
Ceiling: 2,500 ft.
Climb Rate: 2,000 ft. 10 minutes 0 seconds.	Photo by Muess de 1' Air