Air Weapons

Observation (1935)

Curtiss

SOC Seagull

SOC-1 Seagull (USN, VCS-4)
SOC-1

The story of the Curtiss SOC Seagull was one of the longest running of pre-war US aviation and proof that successful designs can stand the test of time even in the face of more advanced aircraft. The origins of the Seagull biplane lay as early as 1933 as an observation platform for use on US Navy surface warships such as battleships and cruisers where they were launched by catapults and hoisted back to deck with a winch. Features included foldable wings for easy storage as well as the ability to switch between the central float to fixed landing gear when operating from land bases or carriers. The SOC would ultimately become the major aircraft of its type during the 1930s although by the time of World War II, they were slowly being replaced by the OS2U Kingfisher. Curtiss itself planned a successor, the SO3C Seamew, which ended up being a complete failure prompting the hasty return of the venerable Seagulls to front-line service. During the remained of the war, Seagulls were to perform admirably as gunfire observation platforms as well as scouting missions before being retired in 1945.

First flight of the XO3C-1 prototype took place on 19 June 1933 and was ordered into production as the SOC-1, the new designation reflecting its role as both a scout and an observation platform. These were followed by the SOC-2 with wheeled landing gear and new engines followed by the SOC-3 which were mostly similar to the original SOC-1 but with the option of floats or landing gear. Many of these were later fitted with arrester gear and redesignated SOC-2A and -3A while a variant designed for USCG service was known as the SOC-4. A number of SOC-3s were built by the Naval Aircraft Factory and given the designation SON-1.

Preceded by:

None

Succeeded by:

OS2U Kingfisher (1940)
SO3C Seamew (1942)

Datafile

DesignSOC-1
NameSeagull
TypeObservation
Year1935
Crew2
Dimensions
Length8.08 m
Height4.496 m
Wing Span10.97 m
Wing Arean/a
Weight
Empty2,466 kg
Maximum1,718 kg
Wing Loading54.1 kg/m²
Performance
Speed266 km/h
Ceiling4,542 m
Range1,086 km
Powerplant
Engine1 x R-1340-18
Pratt & Whitney
447 kW
Thrust/Weight0.22
Armament
Guns2 x 7.62-mm
Payload295 kg
Production
Built135
Total302

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