Curtiss XF12C-1

Specifications no. 113, issued by the navy in the beginning of the year 1932, address a two-digit on-board fighter - categories, with which the navy so far, too much success not. According to these specifications arose the types of the Douglas XFD-1 and Vought XF3U-1, in addition to these dvouplošníků but the navy at the same time ordered with the company Curtiss-Wright construction parasolu XF12C-1. This machine, ordered 20. June, 1932, to a large extent was based on the observation type O-40 Raven, whose test series was just submitted to the army air force. The wing was up on a spacer almost the same, with flaps Handley-Page after the entire leading edge and hinged flaps on the trailing edge, and for the first time in the history of the navy, because the margin is too large for the cramped spaces of aircraft carriers, it was possible to the outer panels of the wings manually folded backward, even with the main struts. Hull, still bearing the form of a O-40, contained two fully covered cabin, and a new landing gear, retractable landing into the hull and basically identical to the chassis used on the BF2C-1. Construction was all-metal, coated sheet metal, the canvas was only used on the control surfaces. Bulging "belly", hiding the clouded chassis, in combination with dvouhvězdicovým the engine of the R-1510 of small diameter made the plane quite strange countenance.

XF12C-1, the factory designation of Model 73, first flew in July 1933. The performances were quite satisfactory, the machine was fast, landing speed was thanks to the klapkám only 103 km/h, climb rate was poor and also wasn't exactly maneuverable. Unreliable engine, the R-1510-92 was in the fall could be mistaken for the substantially more powerful, but still new and untested 578kW engine R-1670, which was also soon replaced. In December 1933, the navy decided that the type better suited for observation, and was renamed the XS4C-1. The new engine, significantly more proven jednohvězdicový Wright Cyclone, helped to improve its flight characteristics (apart from its looks), the navy, experimenting with new categories of light-vehicle bombers, but in the meantime, once again changed its mind. In January 1934 it was again renamed, on a reconnaissance bomber XSBC-1. In June 1934, the XSBC-1 crashed, but was soon repaired and returned to the navy. The new requirements but were recorded even with the ability to dive bombing, and that was the problem. During one of the tests in September 1934 in a dive, failed wings, and the machine is stuck into the ground, the pilot but managed in time to jump out on a parachute. Navy but sensed the potential that the machine had, however, already believed his hornokřídlé the concept of, and authorised the construction of a new now dvouplošného the prototype XSBC-2. The one from the beginning intended as a reconnaissance bomber, became the prototype of the whole of the successful SBC-3/SBC-4 Helldiver. The prototype of the first new monoplane for the navy thus became the prototype of his business the last biplane....