skip to content
stan runge

#0796

Curtiss SOC Seagull

🇺🇸 United States ·first flew 1934· scout

🎖️ military piston retired
6 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
  1. 1. Curtiss SOC-3A Seagull of VGS-1 landing aboard USS Long Island (AVG-1), 20 April 1942 (80-G-14256): Wikimedia Commons· Public domain
  2. 2. SOC-1 Seagull in Antarctic waters in 1947: U.S. Navy· Public domain
  3. 3. SOC-1 Seagull in flight over Hawaii: U.S. Navy· Public domain
  4. 4. Curtiss SOC-3A Seagull landing aboard USS Long Island (AVG-1) on 17 June 1942 (80-G-14257): Wikimedia Commons· Public domain
  5. 5. Curtiss SOC-3A Seagull of VGS-1 is launched from USS Long Island (AVG-1) on 21 May 1942 (80-G-14549): Wikimedia Commons· Public domain
  6. 6. SOC-1 Seagull from USS Detroit (CL-8) c1936: U.S. Navy· Public domain
Read about it on Wikipedia ↗
Curtiss SOC Seagull, photo 1 of 6
1/6 Wikimedia Commons· Public domain

what is it?

The Curtiss SOC Seagull was an American single-engined scout observation seaplane, designed by Alexander Solla of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation for the United States Navy. The aircraft served on battleships and cruisers in a seaplane configuration, being launched by catapult and recovered from a sea landing. The wings folded back against the fuselage for storage aboard ship.

How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 11 m wingspan

base stats

  • speed 265 km/htop speed
  • size 2,466 kgmax take-off weight
  • built 322made in total

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 92 years ago, in 1934.
  • Top speed is 2.0× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
  • Wingspan of 11 m: about 2 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
1934
introduced
1935
retired
1949
status
retired
number built
322
role
scout
origin
🇺🇸 United States
makers
Curtiss-Wright, Curtiss, Naval Aircraft Factory
engines
1× Pratt & Whitney R-1340-18
length
9.6 m
wingspan
11 m
height
4.5 m
max take-off weight
2,466 kg
top speed
265 km/h
cruise speed
214 km/h
range
—
ceiling
4,542 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

Sources: Wikidata Q2315248, Wikipedia: Curtiss SOC Seagull (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.

stan runge ef9524a source