American Flying Boats and Amphibious Aircraft

This work is a comprehensive, heavily illustrated history of the many flying boats and amphibious aircraft designed and built in the United States. It is divided into three chronological sections: the early era (1912–1928), the golden era (1928–1945), and the post-war era (1945–present), with historical overviews of each period. Within each section, individual aircraft types are listed in alphabetical order by manufacturer or builder, with historical background, technical specifications, drawings, and one or more photographs. Appendices cover lesser known flying boat and amphibian types as well as various design concepts that never achieved the flying stage.

E.R. Johnson, an attorney, has flown 25 different types of aircraft as pilot-in-command. He is the author of six books and more than 100 articles on aviation and lives in Mountain Home, Arkansas.

E.R. Johnson
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 384
Bibliographic Info: 391 photos & illustrations, appendices, glossaries, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2010
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3974-4
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5708-3
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      v

Preface      1

PART I. THE EARLY ERA, 1912–1928      3

PART II. THE GOLDEN ERA, 1928–1945      78

PART III. THE POST-WAR ERA, 1945–PRESENT      213

Appendix A: Lesser Known Flying Boats and Amphibians      291

Appendix B: Flying Boat and Amphibian Design Concepts      336

Appendix C: Three Glossaries

Aeronautical Terms and Abbreviations      357

Military Terms and Abbreviations      364

Military Aircraft Nomenclature      366

Bibliography      369

Index      373

“an intriguing, easy-to-read work for all readers interested in aviation history. Highly recommended”—Choice; “this nicely thought-out and very useful book presents almost 100 years of American-made or-designed craft that have the capability of operating from bodies of water. Photos are plentiful, quite well reproduced”—SpeedReaders.