World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe SC Seakhawk seaplane was designed by the firm Curtiss as a response to a 1942 United States Navy Bureau of Aeronautics request for a new seaplane. The US Navy issued a contract on 25 Aug 1942 for 2 prototype models and 5 service test models, then in Jun 1943 issued a contract for 500 production models prior to the first prototype taking flight. SC Seahawk aircraft were design with relative versatility in mind, with ability to carry limited weapons (machine guns and 113 kilograms of bombs), to be equipped with surface search radars, or to evacuate the wounded. The prototype XSC-1 took flight on 16 Feb 1944 at Curtiss' plant at Columbus, Ohio, United States, and the first production model was delivered on 22 Oct 1944 for the large cruiser USS Guam. They first saw front line service in Jun 1945 when they bombed Japanese positions at Borneo. Over the design's production life, 577 aircraft were built. They were retired from service in 1949.

SPECIFICATIONS

SC-1

Machinery	One Wright R-2600-62 Cyclone supercharged 9-cylinder radial engine rated at 1,850hp
Armament	2x12.7mm 0.5 caliber Browning machine guns, up to 340kg of bombs
Crew	1
Span	12.50 m
Length	11.00 m
Height	5.48 m
Wing Area	26.00 m²
Weight, Empty	2,867 kg
Weight, Maximum	4,082 kg
Speed, Maximum	534 km/h
Speed, Cruising	210 km/h
Service Ceiling	11,400 m
Range, Normal	1,000 km

Photographs

Visitor Submitted Comments

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1.  Alan chanter says:
11 Apr 2010 02:36:31 AM

All of these aircraft were supplied to the USN bu Curtiss in (wheeled) landplane form. The floats were procured seperately and installed by the Navy on a 'as and when required' basis.