SOC Seagull
Country | United States |
Manufacturer | Curtiss-Wright Corporation |
Primary Role | Seaplane |
Maiden Flight | 1 January 1934 |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbaseThe SOC observation biplanes were built by Alexander Solla of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. The first batch of aircraft were delivered to the United States Navy in late 1935, and by the end of the production run in 1938, 258 aircraft were built. Beginning in 1940, the Naval Aircraft Factory license-built 44 aircraft under the designation of SON. In 1941, the nickname Seagull was assigned. Although by the time WW2 began they were terribly out-dated, they continued to serve aboard battleships as gunfire observers and aboard cruisers as scouting aircraft. They were typically launched by catapults and recovered after landing in the relatively smooth-water "slick" that the turning mother ships could create on the open sea. When being stowed aboard ships, their wings folded back to conserve space. A few of them remained in US Navy service after WW2.
ww2dbaseSource: United States Navy Naval Historical Center.
Last Major Revision: Jun 2007
SOC Seagull Timeline
10 May 1944 | At Tulagi, USS Honolulu received aboard two OS2U Kingfisher scout planes as replacements for her SOC Seagull aircraft. |
SPECIFICATIONS
SOC-3
Machinery | One Pratt & Whitney R-1340-22 radial engine rated at 550hp |
Armament | 2x0.30 caliber machine guns, 2 small bombs or depth charges under wing |
Crew | 2 |
Span | 10.98 m |
Length | 9.58 m |
Wing Area | 31.77 m² |
Weight, Empty | 1,661 kg |
Weight, Loaded | 2,406 kg |
Rate of Climb | 4.64 m/s |
SOC-1
Machinery | One Pratt & Whitney R-1340-22 radial engine rated at 550hp |
Armament | 1x7.62mm forward machine gun, 1x7.62mm flexible rear machine gun, 295kg of bombs or depth charges |
Crew | 2 |
Span | 10.98 m |
Length | 9.58 m |
Wing Area | 31.77 m² |
Weight, Empty | 1,648 kg |
Weight, Loaded | 2,406 kg |
Speed, Maximum | 266 km/h |
Rate of Climb | 4.64 m/s |
Service Ceiling | 4,540 m |
Range, Normal | 1,086 km |
Photographs
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Winston Churchill, 1935
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