REVISED: 10/13/08

Burgess, Burgess-Dunne, Burgess-Gill,
Burgess-Wright, Herring-Burgess

1904: (W Starling) Burgess Shipyards, Marblehead MA. 1910: Burgess Co & (Greely S) Curtis. 1913: The Burgess Co. 1916: Acquired by (Glenn H) Curtiss Aeroplane & Motor Co, but operated as a separate entity, principally as a sales and maintenance facility, until 1918, when a disastrous fire ended everything. W S Burgess left the company in 1917 and Frank H Russell, who was general mgr from Nov 1911, assumed presidency.

  Burgess A Unknown model as "Burgess Army"

Data on early Burgess, like most other craft of this era, were not etched in stone and could differ noticeably between sources. Little thought was given to documentation, and "official" measurements might well have been best guesses or even patently incorrect. Figures, therefore, are representative.

  Burgess A (Paul Matt coll via Avn Heritage)

A (Herring-Burgess) 1910 = 1pOB pusher. W Starling Burgess (fuselage, wings, and gear), Augustus Herring (controls, engine and prop); ff: 2/28/10 (p: Herring). POP: 3, of which all versions suffered countless modifications, especially after crashes—to name one in particular as the Burgess #3 would be inaccurate unless a specific month, or even day, was fixed. Even the A designation came after the fact; first models were simply Burgess (or Herring-Burgess) #1, #2, and #3, sometimes appended with fanciful titles like Flying Fish and Kingbird. The original #1 started out with one main landing skid and outrigger balancing skids, and six triangular fins on the top wing (which Herring felt would assure balance if the plane were to fall into a side-slip), a foot-operated throttle, a thumb-operated rudder(!), and no ailerons. For a landing gear, there were skids or wheels, or skids and wheels, two to four wheels in dual, tricycle or quad arrangement. Chary about infringement on the Wright brothers' patents, Burgess experimented with different lateral controls, including Pfitzner's sliding-panel "equalizers," which were replaced by "Farman flap" movable ailerons. Other major differences included elevators, the triangular fins on the top wing, and Curtiss-type interplane ailerons. Data for #1: 25hp Herring-Curtiss 4; span: 26'9" length: 33'0". #2: 25hp Curtiss 4; span: 27'0" length: 26'0". #3: 40hp Sturtevant; span: 33'4" length: 28'9".

AB-6 - USN. Redesignated from D-1.
AB-7 - USN. Redesignated from D-2.
  Burgess-Dunne AH-7 or maybe BDH variant? (Marblehead (MA) Magazine via Burgess coll)

AH-7 - USN version of Burgess-Dunne B-D-H.
AH-10 1915 = 2pOB; 100hp Curtiss Tailless V-wing for USN. Set altitude record of 10,000' on 4/23/15 (p: Lt P Bellinger).
  Burgess B Unknown pilot (postcard)

B, B-2 1910 = Similar to A with tricycle wheel gear replacing skids; aileron changes; two-bladed prop. B-2 data (1911): 50hp 4-cyl Curtiss; 27'0" length: 26'0".
BP1916 = Army primary trainer. 2pOB; 90hp Curtiss OX-5; span: 46'9" length: 30'5" v: 68/60/x. Side-by-side cockpit. POP: 6 [271/276].
C 1910 = Similar to Model B with 30hp 2-cyl Clement-Bayard pusher; 32'0" length: 31'0". Two-wheel gear; ailerons and Greely Curtis "deflectors." Advertised as $4,500 at the 1910 Boston Aero Show, but no documentation was found to prove this ever flew, which is doubtful considering its heaviness and the economy of power, plus the inherent unreliability of the French Clement-Bayard.
D 1910 = 2pOB; 60hp Hendee V (or 50hp Gnôme rotary) pusher; span: 36'0" length: 41'0". Skids and four-wheel gear; Farman ailerons, forward elevator. $5,500 with Hendee, $6,500 in 1911; $7,500 with Gnôme. Essentially a Curtiss. POP: 1, crashed in exhibition (p: William Hilliard).
D-1SEE K.
D-2 SEE H.
E, Baby 1911 = 1-2pOB; 50hp Gnôme pusher; span: 36'10" length: 31'8". Modified Grahame-White Baby, a smaller version of the French Farman biplane. $7,500; POP total models B through E: from 7 to 12.
F, Moth, G 1911 = 2pOB; 46hp Sturtevant D-4; span: 39'2" length: 29'6". Similar to model B, and built under a Wright license. POP: 1 to Signal Corps [AS5]. Similar G model was planned, but never constructed. SEE ALSO Burgess-Wright F.
  Burgess Bennett Cup racer (Mrs Charles Bolster coll via WW1 Aero)

Gordon Bennett Racer 1912 = 1pOmwM; 160hp Gnôme rotary; span: 29'3" length: 24'6" load: 660# v (est): 100. Twin-rudder (each only 16" x 19") design influenced by Blériot; quad wheels. Also seen as America's Defender. POP: 1 contracted by the Defender Syndicate of Chicago and built for, but withdrawn from, the Gordon Bennett Cup race. Never flown, it was left to deteriorate.
  1914 Burgess H Training Tractor (Paul Matt coll via Avn Heritage)

H, Military Tractor 1912 = 2pOB; 70hp Renault; span: 34'6" length: 27'9". W S Burgess; Grover Loening redesign in 1914. First of the specifically military machines. Tandem cockpits. POP: 5 for Signal Corps [AS24/28] and 1 for USN; military designation D-2, later redesignated as AB-7.
  Burgess HT-2T Speed Scout (WW1 Aero)

HT-2, Speed Scout 1916 = USN 1pOBF; two 100hp Curtiss OXX-2; span: (upper) 34'4" (lower) 21'6" length: 22'3" v: 90/x/50. Twin floats. Refined version of HT-B. POP: 6 as HT-2T [A374/379].
HT-B 1916 = USN. 1pOBF; two 100hp Curtiss OXX-2. POP: 2 [A155/156].
  Burgess I Likely [AS17] (Roy Nagl coll)
  Burgess I Art: fuselage plan view (WW1 Aero)

I Scout, Coast Defense Hydroaeroplane 1913 = 2pOBF on twin floats, with 60hp Sturtevant D-6 chain-driving two pusher props; span; 39'10" length: 31'4" v: 59; ff: 1/1/13. POP: 1 to Signal Corps [AS17]. It crashed later that month in the Philippines.
I 1913 = 2pOBFb; 20-cyl 220hp radial Anzani with a self-starter and four-bladed pusher prop; span: (upper) 41'4" (lower) 33'5" length: 30'6" v: 75+; ff: 8/5/13 (p: Frank Coffyn). POP: 1 for sportsman-pilot Robert J Collier (donor of Collier Trophy). Cost $10,000 excluding motor, which was provided by Collier. Sometimes confused with Model I Scout, a considerably different design.
J Scout 1913 = 2pOB; 40hp Sturtevant D-4 pusher; span: 39'8" length: 24'0". Modified Wright C with curved wings. POP: 1 to Signal Corps [AS18].
  Burgess K (K Vaughan coll via WW1 Aero)
  Burgess D-1 (Roy Nagl coll)

K 1913 = 2pOBFb; 70hp Renault pusher; span: (upper) 46'9" (lower) 35'5" length: 30'9" v: 66; ff: 4/14 (?>16)/13 (p: W S Burgess). Inverted-V wing struts, single-tube metal spar; wood and fabric hull with tandem seats; 9'6" prop. POP: 1 to USN as D-1 (hull marked "K-36"), redesignated as AB-6 after it was destroyed in a crash while testing new control system on 2/16/14.
  Burgess L (Marblehead (MA) Magazine Burgess coll)

L 1916 = 2pOBF; 125hp Hall-Scott. Single-float version of model S.
M 1913 =
  Burgess N-9 [A-2599] (Natl Museum of Naval Aviation)

N-9 1916 = Contract-built Curtiss N-9. 2pOB; 100hp Hisso A, later with 150hp Hisso I. POP: 681 [A409/438, A999/1028, A2351/2572, A2574/2650].
N-10 19?? = POP: 1.
NU-2 SEE U.
  Burgess O (Burgess brochure)

O, Gunbus 1915 = USN scout and trainer. 2pOB; 140hp Sturtevant pusher; span: 45'0" length: 31'6" load: 920# v: 85/x/47 range: 320. Designed, built, and tested in 21 days! Gondola fuselage led to the unofficial military moniker of "Gunbus." $11,500; POP: 36. Reportedly they were put in storage at White City after field testing, never really used, and finally condemned to the scrap pile in 1916.
  Burgess S [A-73] (Burgess brochure)

S aka Navy School Tractor 1915 = 2pOBF; 125hp; span: 46'6" length: 30'0" "live" load: 750# v: 73/x/41 range: 300. Twin floats. POP: unknown civil; 6 to USN [A70/75]
Seaplane 1916-17 = These are enigmatic in that they appear thusly in advertisements and brochures with no specific model numbers. Burgess Co built and customized many stock designs on individual orders, but none was officially generically named "Seaplane" on factory records, so it was only for public easy identification.
Speed Scout SEE HT-2.
Tractor Trainer c.1915 = Much speculation about this being the elusive [AS40]. No data; reportedly a Curtiss S motor.
Twin-Hydro aka Burgess-Gill 1912 = Bulky 1pOBF with twin floats and two pusher-tractor props; span: 39'0" length: 27'9". First successful US airplane using two motors began as a modified F with a single 60hp Hall-Scott 8 chain-driving two 8'6" tractor props; ff: 5/23/12 (p: Howard Gill). Next a 30hp Wright was added behind the Hall-Scott to chain-drive two tractor props; both engines had their own fuel tanks and radiator, and the plane would fly on either one; ff: 6/x/12 (p: Gill). POP: 1 to Army in 1917; contract was for 32, but balance cancelled at US entry into WW1. Some references indicate that before it was scrapped it wore two 150hp Sturtevant 5-As.
  Burgess U (Burgess brochure)

U 1917 = 2pOBF; 90hp Curtiss OX-2 and 100hp OXX-2; span: 46'9" length: 30'6" "live" load: 640# v: 68/x/40 range: 280. Very similar to model S in appearance and data; side-by-side seats. POP: 6 to Army [AS271/276] and 1 built for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for their own "Naval Militia." Construction cost of $8,000 was paid by Governor Godfrey Cabot with his own funds.
U-2 aka NU-2 1917 = Similar to model U, but with 100hp Hall-Scott pusher. POP: 6 to USN as trainers [A380/385].
-Dunne #3 1914 = 2pOBFb; 135hp Salmson M-9 pusher; span: 45'0" length: 26'0" v: 75. Tailless, V-winged craft for Signal Corps. POP: uncertain, possibly 2.
  Burgess-Dunne B-D (Burgess brochure)

-Dunne B-D Sportsman's Seaplane 1916 = Sport version of the Hydro with 100hp Curtiss OXX-2 pusher; span: 46'0" length: 23'0" load: 670# v: 69/x/45 range: 250. Originally intended as a military recon, sales tactics switched to civil markets when there was no interest from Army or Navy.
  Burgess-Dunne B-D-F (Burgess brochure)

-Dunne B-D-F 1916 = 3p tailless, boat-hulled sport version of B-D with 100hp Curtiss OXX-2 pusher; span: 53'0" length: 25'2" load: 560# v: 68/x/43 range: 200. Massive wingtip fins. Hull from Curtiss Co. POP: 1.
  Burgess-Dunne Hydro (Paul Matt coll)

-Dunne B-D-H, Hydro, AH-7 1914-16 = 2pOBF; 140hp Sturtevant V-8 pusher; span: 46'0" length: 24'8" (?>31'0") v: 70/x/40 range: 280. John W Dunne (British patent holder) as Dunne D-10. Tailless, single pontoon, 30-degree swept-back wings, short nacelle. First mounted on wheels, but after a cool reception by potential buyers, a seaplane proved to be more sellable. Army land/sea version in 1916 had 135hp Salmson (Canton-Unné) M-9 and a 45'0" wing; 1914 USN seaplane AH-7 had 90hp Curtiss, and a similar wheeled version went to the Army that year [probably AS36].
-Gill SEE Burgess Twin-Hydro.
  Burgess-Wright at Waltham (MA) Aviation Meet (postcard)
  Burgess-Wright Harry Atwood exhibition ship

-Wright F 1911 = 2pOB; 35hp Wright chain-driving two pusher props. Built under Wright license; smiliar to Burgess F. Not famous for its great performance envelope, one was forced into a crash landing when it flew in exhibition during a shower at 1911 Dominguez Field Air Meet (Los Angeles) and the added weight of raindrops caused it to become overloaded. Pilot Howard Gill sustained only minor injuries, but the plane was a loss (the first "wash-out"?)
-Wright Hydro 1911 = 2pOBF; Wright pusher. Twin-float version of the F with Wright wings and twin propellers.
  Burgess-Wright Hydro c.1913 (Roy Nagl coll)

-Wright Hydro 1913 = An improved 2pCBF version of the 1911 model.