JN "Jenny" | |
---|---|
Curtiss JN-4 Jenny, 1918 | |
Role | Trainer |
Manufacturer | Curtiss |
Designer | Benjamin D. Thomas |
Introduction | 1915 |
Retired | 1927 |
Primary users | U.S. Army Air Service Royal Flying Corps |
Number built | 6,813 |
Variants | Curtiss N-9 Curtiss JN-6H Curtiss Twin JN |
The Curtiss JN "Jenny" was a series of biplanes built by the Glenn Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, New York, later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. Although the Curtiss JN series was originally produced as a training aircraft for the US Army, the "Jenny" (the common nickname derived from "JN") continued after World War I as a civilian aircraft, as it became the "backbone of American postwar [civil] aviation". [1]
Thousands of surplus Jennys were sold at bargain prices to private owners in the years after the war, and became central to the barnstorming era that helped awaken the US to civil aviation through much of the 1920s. [2]
Curtiss combined the best features of the model J and model N trainers, built for the US Army and US Navy, and began producing the JN or "Jenny" series of aircraft in 1915. [3] Curtiss built only a limited number of the JN-1 and JN-2 biplanes. The design was commissioned by Glenn Curtiss from Englishman Benjamin Douglas Thomas, formerly of the Sopwith Aviation Company. [4]
The JN-2 was an equal-span biplane with ailerons controlled by a shoulder yoke in the aft cockpit. [5] It was deficient in performance, particularly climbing, because of excessive weight. The improved JN-3 incorporated unequal spans with ailerons only on the upper wings, controlled by a wheel. In addition, a foot bar was added to control the rudder. [6]
The 1st Aero Squadron of the Aviation Section, US Signal Corps received eight JN-2s at San Diego in July 1915. The squadron was transferred to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in August to work with the Field Artillery School, during which one JN-2 crashed, resulting in a fatality. [8] The pilots of the squadron met with its commander, Capt. Benjamin Foulois, to advise that the JN-2 was unsafe because of low power, shoddy construction, lack of stability, and overly sensitive rudder. Foulois and his executive officer Capt. Thomas D. Milling disagreed, and flights continued until a second JN-2 crashed in early September, resulting in the grounding of the six remaining JN-2s until mid-October. When two new JN-3s were delivered, the grounded aircraft were then upgraded in accordance with the new design. In March 1916, these eight JN-3s were deployed to Mexico for aerial observation during the Pancho Villa Expedition of 1916–1917. [7]
After the successful deployment of the JN-3, Curtiss produced a development, known as the JN-4, with orders from both the US Army and an order in December 1916 from the Royal Flying Corps for a training aircraft to be based in Canada. [lower-alpha 1] The Canadian version, the JN-4 (Canadian), also known as the "Canuck", had some differences from the American version, including a lighter airframe, ailerons on both wings, a bigger and more rounded rudder, and differently shaped wings, stabilizer, and elevators. [9]
As many as 12 JN-4 aircraft were fitted with an aftermarket Sikorsky wing by the then-fledgling company in the late 1920s. [10]
The Curtiss JN-4 is possibly North America's most famous World War I aircraft. It was widely used during World War I to train beginning pilots, with an estimated 95% of all trainees having flown a JN-4. [11] The US version was called "Jenny", a derivation from its official designation. It was a twin-seat (student in front of instructor), dual-control biplane. Its tractor propeller and maneuverability made it ideal for initial pilot training with a 90 hp (67 kW) Curtiss OX-5 V8 engine giving a top speed of 75 mph (121 km/h) and a service ceiling of 6,500 ft (2,000 m). [6] [12] The British used the JN-4 (Canadian), along with the Avro 504, for their primary World War I trainer using the Canadian Aeroplanes Ltd. indigenous variant. [13] Many Royal Flying Corps pilots earned their wings on the JN-4, both in Ontario and later in winter facilities at Camp Taliaferro, Texas. [14]
Although ostensibly a training aircraft, the Jenny was extensively modified while in service to undertake additional roles. Due to its robust but easily adapted structure able to be modified with ski undercarriage, the Canadian Jenny was flown year-round, even in inclement weather. [15] The removable turtle deck behind the cockpits allowed for conversion to stretcher or additional supplies and equipment storage, with the modified JN-4s becoming the first aerial ambulances, carrying out this role both during wartime and in later years. [16] Most of the 6,813 Jennys built were unarmed, although some had machine guns and bomb racks for advanced training. With deployment limited to North American bases, none saw combat service in World War I.
The Curtiss factory in Buffalo, New York, was the largest such facility in the world, but due to production demands, from November 1917 to January 1919, six different manufacturers were involved in production of the definitive JN-4D. [11] Production from spare or reconditioned parts continued sporadically until 1927, although most of the final orders were destined for the civilian market in Canada and the United States. [17]
Like the re-engined JN-4H version of the most-produced JN-4 subtype, the final production version of the aircraft was the JN-6, powered by a Wright Aeronautical license-built, 150 hp (112 kW) Hispano-Suiza 8 V-8, first ordered in 1918 for the US Navy. A floatplane version was built for the navy, which was so modified, it was essentially a different airframe. This was designated the N-9. In US Army Air Service usage, the JN-4s and JN-6s were configured to the JNS ("S" for "standardized") model. The Jenny remained in service with the US Army until 1927. [11]
After World War I, thousands were sold on the civilian market, including one to Charles Lindbergh in May 1923, in which he then soloed. [18] [19] Surplus US Army aircraft were sold (some still in their unopened packing crates) for as little as $50, flooding the market. [11] [lower-alpha 2] With private and commercial flying in North America unhampered by regulations concerning their use, pilots found the Jenny's stability and slow speed made it ideal for stunt flying and aerobatic displays in the barnstorming era between the world wars, with the nearly identical Standard J-1 aircraft often used alongside it. [lower-alpha 3] Some were still flying into the 1930s. [17] [lower-alpha 4]
JN-4 airframes were used to produce early Weaver Aircraft Company/Advance Aircraft Company/Waco aircraft, such as the Waco 6. [17]
Between 1917 and 1919, the JN-4 type accounted for several significant aviation firsts while in service with the US Army Signal Corps Aviation Section and the United States Marine Corps (USMC), including flying the first US Air Mail in May 1918.
In a series of tests conducted at the US Army's Langley Field in Hampton, Virginia, in July and August 1917, the world's first "plane-to-plane" and "ground-to-plane, and vice versa" communications by radiotelephony (as opposed to radiotelegraphy which had been developed earlier) were made to and from modified US Army JN-4s [lower-alpha 5] by Western Electric Company (Bell Labs) design engineers Lewis M. Clement and Raymond Heising, the developers of the experimental wind generator-powered airborne wireless voice transmitter and receiver equipment. [21] [22]
In early 1919, a USMC JN-4 was also credited with what is believed to be the first successful dive-bombing attack during the United States occupation of Haiti. USMC pilot Lt Lawson H. Sanderson mounted a carbine barrel in front of the windshield of his JN-4 (previously, an unarmed trainer that had a machine gun mounted in the rear cockpit) as an improvised bomb sight that was lined up with the long axis of his aircraft, loaded a bomb in a canvas mail bag that was attached to the JN-4's belly, and launched a single-handed raid at treetop level, in support of a USMC unit that had been trapped by Haitian Cacos rebels. [23] Although the JN-4 almost disintegrated in the pullout, the attack was effective and led to Sanderson in 1920 developing further dive-bombing techniques to provide Marine pilots with close aerial support to infantry comrades. [24]
Although the first series of JN-4s was virtually identical to the JN-3, the JN-4 series was based on production orders from 1915 to 1919. [25]
Data from Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947, [32] : 156 The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft [104]
General characteristics
Performance
An image of the Curtis Jenny appeared on the first airmail stamps issued by the U.S. Post Office in 1918
The "Inverted Jenny" (C-3a) is a 24-cent 1918 US Air Mail postage stamp printing error in which the blue central vignette of US Army Curtiss JN-4HM #38262, the nation's first mailplane, appeared as "inverted" on a single sheet of 100 stamps. [lower-alpha 8]
In 1921, Lee De Forest made a short film Flying Jenny Airplane in his Phonofilm sound-on-film process. The film depicted a JN-4 flying, and recorded the sound of the Jenny, as well. The short documentary was the first production of the De Forest Phonofilm company. [109]
Among many later films depicting the barnstorming era when the Jennys "ruled supreme" and played a feature role, was The Spirit of St. Louis (1957) and The Great Waldo Pepper (1974). [110] In The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955), authentic OX-5 Jennys were showcased as United States Army Air Service training aircraft. [111] Broadcast on April 15, 1987, by PBS, the National Geographic special entitled "Treasures from the Past" featured the restoration and first flight by Ken Hyde of a JN-4D that would go on to win the "Lindy Award" at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh '87. [112]
The stamp also made an appearance in the 1985 film starring Richard Pryor, Brewster's Millions , in which the titular character mails an "Inverted Jenny" stamp as part of a ploy to very quickly and frivolously spend as much money as possible. [113]
The Fieseler Fi 156 Storch was a German liaison aircraft built by Fieseler before and during World War II. Production continued in other countries into the 1950s for the private market. It was notable for its excellent short field (STOL) performance and low stalling speed of 50 km/h. French-built later variants often appear at air shows. Compared to most other liaison aircraft of the period, the Storch was quite large and heavy, with its wingspan exceeding 14 meters and its weight slightly over 1,300 kg when fully loaded. It was significantly heavier, slower, and less agile than Allied liaison aircraft such as the American Piper L-4 or Stinson L-5, or the British Auster.
The de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou is a Canadian specialized cargo aircraft with short takeoff and landing (STOL) capability. The Caribou was first flown in 1958 and although mainly retired from military operations, is still in use in small numbers as a rugged bush airplane.
The Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar is a passenger transport aircraft of the World War II era.
The Vultee BT-13 Valiant is an American World War II-era basic trainer aircraft built by Vultee Aircraft for the United States Army Air Corps, and later US Army Air Forces. A subsequent variant of the BT-13 in USAAC/USAAF service was known as the BT-15 Valiant, while an identical version for the US Navy was known as the SNV and was used to train naval aviators for the US Navy and its sister services, the US Marine Corps and US Coast Guard.
The Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 is an American biplane formerly used as a military trainer aircraft, of which at least 10,626 were built in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. Stearman Aircraft became a subsidiary of Boeing in 1934. Widely known as the Stearman, Boeing Stearman, or Kaydet, it served as a primary trainer for the United States Army Air Forces, the United States Navy, and with the Royal Canadian Air Force as the Kaydet throughout World War II. After the conflict was over, thousands of surplus aircraft were sold on the civilian market. In the immediate postwar years, they became popular as crop dusters and sports planes, and for aerobatic and wing walking use in air shows.
The Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing is an American biplane with an atypical negative wing stagger. It first flew in 1932.
The Curtiss Robin, introduced in 1928, was a high-wing monoplane built by the Curtiss-Robertson Airplane Manufacturing Company. The J-1 version was flown by Wrongway Corrigan who crossed the Atlantic after being refused permission.
The Piasecki H-21 Workhorse/Shawnee is an American helicopter, the fourth of a line of tandem rotor helicopters designed and built by Piasecki Helicopter. Commonly called "the flying banana", it was a multi-mission helicopter, using wheels, skis and floats.
The Naval Aircraft Factory N3N was an American tandem-seat, open cockpit, primary training biplane aircraft built by the Naval Aircraft Factory (NAF) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the 1930s and early 1940s.
The Grumman J2F Duck is an American single-engine amphibious biplane. It was used by each major branch of the U.S. armed forces from the mid-1930s until just after World War II, primarily for utility and air-sea rescue duties. It was also used by the Argentine Navy, who took delivery of their first example in 1937. After the war, J2F Ducks saw service with independent civilian operators, as well as the armed forces of Colombia and Mexico.
The Ryan PT-22 Recruit, the main military version of the Ryan ST, is a military trainer aircraft that was used by the United States Army Air Corps during WWII for primary pilot training.
The Aeronca L-3 series of liaison aircraft was used by the United States Army Air Corps in World War II. The L-3 was adapted from Aeronca's pre-war Tandem Trainer and Chief models.
The Aeronca C-3 was a light plane built by the Aeronautical Corporation of America in the United States during the 1930s.
The Travel Air 2000/3000/4000 (originally, the Model A, Model B and Model BH were open-cockpit biplane aircraft produced in the United States in the late 1920s by the Travel Air Manufacturing Company. During the period from 1924–1929, Travel Air produced more aircraft than any other American manufacturer, including over 1,000 biplanes. While an exact number is almost impossible to ascertain due to the number of conversions and rebuilds, some estimates for Travel Air as a whole range from 1,200 to nearly 2,000 aircraft.
The Standard J is a two-seat basic trainer two-bay biplane produced in the United States from 1916 to 1918, powered by a four-cylinder inline Hall-Scott A-7a engine. It was constructed from wood with wire bracing and fabric covering. The J-1 was built as a stopgap to supplement the Curtiss JN-4 in production.
The Thomas-Morse S-4 Scout was an American biplane advanced trainer, operated by the United States Army and the United States Navy. Dubbed the "Tommy" by pilots who flew it, the aircraft became the favorite single-seat training airplane produced in the U.S. during World War I. It had a long and varied career beginning with the S-4B, which first appeared in the summer of 1917.