The Boeing Model 2, also referred to as the Boeing Model C and its derivatives were

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two-place

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s, the first "all-Boeing" design and the company's first financial success.

Design and development

The

Boeing Airplane Company The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...

, previously known as Pacific Aero Products Co, built the Model C naval trainer as its first mass-produced airplane. Early design work was started by George Conrad Westervelt in late 1915, with the first wind tunnel tests being conducted at the

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's 4 ft wind tunnel in May 1916. Most of the design work during early-to-mid 1916 by James Foley, who had previously assisted George Conrad Westervelt in designing the Boeing Model 1. Westervelt, who had been reassigned to the East Coast in December 1915, consulted heavily on the design. Wong Tsu, an MIT graduate who was hired by Boeing in May 1916, also contributed to the design, specifically lending his expertise in the analysis of wind tunnel data. A total of 56 C-type trainers were built; 55 used twin pontoons. The Model C-1F had a single main pontoon and small auxiliary floats under each wing and was powered by a

Curtiss OX-5 The Curtiss OX-5 was an early V-8 American liquid-cooled aircraft engine built by Curtiss. It was the first American-designed aircraft engine to enter mass production, although it was considered obsolete when it did so in 1917.Smith, 1981, page ...

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Operational history

The success of the Model C led to Boeing's first military contract in April 1917 and prompted both its reincorporation as the Boeing Airplane Company and relocation from Lake Union, Washington to a former shipyard on the Duwamish River, also in Washington. The

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bought 51 of the Model C trainers, including the C-1F, and the

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bought two landplane versions with side-by-side seating, designated the EA. The final Model C was built for William Boeing and was called the C-700 (the last Navy plane had been Navy serial number 699). On March 3, 1919, Boeing and Eddie Hubbard flew the C-700 on the first international mail delivery, carrying 60 letters from

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, Canada, to

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Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Variants

* Model 2 – original design (one built) ** Model C-1F''Model C-1F with single pontoon''. aerofiles.com (© The Boeing Comp, "one" any

/ref> – Model 2 remanufactured with single pontoon * Model 3 – version with revised cabane struts (three built) * Model 4 – a.k.a. EA landplane version for US Army (two built) * Model 5 – revised Model 3 for US Navy (50 built) ** Model C-700 – Model 5 outfitted as mailplane

Operators

; *

United States Army Air Service The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial war ...

Specifications (Model 3)

References

* * ''Pedigree of Champions: Boeing Since 1916, Third Edition''. Seattle, WA: The Boeing Company, 1969.

External links

historylink.org: The Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History
{{Boeing model numbers Single-engined tractor aircraft 1910s United States military trainer aircraft Floatplanes 002, Boeing Biplanes Aircraft first flown in 1916