The Boeing B-1 (company designation Model 6) was a small biplane flying boat designed by

William Boeing William Edward Boeing (; October 1, 1881 – September 28, 1956) was an American aviation pioneer who founded the Pacific Airplane Company in 1916, which a year later was renamed to The Boeing Company, now the largest exporter in the United S ...

shortly after World War I.

Design and development

The Model 6 was the first commercial design for

Boeing 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 p ...

(as opposed to military or experimental designs), hence the B-1 designation. Its layout was conventional for its day, with a

Hall-Scott Hall-Scott Motor Car Company was an American manufacturing company based in Berkeley, California. It was among the most significant builders of water-cooled aircraft engines before World War I. History 1910–21 The company was founded in 1910 ...

engine driving a pusher propeller mounted amongst the cabane struts. The pilot sat in an open cockpit at the bow, and up to two passengers could be carried in a second open cockpit behind the first. The design was reminiscent of the

Curtiss HS-2L The Curtiss HS was a single-engined patrol flying boat built for the United States Navy during World War I. Large numbers were built from 1917 to 1919, with the type being used to carry out anti-submarine patrols from bases in France from June 1 ...

that Boeing had been building under license during the war.

Operational history

Only a single aircraft was built, as Boeing had trouble selling it in a market flooded with war-surplus aircraft. In 1920, it was purchased by Edward Hubbard, who used it to carry air mail between

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

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 ...

and

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. The ...

. Air mail service began on 27 December 1919, and continued for eight years. The plane flew until 1930 before being preserved and put on display at Seattle's

Museum of History and Industry The Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) is a history museum in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest private heritage organization in Washington state, maintaining a collection of nearly four m ...

in 1954.

Specifications

References

* Bowers, Peter M. ''Boeing aircraft since 1916''. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1989. . * *

External links

Boeing history - B-1

{{Boeing model numbers 1910s United States civil utility aircraft Flying boats 006, Boeing Single-engined pusher aircraft Biplanes Aircraft first flown in 1919