The Sikorsky S-36 was an eight-seat amphibian

sesquiplane 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 ...

designed and built by the Sikorsky Manufacturing Company in the late 1920s. The aircraft was ordered by

Pan American Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...

, the start of a long association with Sikorsky flying boats.Best 2003, page 31

Development

The S-36 was a modified and larger version of the earlier S-34 and was designed as a commercial aircraft for six passengers or freight. It was an amphibian

with a boat hull

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

and retractable

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Mart ...

. It was powered by two

Wright Whirlwind J-5 The Wright R-790 Whirlwind was a series of nine-cylinder air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by Wright Aeronautical Corporation, with a total displacement of about and around . These engines were the earliest members of the Wright Whirl ...

engines and had a crew of two and room for six passengers on two facing bench seats. Only six aircraft were built.

Operational history

One aircraft named ''Dawn'' was sold to Mrs. Frances Grayson, a wealthy divorcee, for an attempt to be the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. As a passenger in ''Dawn'' and after two false starts, Grayson, with Brice Herbert Goldsborough (navigator),

Oskar Omdal Oskar Omdal (October 11, 1895 – December 23, 1927) was a lieutenant and pilot in the Royal Norwegian Navy. Biography He was born at Kristiansand in Vest-Agder, Norway. He attended the Technical School at Porsgrunn. He graduated from the ...

(pilot) and Fred Koehler (passenger) departed in the aircraft for the Atlantic attempt on 23 December 1927 but was not seen again. The weather was poor. The aircraft passed

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

at 8 am, headed for

Harbour Grace Harbour Grace is a town in Conception Bay on the Avalon Peninsula in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. With roots dating back to the 16th century, it is one of the oldest towns in North America. It is located about northwest of ...

, Newfoundland. The last message from the aircraft before it disappeared was received by a radio station on

Sable Island Sable Island (french: île de Sable, literally "island of sand") is a small Canadian island situated southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and about southeast of the closest point of mainland Nova Scotia in the North Atlantic Ocean. The island ...

off the coast of Canada, consisting of the words "something's wrong here" with the aircraft's callsign. This resulted in the first-ever air relief expedition, including two destroyers and the dirigible USS ''Los Angeles''. A message in a bottle was found on January 29, 1929; it read "1928, we are freezing. Gas leaked out. We are drifting off

Grand Banks The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a series of underwater plateaus south-east of the island of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. The Grand Banks are one of the world's richest fishing grounds, supporting Atlantic cod, sword ...

. Grayson." The aircraft and its occupants were never found.Goldsborough Families, Karin Martin, 2010, pp. 146–150 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 ...

bought one aircraft, designated the XPS-1, fitted with a gunner's position in the bow for evaluation as a patrol aircraft, although it was used as a transport. The fourth aircraft was delivered to

in December 1927.

Variants

;S-36 :Production aircraft, five built. ;S-36B :Evaluation aircraft with Wright J-5 engines for the United States Navy as the XPS-1, one built. ;XPS-1 :One S-36B for evaluation by the United States Navy

Operators

; *

Specifications (S-36 production version)

Sikorsky_S-36B_3-view_Aero_Digest_September_1927

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * A contemporary technical article on the S-36.

External links

{{USN patrol aircraft S-036 1920s United States airliners Flying boats Sesquiplanes Aircraft first flown in 1927 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft