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Aeromarine Airways Curtiss F5L Flying Boat
by Jean Bellis
Aeromarine Airways operated a Detroit-Cleveland service during summers in 1922 and 1923 using a Curtiss F-5L Flying Boat named "Buckeye." During the winter seasons the flying boat was transferred to Florida where it operated on the company's U.S. Cuba route.
On November 1, 1920, Aeromarine West Indies Airways began the first scheduled international passenger and air mail service in the United States, which was operated daily between Key West and Havana on a 60 minute flight schedule versus over eight hours by boat. The aircraft used were converted U.S. Navy F5L flying boats (Santa Maria and Pinta). They had been modified for civilian usage and renamed Model 75s by the Aeromarine Plane and Motor Company of Keyport, New Jersey. They featured luxurious accommodations for 11 passengers in 2 compartments, and were manned by three crewmen - a pilot and mechanic/copilot in an open cockpit above the enclosed cabin, and a bowman. Powered by two 420 h.p. Liberty engines, the 75s had a top speed of 85 mph and range of 340 miles. Fully loaded, they could also carry about 300 pounds of freight. The Aeromarine flying boats were advertised to the public as being the height of safety, because they carried their landing field with them and were operated by skilled ex-Navy pilots.
In the spring of 1921, Aeromarine Airways (company having been renamed after a management reorganization) moved north, and began to offer regular service during the summer months between New York City, Atlantic City, Southampton and additional destinations on Long Island, Newport, Lake George, and other regional resort destinations. Next winter, it returned to Florida - expanding its service to Miami, Palm Beach, Bimini, and Nassau as well as Havana and Key West, and became widely known as the "Highball Express" for taking "dry" wealthy Americans to the "wet" islands of the Caribbean during these Prohibition years. This south-in-winter and north-in-summer operation continued until late 1923, with a successful Cleveland to Detroit route added to the northern operations in July of 1922.
At its peak, Aeromarine Airways operated eight of the Model 75s and at least twelve four to six passenger flying boats, known as Model 85s. (See fleet list.) The company was headquartered in the Times Building in Times Square, New York City, and had its city operating base at the Columbia Yacht Basin on the Hudson River. It received generous private funding (some $500,000) from its Chairman Inglis Moore Uppercu, who was the exclusive distributor of Cadillac automobiles in the New York City area, and enjoyed strong executive leadership under the guidance of Charles Fraser Redden.
Souvenir postcard, c.1922
Before ceasing operations early in 1924, Aeromarine had carried over 30,000 passengers, flown well over a million passenger miles, and hauled close to 100,000 pounds of freight, while only suffering one serious fatal accident (loss of the Columbus in January of 1923 between Key West and Havana). In just over three years of operations, Aeromarine instituted many "airline procedures": pilot training; maintenance programs; passenger services; and seasonal rotation of equipment. Aeromarine also enjoyed many firsts: first U.S. international air mail service (Key West to Havana, November 1920); first scheduled U.S. international passenger service (Key West to Havana, November 1920); first total service U.S. airline (passenger, mail, express cargo); first in-flight movie (Chicago, August 1921); first airline baggage label (1921); first U.S. airline ticket office (Cleveland, July 1922). Nevertheless, it was too early for a scheduled airline to be financially successful, especially without regular Government subsidies for such a young industry.
The modern airline transportation system with its worldwide connections, speed, and comfort is a direct successor of the pioneering efforts of Aeromarine Airways, especially the inaugural flight of the Santa Maria and the Pinta on November 1, 1920, from Key West to Havana.
Curtiss F-5L Flying Boat
Curtiss F-5L Flying Boat
Eight Curtiss F-5Ls were converted for civilian use by the Aeromarine Plane and Motor Company in 1919. Known as the Aeromarine 75, the converted aircraft were capable of carrying ten passengers, and were operated by Aeromarine Airways and Aeromarine West Indies Airways flying from Key West to Havana (carrying the first-ever U.S. Post Office foreign air mail); New York to Atlantic City; and Cleveland to Detroit.The F-5L was designed by the Curtiss Company under a contract issued by the Navy in 1918. The aircraft was actually a derivative of the earlier Curtiss H-12 and H-16s that had been sold to England in 1915–1916. This design was modified in England using the wings and tail surfaces but with a new hull design that could operate better in the rough North Sea environment. These modified boats were called F-2, -3 and -5, the designations identifying its origins as the Royal Naval Air Station at Felixstowe. Although Curtiss was producing later versions of the H-16, roughly equivalent to the F-3, the Navy decided to adapt the F-5 to American standards and use the new Liberty engines. The F-5Ls were designed to meet a Navy requirement for a long-range antisubmarine plane that was heavily armed with machine guns and bombs.
A total of 227 F-5 aircraft were accepted by the Navy: 60 from Curtiss, 30 from Canadian Aeroplanes and 137 from the Naval Aircraft Factory. The first F-5L was received from Canadian Aeroplanes, Ltd. on 30 July 1918. The F-5Ls remained in the inventory until January 1931.
The designation F-5L has long been a subject of speculation. There is general agreement that the F stood for Felixstowe and the 5 was the model number, but the L is a different matter. The U.S. Navy’s General Board meeting of 18 December 1919 records Captain N. E. Irwin explaining that the L indicated manufactured at League Island, the site of the Naval Aircraft Factory. Others claim the L stood for the Liberty engine that was placed in the American version of the aircraft.
2002 Wings Publishing
