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A little over 100 years ago, landing a plane on water was simply unthinkable. But very soon, designs were being drawn up that enabled a fixed-wing aircraft to do just that. The idea quickly took off, and the invention of the seaplane marked an important step forward in the history of aviation. And while its heyday was in the 1920s and '30s, the seaplane is still seen today in skies across the world. But how exactly did this type of aircraft evolve, and who are its earliest pioneers?
Click through and find out more about the seaplane.
The first patent for a flying machine with a boat hull and retractable landing gear was filed in 1876. But it is Austrian Wilhelm Kress (1836–1913) who is credited with building the first seaplane, Drachenflieger ("Dragon-flyer") in 1898.
Another early seaplane pioneer was French aviator Gabriel Voisin (1880–1973). In June 1905, Voisin took off and landed on the Seine River with a towed kite glider on floats.
Five years later in 1910, Voisin's compatriot and fellow aviator Henri Fabre (1882–1984) invented and flew the first successful seaplane, the Fabre Hydravion.
While French aviator François Denhaut (1877–1952) drew up the first designs for a flying boat, it was American aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss (1878–1930) who in 1911 developed the Curtiss Model D, which was a land-plane equipped with a central float and sponsons for buoyancy. His first amphibian flights took place the same year.
For this groundbreaking accomplishment, Curtiss was awarded the Collier Trophy for US flight achievement by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA).
From the Model D and further experiments with a hulled seaplane, Curtiss unveiled the Model E and Model F, in 1913.
Meanwhile, Thomas W. Benoist (1874–1917) claimed an aviation first in January 1914 by establishing the world's first scheduled airline service, operating two Benoist XIV seaplanes between St. Petersburg and Tampa, in Florida.
With the outbreak of the First World War, the US Navy took delivery of the Curtiss Model E and soon tested landings on and take-offs from ships. Glenn Curtiss is pictured with one of his seaplanes being hoisted above the USS Pennsylvania in San Diego Harbor.
In 1913, the British newspaper The Daily Mail put up a £10,000 prize (equivalent to £1,446,000 in 2024) for the first non-stop aerial crossing of the Atlantic. American businessman Rodman Wanamaker commissioned the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company to design and build an aircraft capable of making the flight. Glenn Curtiss contacted British aircraft designer John Cyril Porte (1884–1919) and proposed a joint venture in an effort to claim the prize. However, the declaration of war saw the project effectively sunk.
John Porte returned to England and was recommissioned in the Royal Naval Air Service. He became head of the Seaplane Experimental Station at Felixstowe. The base would become the largest operational seaplane facility in the United Kingdom.
The station designed seaplanes and flying boats, and was initially equipped with Curtiss flying boats. But Porte was keen to make his own mark and did so with the development of the Felixstowe range of seaplanes. The main responsibility of these aircraft was to detect enemy U-boats. Pictured is a Felixstowe F.2A, dazzle-painted to aid identification in combat.
One of the most heroic actions involving a seaplane during the Great War occurred when US naval aviator Charles Hammann, flying an Italian manufactured Macchi M.5, rescued fellow serviceman Lieutenant G. H. Ludlow from the ocean after his plane was disabled by enemy fire. For his bravery, Hammann was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration.
During the First World War, the Imperial German Navy deployed the Hansa-Brandenburg GW floatplane torpedo bomber in its efforts to sink Allied shipping. The Lohner E and later the Lohner L served as a reconnaissance flying boats, deployed to spot targets beforehand.
The period between the wars saw commercial flying boat services take off around the world. Imperial Airways, for example, operated across the British Empire with routes to South Africa, India, Australia, and the Far East.
Safety was a concern for many passengers, and, in an effort to alleviate their fears, in 1928 four Supermarine Southampton flying boats of the RAF Far East arrived in Melbourne, Australia. The long-haul jaunt was considered proof that flying boats had become a reliable means of long-distance transport.
One of the most iconic flying boats of the era was the Pan Am Boeing 314 Clipper. Its size and power meant the Clipper had the range to cross the Atlantic and Pacific to bring exotic destinations like the Far East within reach. Furthermore, the aircraft came to represent the romance of flight.
The largest, heaviest, and most powerful flying boat in the world at the time, however, was the Dornier Do X. With a wingspan of 157 feet (48 m) and length of 130 feet (40 m), the Do X, manufactured by the Dornier company of Germany, was powered by 12 engines and carried 169 passengers.
During the Second World War, flying boats were regarded as a valuable asset. They were utilized in various tasks, from anti-submarine patrol to air-sea rescue and gunfire spotting for battleships. The PBY Catalina was one of the most widely-used seaplanes of the conflict, serving with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other nations.
Developed and constructed by Short Brothers for the British Royal Air Force, the Short Sunderland was a flying boat flown extensively and effectively throughout the Second World War. Aircraft like the Sunderland and Catalina, plus the PBM Mariner and Grumman Goose, proved invaluable in recovering downed airmen and operating as scout aircraft over the vast distances of the Pacific Theater and Atlantic.
The world had to wait for the end of hostilities before the largest flying boat ever built made its debut, unveiled to awe and, frankly, disbelief in 1947. The Hughes H-4 Hercules, better known as the Spruce Goose, was a prototype designed and built by the Hughes Aircraft Company, founded by business magnate Howard Hughes. The oversized aircraft made only one brief flight, on November 2, 1947.
The post-war years witnessed a decline in the use of seaplanes, largely as a result of the increase in speed and range of land-based aircraft, and the diminishing competitiveness of flying boats in general. The Berlin Airlift of 1948–1949, however, served as a reminder of the aircraft's humanitarian applications. In an effort to beat the Soviet blockade of the city, flying boats were deployed to transport goods and supplies using the Elbe and Havel rivers as runways.
The US Navy continued to operate flying boats throughout the 1950s and '60s, in particular the robust and reliable Martin P5M Marlin, which was also an aircraft flown extensively by the US Coast Guard.
During the Cold War, the US Navy developed the Martin SeaMaster, an experimental strategic bomber flying boat. But only 12 were built, and by 1959 the aircraft had been grounded for good.
Another short-lived 1950s-era experiment was the design and development of the Convair R3Y Tradewind. A transcontinental seaplane, the R3Y saw limited service before the US Navy began converting the aircraft into four-point in-flight tankers—the first aircraft to successfully refuel four others simultaneously in flight.
Today, many seaplanes operate in a civil capacity. The Canadair CL-415 is designed specifically for aerial firefighting, a task it carries out more often in this era of climate change and global warming. It can perform various other roles, too, such as search and rescue and utility transport.
In remote areas such as the Alaskan and Canadian wilderness, these aircraft play a vital role in connecting isolated communities with each other. Floatplanes can deliver mail and medical supplies, or even serve as taxis.
And it's in these same remote regions that the seaplane sightseeing industry enjoys big business. Dozens of charter companies cater to tourists wishing to marvel at their destination from the air.
Trans Maldivian Airways (TMA) is the largest seaplane operator in the world, with 46 airplanes. The main hub for TMA is in Velana Airport and the water airport near Malé. Seaplanes help locals and tourists alike reduce travel time to the island resorts and atolls spread across the archipelagic state.
In destinations characterized by large volumes of water (Victoria on Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast, for example), it's not unusual to see a floatplane moored in a marina, such is the ubiquity of the aircraft in places like these.
Today, you can build your own seaplane! The Progressive Aerodyne SeaRey is a two-seat, single-engine, amphibious flying boat sold as a kit aircraft for amateur construction, as well as being a light-sport aircraft.
Sources: (NAA) (International Air Transport Association) (International Civil Aviation Organization)
See also: Who invented the plane? For many people in the world, it was not the Wright Brothers
The fascinating history behind the seaplane
How can a plane land on water?
LIFESTYLE Aviation
A little over 100 years ago, landing a plane on water was simply unthinkable. But very soon, designs were being drawn up that enabled a fixed-wing aircraft to do just that. The idea quickly took off, and the invention of the seaplane marked an important step forward in the history of aviation. And while its heyday was in the 1920s and '30s, the seaplane is still seen today in skies across the world. But how exactly did this type of aircraft evolve, and who are its earliest pioneers?
Click through and find out more about the seaplane.