The Aeromarine PG-1 was an American single-seat pursuit (fighter) and ground attack (PG)

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 ...

developed by the Engineering Division of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and manufactured by the Aeromarine Plane and Motor Co.

Development and design

The PG-1 was intended to fulfill both ground strafing and aerial defense roles, the contract for construction was won by Aeromarine in May 1921. Armed with a single 0.5 in (12.7 mm) machine gun as well as a 37 mm Baldwin cannon firing through the

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

hub; the

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...

had

armour Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...

. The wings were dissimilar, with a wide-chord upper wing with ailerons, and a closely spaced narrow-chord lower plane with dihedral that placed the tips close to the upper wing. The upper wing was mounted close to the top of the fuselage with a cut-away forward section to accommodate the cockpit, and attached to the lower plane ''via'' V-type struts. PG-1 - Ray Wagner Photo Collection (16387189799)

PG-1 - Ray Wagner Photo Collection (16387189799)

Power was to have been provided by the eight-cylinder, water-cooled Wright K-2

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

but the first two prototypes were fitted with

Packard 1A-1116 Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958. One of the "Thr ...

units due to delays in clearing the K-2 for flight testing. A third prototype was also built and testing was eventually carried out using both the K-2 and

Packard 1A-1237 Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958. One of the "Thr ...

McCook Field McCook Field was an airfield and aviation experimentation station in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It was operated by the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps and its successor the United States Army Air Service from 1917 to 1927. It was named f ...

. Prototype aircraft suffered disappointing performance, high levels of vibration and poor visibility. The aircraft had a tendency to spin when stalled. Development was abandoned in 1922.

Specifications

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * Green, W. & Swanborough, G. (1994). ''The Complete Book of Fighters''. London: Salamander Books. {{USAAS fighters Sesquiplanes Single-engined tractor aircraft Aeromarine PG-01 Aeromarine PG-01 PG-1 Aircraft first flown in 1922