Ardpol 72-028 Aeromarine 39 (float)

The Aeromarine 39 was an American training biplane training plane with a fixed - float or wheeled landing gear - from World War I and the interwar period. The flight of the prototype took place in 1917, and the machine entered the line in the same year. The plane was 8 meters long with a wingspan of 14.32 meters. The drive - in the 39A version - was provided by a single 100 HP Hall-Scott A-7A engine. The maximum speed of the aircraft was up to 120 km / h. The machine did not have a permanent on-board armament.

The Aeromarine 39 was commissioned by the US Navy as a new training plane. The machine was characterized by a very conservative for those times, but at the same time a solid construction. Two main development versions, 39A and 39B, were produced in the course of production. Both were powered by 100hp engines, the former having a Hall-Scott A-7A engine and the latter a Curtiss OXX-6. Moreover, the first one could have both a float and a wheel chassis, and the second (39B) only a float. The planes in both versions had excellent handling properties, especially at low speeds. It is worth adding that it was the aircraft of this type (Aeromarine 39A) that was the first ever successful landing on an American aircraft carrier. This event took place in October 1922 on the USS Langley, and this feat was performed by Lieutenant Commander G. De Chavellier.