The Naval Aircraft Factory N-1 or Davis Gun Carrier was a 1918
maritime patrol aircraft
A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over water in maritime patrol roles ...
built by the
Naval Aircraft Factory
The Naval Aircraft Factory (NAF) was established by the United States Navy in 1918 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was created to help solve aircraft supply issues which faced the Navy Department upon the entry of the U.S. into World War I. ...
(NAF), the in-house aircraft production arm of the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
. A
floatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...
of
biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
configuration with a single
Liberty L-12
The Liberty L-12 is an American water-cooled 45° V-12 aircraft engine displacing and making designed for a high power-to-weight ratio and ease of mass production. It saw wide use in aero applications, and, once marinized Marinisation (also m ...
engine driving a
pusher propeller
In an aircraft with a pusher configuration (as opposed to a tractor configuration), the propeller(s) are mounted behind their respective engine(s). Since a pusher propeller is mounted behind the engine, the drive shaft is in compression in nor ...
, it was the first aircraft to be both designed and built by the NAF, and was designed to carry the
Davis gun
The Davis gun was the first true recoilless gun developed and taken into service. It was developed by Commander Cleland Davis of the United States Navy in 1910, just prior to World War I.
Development
Davis' design connected two guns back to bac ...
, the first
recoilless gun
A recoilless rifle, recoilless launcher or recoilless gun, sometimes abbreviated "RR" or "RCL" (for ReCoilLess) is a type of lightweight artillery system or man-portable launcher that is designed to eject some form of countermass such as propel ...
. The first prototype crashed during its maiden flight due to poorly designed
floats but was rebuilt. However, the aircraft's performance did not meet expectations, and navy leaders canceled the program after 2 of the 4 prototypes were subsequently damaged in serious crashes.
Specifications
References
Bibliography
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External links
1910s United States patrol aircraft
Cancelled military aircraft projects of the United States
Naval Aircraft Factory aircraft
Single-engined pusher aircraft
Floatplanes
Biplanes
Aircraft first flown in 1918
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