what is it?
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 1918. It remained in use with the US Navy until 1928, and was also widely used as a civil passenger and utility aircraft.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 22.6 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 109 years ago, in 1917.
- Wingspan of 22.6 m: about 5 cars parked nose to tail.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1917
- introduced
- 1918
- retired
- 1931
- status
- retired
- number built
- 1,091
- role
- patrol flying boat
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- Curtiss
- engines
- 1× Liberty L-12
- crew
- 2
- length
- 11.9 m
- wingspan
- 22.6 m
- height
- 4.5 m
- max take-off weight
- 2,918 kg
- top speed
- 133 km/h
- range
- —
- ceiling
- 1,585 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q3007842, Wikipedia: Curtiss HS (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.