The Curtiss JN "Jenny" was a series 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 a ...

s built by the Curtiss Aeroplane Company of

Hammondsport, New York Hammondsport is a village at the south end of Keuka Lake, in Steuben County, one of the Finger Lakes of New York, United States. The Village of Hammondsport is in the Town of Urbana and is northeast of Bath. History Lazarus Hammond founded ...

, later the

Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company (1909 – 1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer originally founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss and Augustus Moore Herring in Hammondsport, New York. After significant commercial success in its first decade ...

. Although the Curtiss JN series was originally produced as a training aircraft for the US Army, the "Jenny" (the common nickname derived from "JN") continued after World War I as a civil aircraft, as it became the "backbone of American post war ivilaviation". Thousands of surplus Jennys were sold at bargain prices to private owners in the years after the war and became central to the

barnstorming Barnstorming was a form of entertainment in which stunt pilots performed tricks individually or in groups that were called flying circuses. Devised to "impress people with the skill of pilots and the sturdiness of planes," it became popular in ...

era that helped awaken the US to civil aviation through much of the 1920s.

Design and development

Curtiss combined the best features of the model J and model N

trainers Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, kicks, sport shoes, flats, running shoes, or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but which are now also widely used ...

, built for the

US 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

US 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 ...

, and began producing the JN or "Jenny" series of aircraft in 1915. Curtiss built only a limited number of the JN-1 and JN-2

s. The design was commissioned by

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 a ...

from Englishman Benjamin Douglas Thomas, formerly of the Sopwith Aviation Company. The JN-2 was an equal-span biplane with

aileron An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...

s controlled by a shoulder yoke in the aft

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

. It was deficient in performance, particularly climbing, because of excessive weight. The improved JN-3 incorporated unequal spans with ailerons only on the upper wings, controlled by a

wheel A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to be ...

. In addition, a foot bar was added to control the

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adve ...

.Donald 1997, pp. 279–280. Curtiss JN-3

The

1st Aero Squadron First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

of the Aviation Section, US Signal Corps received eight JN-2s at San Diego in July 1915. The squadron was transferred to

Fort Sill Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

, in August to work with the Field Artillery School, during which one JN-2 crashed, resulting in a fatality. The pilots of the squadron met with its commander, Capt. Benjamin Foulois, to advise that the JN-2 was unsafe because of low power, shoddy construction, lack of stability, and overly sensitive rudder. Foulois and his executive officer Capt.

Thomas D. Milling Thomas DeWitt Milling (July 31, 1887 – November 26, 1960) was a pioneer of military aviation and a brigadier general in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He was the first rated pilot in the history of the United States Air Force. He received his flig ...

disagreed, and flights continued until a second JN-2 crashed in early September, resulting in the grounding of the six remaining JN-2s until mid-October. When two new JN-3s were delivered, the grounded aircraft were then upgraded in accordance with the new design. In March 1916, these eight JN-3s were deployed to Mexico for aerial observation during the

Pancho Villa Expedition The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition, but originally referred to as the "Punitive Expedition, U.S. Army"—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the p ...

of 1916–1917.House 2003 p. 168. After the successful deployment of the JN-3, Curtiss produced a development, known as the JN-4, with orders from both the US Army and an order in December 1916 from the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

for a training aircraft to be based in Canada. The Canadian version, the JN-4 (Canadian), also known as the "

Canuck ''Canuck'' is a slang term for a Canadian. The origins of the word are uncertain. The term ''Kanuck'' is first recorded in 1835 as an Americanism, originally referring to Dutch Canadians (which included German Canadians) or French Canadians. By ...

", had some differences from the American version, including a lighter airframe, ailerons on both wings, a bigger and more rounded rudder, and differently shaped wings, stabilizer, and elevators.Molson and Taylor 1982, p. 219. As many as 12 JN-4 aircraft were fitted with an aftermarket Sikorsky wing by the then fledgling company in the late 1920s.

Operational history

The Curtiss JN-4 is possibly

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

's most famous

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

aircraft. It was widely used during World War I to train beginning pilots, with an estimated 95% of all trainees having flown a JN-4. The US version was called "Jenny", a derivation from its official designation. It was a twin-seat (student in front of instructor) dual-control biplane. Its

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most commo ...

propeller and maneuverability made it ideal for initial pilot training with a Curtiss OX-5

V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and u ...

giving a top speed of and a service

ceiling A ceiling is an overhead interior surface that covers the upper limits of a room. It is not generally considered a structural element, but a finished surface concealing the underside of the roof structure or the floor of a story above. Ceilings ...

of . The British used the JN-4 (Canadian), along with the Avro 504, for their primary World War I trainer using the

Canadian Aeroplanes Ltd. Canadian Aeroplanes Ltd. was an aircraft manufacturing company located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that built aircraft for the Royal Flying Corps Canada during the First World War. Formed on December 15, 1916, when the Imperial Munitions Board ...

indigenous variant. Many Royal Flying Corps pilots earned their wings on the JN-4, both in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

and later in winter facilities at Camp Taliaferro, Texas. JN-4 ambulance

Although ostensibly a training aircraft, the Jenny was extensively modified while in service to undertake additional roles. Due to its robust but easily adapted structure able to be modified with ski undercarriage, the Canadian Jenny was flown year-round, even in inclement weather. The removable turtle-deck behind the cockpits allowed for conversion to stretcher or additional supplies and equipment storage, with the modified JN-4s becoming the first aerial ambulances, carrying out this role both during wartime and in later years. Most of the 6,813 Jennys built were unarmed, although some had

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles ...

s and

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

racks for advanced training. With deployment limited to North American bases, none saw combat service in World War I. The Curtiss factory in Buffalo, New York, was the largest such facility in the world, but due to production demands, from November 1917 to January 1919, six different manufacturers were involved in production of the definitive JN-4D.Winchester 2004, p. 88. Production from spare or reconditioned parts continued sporadically until 1927, although most of the final orders were destined for the civil market in Canada and the United States.Winchester 2004, p. 89. Like the re-engined JN-4H version of the most-produced JN-4 subtype, the final production version of the aircraft was the JN-6, powered by a

Wright Aeronautical Wright Aeronautical (1919–1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Paterson, New Jersey. It was the successor corporation to Wright-Martin. It built aircraft and was a supplier of aircraft engines to other builders in the ...

license-built, 150-hp (112-kW)

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 ...

V-8, first ordered in 1918 for the US Navy. 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, m ...

version was built for the navy which was so modified, it was essentially a different airframe. This was designated the N-9. In US Army Air Service usage, the JN-4s and JN-6s were configured to the JNS ("S" for "standardized") model. The Jenny remained in service with the US Army until 1927. JN-4 and wingwalker

After World War I, thousands were sold on the civilian market, including one to

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

in May 1923, in which he then soloed. Surplus US Army aircraft were sold (some still in their unopened packing crates) for as little as $50, flooding the market. With private and commercial flying in North America unhampered by regulations concerning their use, pilots found the Jenny's stability and slow speed made it ideal for stunt flying and

aerobatic Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glide ...

displays in the barnstorming era between the world wars, with the nearly identical Standard J-1 aircraft often used alongside it. Some were still flying into the 1930s. JN-4 airframes were used to produce early Weaver Aircraft Company / Advance Aircraft Company /

Waco Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the s ...

aircraft, such as the Waco 6.

Notable firsts

Between 1917 and 1919, the JN-4 type accounted for several significant aviation firsts while in service with the US Army Signal Corps Aviation Section and the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through c ...

(USMC) including flying the first US Air Mail in May 1918. In a series of tests conducted at the US Army's

Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfo ...

in Hampton, Virginia, in July and August 1917, the world's first "plane-to-plane" and "ground-to-plane, and vice versa" communications by radiotelephony (as opposed to radiotelegraphy which had been developed earlier) were made to and from modified US Army JN-4s by

Western Electric Company The Western Electric Company was an American electrical engineering and manufacturing company officially founded in 1869. A wholly owned subsidiary of American Telephone & Telegraph for most of its lifespan, it served as the primary equipment ...

(

Bell Labs Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mul ...

) design engineers Lewis M. Clement and Raymond Heising, the developers of the experimental wind generator-powered airborne wireless voice transmitter and receiver equipment. In early 1919, a United States Marine Corps (USMC) JN-4 was also credited with what is believed to be the first successful dive bombing attack during the United States occupation of Haiti. USMC pilot Lt Lawson H. Sanderson mounted a carbine barrel in front of the windshield of his JN-4 (previously, an unarmed trainer that had a machine gun mounted in the rear cockpit) as an improvised bomb sight that was lined up with the long axis of his aircraft, loaded a bomb in a canvas mail bag that was attached to the JN-4's belly, and launched a single-handed raid at treetop level, in support of a USMC unit that had been trapped by Haitian Cacos rebels. Although the JN-4 almost disintegrated in the pullout, the attack was effective and led to Sanderson in 1920 developing further dive-bombing techniques to provide Marine pilots with close aerial support to infantry comrades.

Variants

Although the first series of JN-4s were virtually identical to the JN-3, the JN-4 series was based on production orders from 1915 to 1919. *JN-1 — possibly unofficial designation of the second Model J, which served as the prototype for the Model JN. **JN-1W — Two aircraft that appear in US Navy records, which may have been confused with the Model S-4 and S-5. *JN-2 — first production version, 8 built *JN-3 — variant with new unequal-span wings and improved flight controls, 97 built for the RNAS (some sources indicate 91, but serial numbers total 97; 12 built in Canada) plus 2 for the US Army. The six surviving JN-2s were modified to this standard. *JN-4A — production version of the JN-4, 781 built *JN-4B — This version was powered by an OX-2 piston engine; 76 were built for the US Army, and nine for the US Navy. *JN-4C — experimental version, only two were built *JN-4 (Canadian) Canuck — Canadian-built version, 1,260 built by

for the RFC in Canada/RAF in Canada and USAAC: Independently derived from the JN-3, it had a lighter airframe, ailerons on both wings, a bigger and more rounded rudder, and differently shaped wings, stabilizer, and elevators. Its use by the USAAC was curtailed as the lighter structure was claimed to cause more accidents than the US-built aircraft, although no air fatalities were attributed to the structural integrity of the type. *JN-4D — improved version, adopting the control stick from the JN-4 (Canadian) 2,812 built **JN-4D-2 — One prototype only, the engine mount was revised to eliminate the down thrust position. *JN-4H — two-seat advanced trainer biplane with ailerons on both wings, 929 built for the US Army, notable for introducing the use of the

license-built

V-8 engine for greater power and reliability **JN-4HT — two-seat, dual-control trainer version **JN-4HB — bombing trainer version **JN-4HG — gunnery trainer version **JN-4HM — communications conversion of JN-4HT, powered by Wright-Hisso E 150-hp (112-kW), six converted, used to fly the first US Air Mail (May–August, 1918) *JN-5H — advanced trainer biplane, only one built *JN-6 — improved version of JN-5 trainer biplane series, notably used four ailerons, 1,035 built for the US Army and five for the US Navy *JN-6H — improved version of the JN-6 **JN-6BH — bomber trainer version **JN-6HG-1 — two-seat, dual-control trainer version, 560 built from JN-6 production, 34 for US Navy **JN-6HG-2 — single-control gunnery trainer. 90 delivered **JN-6HO — single-control observer trainer version, 106 deliveredAuliard 2009, p. 47. **JN-6HP — single-control pursuit fighter trainer version *JNS ("standardized") — During the postwar years of the early 1920s, between 200 and 300 US Army aircraft were upgraded to a common standard of equipment and modernized.

"Specials"

*Allison Monoplane — conversion of JN-4 (Can) G-CAJL by the Allison Company, Kansas, that mounted a parasol wing in place of the biplane configuration, only one conversion made *Curtiss Stinson Special (1918) — a custom-built, single-seat aircraft for

Katherine Stinson Katherine Stinson (February 14, 1891 – July 8, 1977) was an aviation pioneer who in 1912 became the fourth woman in the United States to earn the FAI pilot certificate. She set flying records for aerobatic maneuvers, distance, and endurance. ...

, constructed from the fuselage of a Curtiss Model S plus new biplane wings and JN-4 tail surfaces, powered by a 100-hp (74.5-kW) OXX-6 *Ericson Special Three — Some reconditioned aircraft built by Canadian Aeroplanes Ltd. were fitted with a third cockpit. *Hennessey Monoplane — a 1926 monoplane conversion by James R. Hennessey, three-place transport, 90-hp Curtiss OX-5, span: 36 ft (11 m) length: 25 ft (7.6 m) *Severski 1926 biplane — a JN-4 modified with a roller/ski undercarriage, one experimental aircraft converted by the Seversky company"Severski."
''Aerofiles.'' Retrieved: 10 September 2011. *Sperry Monoplane — conversion offered by the Sperry Company that mounted a parasol wing in place of the biplane configuration *Twin JN — An enlarged twin-engined version of the JN-4, they were powered by two OXX-2 V-8 engines, built in 1916 as the JN-5 for an observation role; among the many other modifications was an enlarged wingspan and new rudder adapted from the Curtiss Model R-4. Two of the series saw action with the US Army on the Mexican border in 1916–1917. A total of eight Twin JNs were built, with two in US Navy service.

Operators

Military operators

; *

Argentine Naval Aviation ) Gulf War , anniversaries = , decorations = , battle_honours = , commander1 = President , commander1_label = Commander-in-Chief , commander2 ...

; * Australian Flying Corps ** No. 3 Squadron AFC - Used for training. ** Central Flying School AFC at

Point Cook, Victoria Point Cook is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Wyndham local government area. Point Cook recorded a population of 66,781 at the 2021 census. Point ...

; *

Brazilian Naval Aviation Brazilian Naval Aviation ( pt, Aviação Naval Brasileira; AvN) is the air arm of the Brazilian Navy operating from ships and from shore installations. History The Brazilian Naval Aviation branch was organized in August 1916, after creation of ...

(JN-4D variant) ; *

Royal Flying Corps Canada The Royal Flying Corps Canada (RFC Canada) was a training organization of the British Royal Flying Corps located in Canada during the First World War. It began operating in 1917. Background As the war progressed, Great Britain found that i ...

(primarily JN-4 (Can) variant) *

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

; * Cuban Air Force ; *Nicaraguan National Guard (1920) ; *

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

No. 24 Squadron RFC No. 24 Squadron (also known as No. XXIV Squadron) of the Royal Air Force is the Air Mobility Operational Conversion Unit (AMOCU). Based at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, 24 Squadron is responsible for aircrew training on C-130J Hercules, A400 ...

** No. 25 Squadron RFC *

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 ...

; * United States Army Signal Corps Aviation Section (1915) * United States Army Signal Corps Aeronautical Division (1915–1918) *

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 ...

(1918 et seq.) *

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 ...

; *

National Revolutionary Army The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; ), sometimes shortened to Revolutionary Army () before 1928, and as National Army () after 1928, was the military arm of the Kuomintang (KMT, or the Chinese Nationalist Party) from 1925 until 1947 in China ...

in the

Northern Expedition The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT), also known as the "Chinese Nationalist Party", against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The ...

Civil operators

; *Elliot Air Service,

Red Lake, Ontario Red Lake is a municipality with town status in the Canadian province of Ontario, located northwest of Thunder Bay and less than from the Manitoba border. The municipality consists of six small communities—Balmertown, Cochenour, Madsen, McKe ...

Molson 1974, p. 4.

Surviving aircraft

*396 – JN-4D on static display at the

San Diego Air and Space Museum San Diego Air & Space Museum (SDASM, formerly the San Diego Aerospace Museum) is an aviation and space exploration museum in San Diego, California, United States. The museum is located in Balboa Park and is housed in the former Ford Building, ...

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

. *1282 – JN-4D airworthy at the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum in Hood River, Oregon. *2805 – JN-4D on static display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County, Ohio, Greene County. The 2020 United S ...

. It was obtained from Robert Pfiel of

Taylor, Texas Taylor is a city in Williamson County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,575 at the 2000 census; it was 15,191 at the 2010 census; it was 16,267 at the 2020 census. History In 1876, the Texas Land Company auctioned lots in anticipati ...

in 1956. The aircraft is displayed in the Museum's Early Years gallery. *3793 – JN-4D on static display at the Alberta Aviation Museum in

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anch ...

. *3805 – JN-4D on static display in Terminal B at San Antonio International Airport in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

. It is on loan from the

Witte Museum The Witte Museum was established in 1926 and is located in Brackenridge Park in San Antonio, Texas. It is dedicated to telling the stories of Texas, from prehistory to the present. The permanent collection features historic artifacts and photogra ...

. *5368 – JN-4D on static display at the Museum of Science and Industry in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. It is displayed upside down next to a wraparound balcony, and details of the cockpit can readily be seen. This airframe was built in 1917. It was cleaned and reskinned by Century Aviation in 2006. *6200 – JN-4D being restored for flight by Ranger Airfield Foundation in Ranger, Texas. *8644 – Airworthy at the

Sonoma Valley Airport Sonoma Valley Airport is a public-use airstrip founded in 1946 by Wally Reichelt in Sonoma, California, United States. Its first California-certificated runway opened in August 1959. Located south of central district of Sonoma (4.76 mi, ...

in Sonoma, California. *10875 – JN-4C owned by John Shue in

York, Pennsylvania York (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Yarrick''), known as the White Rose City (after the symbol of the House of York), is the county seat of York County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the south-central region of the state. The populatio ...

. *MSN 65 – JN-4D on static display at the

Denver International Airport Denver International Airport , locally known as DIA, is an international airport in the Western United States, primarily serving metropolitan Denver, Colorado, as well as the greater Front Range Urban Corridor. At , it is the largest airport i ...

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. *MSN 450 – JN-4D airworthy at

Fagen Fighters WWII Museum The Fagen Fighters WWII Museum is an aviation museum located in Granite Falls, Minnesota. The museum is made up of three display hangars, a restoration hangar, a reproduction Quonset hut, and a reproduction control tower. History The origins of ...

in Granite Falls, Minnesota. It was previously on display at the Virginia Aviation Museum in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, on loan from Ken Hyde of Warrenton, Virginia. This airframe was built in 1918. *MSN 490 – JN-4 on static display at the National Naval Aviation Museum in

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal c ...

. *MSN 3712 – JN-4D airworthy at the

Flying Heritage Collection The Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the display and preservation of rare military aircraft, tanks and other military equipment. The plan is for the museum to reopen in 2023. On rotation in t ...

Everett, Washington Everett is the county seat and largest city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett is the seventh-largest city in the ...

. This airframe was built in May 1918, and at one time served at

March Field March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Mar ...

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

. *MSN 4072 – JN-4D on display at the

Frontiers of Flight Museum Frontiers may refer to: * Frontier, areas near or beyond a boundary Arts and entertainment Music * ''Frontiers'' (Journey album), 1983 * ''Frontiers'' (Jermaine Jackson album), 1978 * ''Frontiers'' (Jesse Cook album), 2007 * ''Frontiers'' (P ...

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

. *MSN 4983 – JN-4D on static display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the

National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the N ...

Chantilly, Virginia Chantilly is a census-designated place (CDP) in western Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairfax County, Virginia. The population was 24,301 as of the 2020 census. Chantilly is named after an early-19th-century mansion and farm, which in turn took the ...

. *MSN 8047 – JN-4D airworthy at the

Golden Age Air Museum Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...

in Bethel, Pennsylvania. *USMC A4160 – On static display at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Virginia. *USASC 34094 – JN-4D airworthy at the

Owls Head Transportation Museum Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers ...

Owls Head, Maine Owls Head is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,504 at the 2020 census. A resort and fishing area, the community is home to the Knox County Regional Airport. It includes the village of Ash Point. History When S ...

. This airframe was built in 1917 by the St. Louis Airplane Company. *USASC 34135 – JN-4D airworthy at the Military Aviation Museum in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

. *USASC 38428 – JN-4D on static display at

The Henry Ford The Henry Ford (also known as the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village, and as the Edison Institute) is a history museum complex in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan, United States. The museum collection contain ...

Dearborn, Michigan Dearborn is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 109,976. Dearborn is the seventh most-populated city in Michigan and is home to the largest Muslim population in the United States per ...

. *USASC 39158 – JN-4(Can) on static display at the

Canada Aviation and Space Museum The Canada Aviation and Space Museum (french: link=no, Musée de l'Aviation et de l'Espace du Canada) (formerly the Canada Aviation Museum and National Aeronautical Collection) is Canada's national aviation history museum. The museum is locate ...

in Ottawa, Ontario. It is painted with the registration number C227. The airframe was acquired in 1962 and restoration was completed in May 1964. *Replica – JN-4(Can) airworthy at the Eagle's Mere Air Museum in Eagles Mere, Pennsylvania. It was formerly owned by Skeeter Carlson of

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the ...

, and is painted as C1122. *Replica – On display at the Combat Air Museum in

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central U ...

. *Reproduction – JN-4D on display at the Museum of Flight in

Seattle, Washington 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 region ...

. The airframe was built up from parts. *C1347 – JN-4(Can) on display at the Royal Alberta Museum in

, on loan from the

Reynolds-Alberta Museum The Reynolds-Alberta Museum is an agricultural, industrial, and transportation museum in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada. The museum is situated on an property containing the main museum building, an aviation display hangar, and its storage facility. ...

in Wetaskiwin, Alberta. *Unknown ID – JN-4(Can) airworthy at the Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum in Maryland Heights, Missouri. *C308 – JN-4(Can) airworthy at the Pioneer Flight Museum in

Kingsbury, Texas Kingsbury is a city in eastern Guadalupe County, Texas, United States. Kingsbury was a Census-designated place in 2010, when the census reported a population of 782. It is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area. The election to ...

. *Unknown ID – JN-4D on display at the Wichita Falls Municipal Airport in

Wichita Falls, Texas Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. Accord ...

. Its last flight was to the airport to be put on display. *Unknown ID – JN-4D on static display in partially unskinned condition at EAA AirVenture Museum in

Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat. The city had a population of 66,816 in 2020, making it the ninth-largest city in Wisconsin. It is also adjacent to the Town of Oshkosh. History Oshkosh was ...

. *Unknown ID – Airworthy with Friends of Jenny in Bowling Green, Kentucky. *Unknown ID – JN-4 on static display at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in

Garden City, New York Garden City is a village located on Long Island in Nassau County New York. It is the Greater Garden City area's anchor community. The population was 23,272 at the 2020 census. The Incorporated Village of Garden City is primarily located within ...

. This airframe is the aircraft owned by Charles Lindbergh in which he barnstormed long before his transatlantic flight. Lindbergh purchased this aircraft in Americus, Georgia, for $500 in May 1923, and sold it to his flying student in Iowa the following October. It was restored by the late George Dade in the 1970s, and is on loan from the Long Island Early Fliers Club. *Unknown ID – JN-4 on static display in unskinned condition at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City, New York. *Unknown ID – JN-4D on display at the Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida. *Unknown ID – JN-4D on static display as SC5002/43 at the Hill Aerospace Museum in

Roy, Utah Roy is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States, located on the west side of Interstate 15. The population estimate in 2019 was 39,613, an increase of 5.8% from 36,884 at the 2010 Census. It is part of the Ogden− Clearfield, Utah Metrop ...

. Restored during the 1970s by Jim Nissen, and flown with c/r N5001. *Unknown ID – JN-4D on static display in unskinned condition at the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California. *Unknown ID – JN-4D on display at the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California. *Unknown ID – JN-4D on static display at the

Glenn H. Curtiss Museum The Glenn H. Curtiss Museum is a transportation museum in Hammondsport, New York with a focus on the early aviator Glenn H. Curtiss. The 60,000 square foot facility has a collection of aircraft, vintage motorcycles, automobiles, and aircraft eng ...

. *Unknown ID – JN-4H airworthy at the

Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome The Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome is a living museum in Rhinebeck, New York. It owns many examples of airworthy aircraft of the Pioneer Era, World War I and the Golden Age of Aviation between the World Wars, and multiple examples of roadworthy antiqu ...

Red Hook, New York Red Hook is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 9,953 at the time of the 2020 census, down from 11,319 in 2010. The name is supposedly derived from the red foliage on trees on a small strip of land on the Huds ...

. It is painted as a US Navy Model 1E, BuNo A6226, and is powered by a

engine.

Specifications (JN-4D)

In popular culture

The "Inverted Jenny" stamp

The " Inverted Jenny" (C-3a) is a 24-cent 1918 US Air Mail

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...

printing error in which the blue central vignette of US Army Curtiss JN-4HM #38262, the nation's first mailplane, appeared as "inverted" on a single sheet of 100 stamps owing to an inadvertent error made by the operator of a hand-rolled spider press by printing the blue vignette impressions upside down after the red frames had previously been printed on the sheet. As the Jenny vignette was only inverted on one sheet, this stamp represents the rarest and most valuable known USPOD printing error of all time. A single example (sheet position 57) sold at auction in 2007 for $977,500.00. The stamp was reissued for a limited time as a $2 stamp in October 2013.

Notable appearances in media

In 1921,

Lee De Forest Lee de Forest (August 26, 1873 – June 30, 1961) was an American inventor and a fundamentally important early pioneer in electronics. He invented the first electronic device for controlling current flow; the three-element " Audion" triode v ...

made a

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

''Flying Jenny Airplane'' in his

Phonofilm Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system developed by inventors Lee de Forest and Theodore Case in the early 1920s. Introduction In 1919 and 1920, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patents on a sound-on-film proce ...

sound-on-film Sound-on-film is a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying a picture is recorded on photographic film, usually, but not always, the same strip of film carrying the picture. Sound-on-film processes can either record an analog ...

process. The film depicted a JN-4 flying, and recorded the sound of the Jenny, as well. The short documentary was the first production of the De Forest Phonofilm company. Curtiss Jenny plane in Wichita Falls, TX IMG 6857

Curtiss Jenny plane in Wichita Falls, TX IMG 6857

Among many later films depicting the barnstorming era when the Jennys "ruled supreme" and played a feature role, was '' The Spirit of St. Louis'' (1957) and '' The Great Waldo Pepper'' (1974). In ''

The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell ''The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell'' is a 1955 American CinemaScope war film directed by Otto Preminger, and starring Gary Cooper and co-starring Charles Bickford, Ralph Bellamy, Rod Steiger, and Elizabeth Montgomery in her film debut. The film ...

'' (1955), authentic OX-5 Jennys were showcased as United States Army Air Service training aircraft. Broadcast on April 15, 1987, by PBS, the ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widel ...

'' special entitled "Treasures from the Past" featured the restoration and first flight by Ken Hyde of a JN-4D that would go on to win the "Lindy Award" at the

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (formerly the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In), or just Oshkosh, is an annual air show and gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at Wittman Regional Airport and adjacent Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, ...

'87.Chase, Gene. "From Jets to Jennies: Ken Hyde's Grand Champion Curtiss JN4D." ''Sport Aviation,''Volume 36, No. 11, November 1987, p. 52.

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Angelucci, Enzo. ''Great Aeroplanes of the World''. London: Hamlyn, 1973. . * Auliard, Gilles. "Maiden of the Skies." ''Air Classics'', Volume 45, No. 4, April 2009. * Bowers, Peter M. "Jenny's Younger Sister." ''Air Progress,'' Volume 18, No. 2, February/March 1966. * Chajkowsky, William E. ''Royal Flying Corps: Borden to Texas to Beamsville.'' Eden Prairie, Ontario, Canada: Boston Mills Press, 1979. . * Donald, David, ed. ''The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft''. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1997. . * * Harwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. "A Viewer's Guide to Aviation Movies". ''The Making of the Great Aviation Films,'' General Aviation Series, Volume 2, 1989. * House, Kirk W. ''Hell-Rider to King of the Air.'' Warrendale, Pennsylvania: SAE International, 2003. . * Hurd, William W. and John G. Jernigan. ''Aeromedical Evacuation: Management of Acute and Stabilized Patients.'' New York: Springer Publishing, 2002. . * Jones, A.D. ''Aerial Mail Service: A Chronology of the Early United States Government Air Mail, March–December, 1918''. Mineola, New York: The American Air Mail Society, 1993. . * Larson, Lt. Col. George A., USAF (Ret.). "Hunting Pancho: The 1st Aero Squadron's Air Operations in support of the Army's 1916 punitive expedition." ''Air Classics,'' Volume 40, no. 6, June 2004. * Lindbergh, Charles A. ''"WE"'' New York & London: G.P. Putnam's Sons (The Knickerbocker Press), 1927. * Molson, Ken M. "The Canadian JN-4." Canadian Aeronautics and Space Journal, Volume 10, No. 3, March 1964. * Molson, K.M. ''Pioneering in Canadian Air Transport''. Winnipeg: James Richardson & Sons, Ltd., 1974. . * Molson, Ken M. and Harold A. Taylor. ''Canadian Aircraft Since 1909''. Stittsville, Ontario: Canada's Wings, Inc., 1982. . * Nowarra, Heinz J. ''Gezielter Sturz. Die Geschichte der Sturzkampfbomber aus aller Welt'' (in German). Stuttgart: Motorbuch Verlag, 1982. . * Roseberry, C.R. ''Glenn Curtiss: Pioneer of Flight, A Biography.'' Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, 1972. . * ''United States Air Force Museum Guidebook''. Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio: Air Force Museum Foundation, 1975. * Winchester, Jim, ed. "Curtiss JN-4 'Jenny'." ''Biplanes, Triplanes and Seaplanes'' (Aviation Factfile). London: Grange Books plc, 2004. .

External links

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's page on its JN-4D

Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome's Curtiss JN-4H Page

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060526132901/http://historynet.com/ahi/blaeropursuitvilla/index2.html Account of the 1st Aero Squadron in the pursuit of Pancho Villa
1908-1921 USAAS Serial Numbers

"Resurrection of a Jenny" by Chet Peek - Book covering the history of the Curtiss Jenny

Engine run-up and flight video of restored Texas-based OX-5 powered JN-4C ''Canuck'' Jenny
{{Authority control Single-engined tractor aircraft 1910s United States military trainer aircraft

JN-4 The Curtiss JN "Jenny" was a series of biplanes built by the Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, New York, later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. Although the Curtiss JN series was originally produced as a training aircraft for th ...

Military aircraft of World War I Biplanes Aircraft first flown in 1915