Smer 0866 Curtiss SC-1 Seahawk

The Curtiss SC-1 Seahawk (Osprey) is an American single-engine single-seat seaplane used in the declining period of World War II. It replaced the OS-2 Kingfisher and SO-3 Seamew machines. The flight of the SC-1 prototype took place in 1942. The first shipment of SC-1 seaplanes, named Seahawk, was in October 1944. The battleship "Guam" was the first to receive these planes. The first known combat action in which the SC-1 Seahawk seaplanes were used was the bombing of the island of Borneo before the landing of the Allied forces there in June 1945. In total, the Curtiss plant in Columbus built about 550 serial SC-1 and, after the war, 9 seaplanes in the 2-seat variant SC-2. In addition, 7 prototypes were built. The SC-1 is a single-seater all-metal seaplane with a working light alloy cover, adapted to take off from ship catapults. Behind the pilot's cabin there was a room to accommodate a man, which made it possible to use the aircraft for sea rescue purposes. The floor, as in all US Navy reconnaissance seaplanes, consisted of a central float mounted on a single pylon and two side support floats. They were armed with 2 Colt-Browning 12.7 mm fixed machine guns, installed in the midship. The plane could also take 2 bombs of 45 kg in the chamber located in the central float and equipped with a watertight door, and 2 bombs of 112 kg on the ejectors under the mid-plane. Instead of one of these bombs, the ASH radar canister could be taken. Technical data: Maximum speed: 504 km / h, maximum 11,400 m, maximum range: 1,000 km.