Felixstowe F.1
Encyclopedia
The Felixstowe F.1 was an experimental British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
flying boat
Flying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
designed and developed by Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
John Cyril Porte
John Cyril Porte
Lieutenant Commander John Cyril Porte CMG, DSM, Royal Navy was a flying boat pioneer associated with the World War I Seaplane Experimental Station at Felixstowe.-Biography:...
of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
at the Seaplane Experimental Station
Seaplane Experimental Station
The Seaplane Experimental Station at Royal Naval Air Station Felixstowe was a British aircraft design unit of the early part of the 20th century.-Creation:...
, Felixstowe
Felixstowe
Felixstowe is a seaside town on the North Sea coast of Suffolk, England. The town gives its name to the nearby Port of Felixstowe, which is the largest container port in the United Kingdom and is owned by Hutchinson Ports UK...
based on the Curtiss H-4
Curtiss Model H
The Curtiss Model H was a family of classes of early long-range flying boats, the first two of which were developed directly on commission in the United States in response to the ₤10,000 prize challenge issued in 1913 by the London newspaper, the Daily Mail, for the first non-stop aerial crossing...
with a new hull.
Development
Before the war Porte had worked with AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
aircraft designer Glenn Curtiss
Glenn Curtiss
Glenn Hammond Curtiss was an American aviation pioneer and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle then motorcycle builder and racer, later also manufacturing engines for airships as early as 1906...
on a trans-atlantic flying boat. Due to the start of the Great War he returned to England to command the naval air base
Seaplane Experimental Station
The Seaplane Experimental Station at Royal Naval Air Station Felixstowe was a British aircraft design unit of the early part of the 20th century.-Creation:...
at Felixstowe
Felixstowe
Felixstowe is a seaside town on the North Sea coast of Suffolk, England. The town gives its name to the nearby Port of Felixstowe, which is the largest container port in the United Kingdom and is owned by Hutchinson Ports UK...
, Suffolk. Porte decided that the original Curtiss flying-boats that the Royal Navy had acquired could be improved and a number of modifications to in-service flying-boats was made. The modifications had a mixed result so Porte using the experience gained developed a new single-step hull known as the Porte I. The new hull used the wings and tail unit of an H-4 and was powered by two Hispano-Suiza engines and the new flying boat was designated the Felixstowe F.1. During trials of the F.1 two further steps were added to the hull which greatly improved the performance of the flying-boat. Porte went on to design a similar hull for the larger Curtiss H12 flying boat, which became the Felixstowe F.2
Felixstowe F.2
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Bruce, J.M. Flight, 2 December 1955, pp. 842–846.* Bruce, J.M. Flight, 16 December 1955, pp. 895–898.* Bruce, J.M. Flight, 23 December 1955, pp. 929–932....
.