Amphibian

Loire 50 / 501

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A three-seat parasol-wing flying-boat for liaison or training duties, the Loire 50.01 prototype first flew on 7 September 1931. After being sunk in an accident it was recovered and on 24 March 1932 was flown as an amphibian, the two main wheels retracting to a horizontal position clear of the water. In summer 1933 its 172kW Salmson 9Ab radial was replaced by a 261kW Hispano-Suiza 9Qd radial, and it was then redesignated Loire 50bis.

Six series Loire 501 amphibians, closely resembling the Loire 50bis and retaining its crew arrangement, were delivered in 1935 to various sections de servitude (general-duty flights) at French naval air stations, the last surviving Loire 501 reported at Karouba (Bizerta, Tunisia) in August 1941.

Engine: 1 x Hispano-Suiza 9Qd radial, 261kW
Max take-off weight: 2150 kg / 4740 lb
Empty weight: 1385 kg / 3053 lb
Wingspan: 16.00 m / 52 ft 6 in
Length: 11.10 m / 36 ft 5 in
Height: 4.47 m / 14 ft 8 in
Wing area: 39.40 sq.m / 424.10 sq ft
Max. speed: 195 km/h / 121 mph
Ceiling: 4850 m / 15900 ft
Range: 1100 km / 684 miles

Loening S2L

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The Loening S2L was one of three amphibian designs to be considered as possible replacements for conventional floatplanes aboard Navy cruisers. A design-for-purpose amphibian was viewed as potentially a better solution to the problem of periodically re-rigging floatplanes to wheeled undercarriage, then back to floats again.

Loening received a contract in 1932 to construct a single amphibian prototype as the XS2L-1. Its design followed a conventional biplane layout.

XS2L-1
Engine: 1 x Pratt & Whitney R-985-28 Wasp Junior, 400 hp
Prop: 2 blade metal, ground adjustable
Wingspan: 34 ft 6 in
Length: 30 ft 7 in
Wing area: 355 sq.ft
Empty weight: 2833 lb
Noral gross weight: 4053 lb
MTOW: 4317 lb
Max speed: 130 mph
Ceiling: 12,400 ft
Range: 633 mi
Seats: 1
Armament: 1 x .30 mg

Loening XO2L

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XO2L-2

The prototypes first flight in early 1932 led to the addition of finlets on the horizontal stabilisers. But when performance and handling still fell below Navy expectations, the prototype was returned to the factory and subjected to modifications which included installation of a 550 hp R-1340D engine, lengthening the fuselage and pontoon three and a half feet, and enlarging the fin and rudder. Under the new designation XO2L-2, trials continued into late 1932, but Navy officials judged that the small performance improvement over the OL-9 did not merit production.

Loening XSL-1 / XSL-2

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XSL-1

The Loening SL was the last type of airraft used in a series of Navy experiments, conducted intermittently from 1923 to 1933, to develop a small seaplane that could be deployed from a submarine. The aircraft had to be designed so that it could be easily dismantled and stowed in a watertight, eight foot diameter tube carried on the deck of the submarine. In 1930 BuAer decided to reinstate the idea with a small monoplane flying boat, and in June 1930, awarded Loening a contract to construct a single prototype as the XSL-1. The design emerged with a semi-cantilever monoplane wing which attached to the top of a single-step metal boat hull. The Warner engine, mounted on struts in a pusher configuration, featured a ring cowl and a small bullet-shaped nacelle. Stowage in the sub tube was accomplished by simply removing the wings and stabilising floats.

The prototype was delivered to NAS Anacostia for trials in February 1931. When testing revealed the XSL-1 to be underpowered with the Warner engine, it was returned to the factory for installation of a 160 hp Menasco B-6 and a more streamlined engine mount. The revised aircraft, re-designated XSL-2, resumed testing at Anacostia in early 1933 but these trials indicated only a nominal improvement in performance. Soon afterwards the Navy abandoned the entire program when the XSL-2 suffered serious damage during exercises with a submarine.

XSL-1
Engine: Warner Scarab, 110 hp
Prop: 2 blade fixed pitch metal
Wing span: 31 ft 0 in
Length: 27 ft 2 in
Wing area: 148 sq.ft
Empty weight: 1114 lb
Gross weight: 1512 lb
Max speed: 101 mh
Cruise: 88 mph
Ceiling: 13,000 ft

Loening OA-1A

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The hull is constructed of duralumin over a wooden frame, and the fuselage was built on top of the hull. The OA-lA is powered by a 420-horsepower, water-cooled Liberty V-12 engine that is mounted inverted.

The historic Pan-American Goodwill Flight of 1926 and 1927 through Mexico and Central and South America was intended to improve relations with Latin American countries, to encourage commercial aviation, and to provide valuable training for Air Corps personnel. The flight was made by ten pilots in five Loening OA-1A amphibian aircraft. To stimulate public interest, each airplane was named after a major U.S. city-the New York, the San Antonio, the San Francisco, the Detroit, and the St. Louis.

The 35,200 km (22,000 mi) flight began on December 21, 1926, from San Antonio, Texas. The journey took 59 flying days, interspersed with 74 days for scheduled maintenance and diplomatic meetings and ceremonies. The flight concluded at Bolling Field in Washington, D.C., on May 2, 1927. Within three weeks, however, the impressive achievement was eclipsed by Lindbergh’s solo trans-Atlantic flight in the Spirit of St. Louis.

Loening OA-1A San Francisco
Engine: Liberty V-12, 313 kw (420 horsepower)
Wingspan: 13.9 m (45 ft 7 in)
Length: 10.7 m (35 ft 1 in)
Height: 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in)