The Felixstowe F.1 was a British experimental

flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...

designed and developed by

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

John Cyril Porte Lieutenant Colonel John Cyril Porte, (26 February 1884 – 22 October 1919) was a British flying boat pioneer associated with the First World War Seaplane Experimental Station at Felixstowe. Early life and career Porte was born on 26 February ...

RN at the naval air station,

Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town in Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest container port in the United Kingdom. Felixstowe is approximately 116km (72 miles) northeast of London. His ...

based on the

Curtiss H-4 The Curtiss Model H was a family of classes of early long-range flying boats, the first two of which were developed directly on commission in the United States in response to the £10,000 prize challenge issued in 1913 by the London newspaper, ...

with a new hull. Its design led to a range of successful larger flying boats that was assistance in promoting Britain as a leader in this field of aviation.

Development

Before the war Porte worked with

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

aircraft designer

Glenn Curtiss Glenn Hammond Curtiss (May 21, 1878 – July 23, 1930) was an American aviation and motorcycling pioneer, and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle racer and builder before moving on to motorcycles. As early ...

on a trans-atlantic flying boat. Due to the start of the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he returned to England, eventually to command of the naval air station at

, Suffolk. Porte decided that the original Curtiss flying-boats that the Royal Navy acquired could be improved and a number of modifications to in-service flying-boats were made. The modifications had a mixed result so Porte using the experience gained, developed with his Chief Technical Officer John Douglas Rennie, a new single-step hull known as the Porte I. The Porte I hull used the wings and tail unit of an original H-4 (No.3580) powered by two

Hispano-Suiza 8 The Hispano-Suiza 8 was a water-cooled V8 SOHC aero engine introduced by Hispano-Suiza in 1914, and was the most commonly used liquid-cooled engine in the aircraft of the Entente Powers during the First World War. The original Hispano-Suiza ...

engines; the new flying boat was designated the Felixstowe F.1. During trials of the F.1 two further steps were added to the hull and a deeper V-shape which greatly improved the performance on takeoff and landing. Porte went on to design a similar hull, the Porte II for the larger

Curtiss H-12 The Curtiss Model H was a family of classes of early long-range flying boats, the first two of which were developed directly on commission in the United States in response to the £10,000 prize challenge issued in 1913 by the London newspaper, t ...

flying boat, which became the

Felixstowe F.2 The Felixstowe F.2 was a 1917 British flying boat class designed and developed by Lieutenant Commander John Cyril Porte RN at the naval air station, Felixstowe during the First World War adapting a larger version of his superior Felixstowe F. ...

Operators

; *

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

** RNAS Felixstowe *

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

Seaplane Experimental Station The Seaplane Experimental Station, formerly RNAS Felixstowe, was a British aircraft design unit during the early part of the 20th century. Creation During June 1912, surveys began for a suitable site for a base for Naval hydro-aeroplanes, with ...

- Flying school

Specifications

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Sons of Our Empire
Film of the Royal Naval Air Service at Felixstowe, including a Curtiss Model H-2 and prototype Felixstowe F.1 (No. 3580) fitted with

Anzani Anzani was an engine manufacturer founded by the Italian Alessandro Anzani (1877–1956), which produced proprietary engines for aircraft, cars, boats, and motorcycles in factories in Britain, France and Italy. Overview From his native Italy, An ...

engines, Porte and Commodore of

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

, George C. Cayley RN returning from a flight in a Felixstowe F.1, about August 1916.
"The Felixstowe Flying-Boats - part 1"
a 1955 ''Flight'' article

a 1955 ''Flight'' article

a 1956 ''Flight'' article on the Felixstowe flying boats

{{Seaplane Experimental Station aircraft 1910s British patrol aircraft Flying boats F.1 Biplanes Aircraft first flown in 1916 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft