TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS (PH-3)

Type: Five- place patrol flying boat.

Manufacturer: Douglas Aircraft Co., Santa Monica, California.

Total produced: 25 (USN)

Powerplants: Two 525-hp Wright R-1750 Cyclone (later 575-hp R-1820) 9-cylinder air- cooled radial engines driving three- bladed, ground- adjustable metal propellers.

Armament: One flexible .30-caliber machine gun in bow, one flexible .30-caliber machine gun in rear cockpit, and up to 920 lbs. of bombs in underwing racks.

Performance: max. speed 114 mph, cruise 94 mph; ceiling 10,900 feet; range 1,309 mi.

Weights: 8,319 lbs. empty, 14,988 lbs. loaded.

Dimensions: span 72 ft. 10 in., length 49 ft. 2 in., wing area 1,162 sq. ft.

The first of four flying boat types to be manufactured to the specification of the Naval Aircraft Factory–designed PN-12,

Douglas received a contract from BuAer on December 27, 1927, to build twenty- five aircraft under the designation PD-1. It was the first Navy flying boat to be manufactured in quantity since World War I and also the first flying boat of any type to be com- pleted by Douglas Aircraft. Other than engine nacelles with flat top and bottom profiles, PD-1s were constructed according to the PN-12 specification without variation. The actual date of the first flight was not reported, but the first pro- duction PD-1s were listed as having been accepted and placed into service with San Diego–based VP-7 in June 1929. As deliveries proceeded, the type also equipped both VP-4 and VP-6 at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Like most of the Navy’s second generation of biplane patrol boats, the ca- reer of the PD-1 was relatively brief, and all had been with- drawn from active service by the end of 1936.

Hall PH—1929

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS (PH-3)

Type: Four to five- place patrol and rescue flying boat. Manufacturer: Hall Aluminum Aircraft Corp., Buffalo,

New York and Bristol, Pennsylvania. Total produced: 24 (USN, USCG)

Powerplants: Two 875-hp Wright R-1820-F51 Cyclone 9- cylinder air- cooled radial engines driving three- bladed, variable- pitch metal propellers.

Armament: (PH-1 and -2 only) four flexible .30-caliber machine guns in bow and waist positions and up to 1,000 lbs. of bombs or depth charges carried under the wings.

Performance: Max. speed 159 mph, cruise 136 mph; ceiling 21,350 ft.; range 2,300 mi. max.

Weights: 9,614 lbs. empty, 17,679 lbs. loaded.

Dimensions: span 72 ft. 10 in., length 51 ft., wing area 1,170 sq. ft.

The longest- lived of the series derived from the de- sign of the Naval Aircraft Factory PN-12, the Hall PH was the last type of biplane flying boat in American military service. Hall Aluminum became the second of four com- panies ultimately selected to manufacture the NAF design, Shown from the rear quarter, the Douglas PD-1 appeared in 1929 as the first pro- duction derivative of the NAF PN-12 and was part of a broad Navy effort to replace older patrol boats like the H-16 and F-5L.

receiving a contract in December 1927 to build a prototype under the designation XPH-1. While all of the patrol boats based on the PN-12 were very similar in general layout, they differed in details according to the manufac- turer. The XPH-1, when delivered to Anacostia for trials late in 1929, appeared with a raked forward hull having a more blended sponson, a taller elephant- ear rudder, and full- chord cowlings that faired into the engine nacelles. In its test program, the XPH-1 demonstrated superior aerodynamic efficiency by posting better speed and range than the similarly equipped PN-12. BuAer awarded Hall a con- tract in June 1930 to produce nine examples as the PH-1, and deliveries started late in 1931. Production models differed in having enclosed cockpits, uprated R-1820-86 engines, and ring- type cowlings. All nine PH-1s were subse- quently assigned to VP-8 operating out of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and remained in service until replaced by PBYs during 1937.

As the Navy trended toward larger and more complex monoplane patrol boats in the mid–1930s, the Coast Guard still needed a smaller aircraft to operate in the search and rescue role. The biplane planform, allowing lower landing and takeoff speeds, was also bet- ter suited to the rough sea conditions likely to be encountered. Thus, nearly five years after last PH-1 had been completed, Hall received a new contract in June 1936 to manufacture seven aircraft for the Coast Guard as the PH-2. Built to a slightly revised specification, PH-2s featured special rescue equipment that in - cluded facilities for as many as twenty sur- vivors plus air- to- ship and direction- finding radio systems. As the PH-2s entered service

Hall PH-3

Left: XPH-1, first of the Hall-built flying boats, as seen in late 1929. The nine production PH-1s, delivered through 1932, came with

ring cowlings and enclosed cockpits. All served with VP-8 out of Pearl Harbor. Right: One of 7 PH-3s ordered by the Coast Guard in 1939. This aircraft is shown in its wartme paint scheme on the ramp at CGAS San Francisco in 1942. The last PH-3s were removed from active service in 1944.

on both coasts during 1938, they effectively doubled (i.e., 750 miles) the Coast Guard’s operational radius in search and rescue operations.

To keep pace with Coast Guard expansion and at- trition of the existing PH-2 fleet, Hall received an order in early 1939 for seven more aircraft to be completed as the PH-3, with deliveries scheduled to begin in the spring of 1940. The PH-3 differed in having a revised cockpit enclosure, no gun armament, NACA- type cowlings, and a 1,300-lb. increase in useful load. After the United States entered World War II, the PH-2s and -3s were repainted in non- spectacular intermediate blue over gray schemes, but continued to operate primarily in the search and rescue role. The last examples, re- placed by newer types such as Consolidated PBYs and Martin PBMs, were retired from Coast Guard service during 1944.

Consolidated PY—1929

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS (XPY-1)