  REVISED: 9/1/08
Naval Aircraft Factory (N A F)BN, BS - USN project cancelled. None built, but 12 were assigned s/ns as BS-1 [A6289/6299, A8643]. CS-3 1926 = Modified Curtiss CS-2. POP: 2 [A6731/6732]. 
NAF DT-4 USMC (Edwards FTC)DT-2, -4, -5 1922 = Douglas DT-2 with similar specs, built under government contracts. POP: 6 as DT-2 [A6423/6428], of which 4 were converted to DT-4 in 1923 with 535hp Wright T-2 [A6423/6424, A6427/6428], of which 2 were converted to DT-5 in 1925 with 450hp Wright P-1 Cyclone [A6427/6428]. One source claims a total production of 24, a number that cannot be substantiated. 
NAF-Curtiss F-5L [A-36xx] (USN via TKnL coll)
NAF-Curtiss F-5L [A-3606] (USN)F-5, PN-5 1918 = Modified Curtiss H-16 built under USN contract. POP: 137 as F-5L [A3559/3692], redesignated as PN-5 in 1922. [A3770] fitted with two 120hp Union 6 motors. F-6, PN-6 1919 = Contract-built Curtiss F-6, F-5L with enlarged vertical tail. POP: 2 as F-6L [A4036/4037], redesignated as PN-6 in 1922. F4U-2 SEE Vought F4U. FN-1 - Modified USAAC(?) Seversky P-35 as prototype USN fighter XFN-1; s/n [A8978] assigned but cancelled. Enigmatic, possibly a typo on Navy records for the Seversky NF-1 tested by USN, but which was reported as never having a s/n assigned. Yet another mystery in search of a solution. GB-1 Giant Boat 1920 - 9pTFb; nine 400hp Liberty engines mounted in three nacelles, driving 18' diameter 3-blade tractor propellers via clutches; span: 150'0" length: 65'0" v (est): x/78/x range (est): 1630. Gross wt (est): 70,000#. Wooden hull, metal wings with fabric covering. Meant to be a successor to the NC boats. Project canceled in 1921 due to lack of funds—and, to some degree, obsolescense. By then the first prototype was half complete and assigned [A6059]. The completed parts went into storage and were disposed of sometime after 1925. 
Curtiss H-16 [A-853]H-16 1918 = Contract-built Curtiss H-16. POP: 150 [A1049/1098, A3459/3558]. HD-1 19?? = Remanufactured French Hanriot fighter as seaplane, converted to landplane after the war. POP: 10 [A5620/5629]. HS - Curtiss HS2L contract built. 2pOBF; 360hp Liberty 12; span: 74'1" length: 39'0" v: 83. HS2-L 1918 = POP: 25 [A5564/5569, A5615/5619, A5787, A5808, A6507/6513, A6553/6556]. LS-1 c.1920 = "Loening Seaplane" with a single, extra-wide Richardson pontoon that could be separated along its centerline into two floats with flat inner faces for, theoretically, better water handling. If this was controlled by the pilot is unclear, but the idea apparently didn't excite any USN brass. POP: 1 [A5606]. 
NAF M-8-1S Converted from M-8-1 [A-5777] (P M Bowers coll)M-8, M-8-0, -8-1, -8-1S 1921 = USN fighter-scout versions of Loening M series. 2pOhwM; 300hp Hisso; span: 32'10" length: 24'2" load: 445# v: 145 ceiling: 22,000'. Strut-braced shoulder wing. Some records show these as M-80 and M-81. POP total: 49; 1 prototype M-8 [A5631], 10 M-8-0 [A5637/5646], 32 M-8-1 [A5701/5710, A5761/5786], and 6 M-8-1S twin-float seaplanes [A5788/5793]. One refitted with shorter wings for 1920 Pulitzer races [A5791], but failed to finish when a water leak developed. MF 1920 = Contracted Curtiss MF. OBFb; 100hp Curtiss OXX; span: 49'9" length: 28'10" v: 69/59/x ceiling: 3,500'. POP: 80 [A5483/5562]. 
NAF N-1 (USN via W T Larkins coll)N-1 1918 = USN gunship. 2pOBF; 330hp Liberty pusher; span: 51'0" length: 37'7" v: 94 ceiling: 7,800'. Twin-boom, triple-tail; nacelle fuselage; 37mm cannon in nose. POP: 2 [A4341/4342]; contract for 2,284 cancelled. Seen on some records as Davis N-1, reason unknown. 
NAF N2N-1 on pontoons (W T Larkins coll)N2N 1924 = 2pOB; 200hp Wright-Lawrance J-1; span: 33'8" length: 26'11" v: 106 ceiling: 16,900'. POP: 3 as N2N-1 [A6693/6695]. N3N - Basic trainer. 2pOB; 235hp Wright R-760-2; span: 34'0" length: 25'6" v: 126/107/50 ceiling: 15,200' (data for N3N-3). All-metal construction, fabric covered. About $25,000 unit cost.
N5N 1941 = Advanced trainer. 2pOlwM rg; 350hp Wright R-760; span: 42'0" length: 30'5" v: 137 ceiling: 13,900'. Cockpit canopy added later. POP: 1 as XN5N-1 [1521]. NC SEE Curtiss NC. NM 1925 = 2pOB, wheels or floats; 325hp Packard 1A-1237; span: 42'0" length: 31'0" v: 108 ceiling: 16,900'. POP: 2 as NM-1 [A6450/6451]. Contract for 6,451 cancelled. NO - Short-range scout, similar to Martin M2O-1.
OS2N 1942 = Contract-built Vought OS2U-1 with similar specs. POP: 300 as OS2N-1 [01216/01515]. 
NAF XOSN-1 [0385] (USN via W T Larkins coll)OSN 1938 = 2pCB; 550hp P&W R-1340; span: 36'0" length: 27'11" v: 172 ceiling: 18,500'. POP: 1 as XOSN-1 [0385]. P4N - CBFb; two 525hp Wright R-1750; span: 72'10" length: 53'9" v: 119 ceiling: 17,000'. XP4N-1 1930 = POP: 1 [A8482]. 
NAF PBN-1 (USN via Clark Scott)PBN Nomad 1941 = Twin flying boat styled after PBY Catalina; two Wright R-1830-92; span: 104'3" length: 64'8" load: 18,712# range: 2590 ceiling; 15,100'. POP: 156 as PBN-1 [A02791/02946], most of which were exported to USSR. PN-5, PN-6 SEE F-5L/-6L. PN-7 1925 = USN patrol aircraft. New wing design. 6pOBFb; 525hp Wright T-2; span: 72'10" length: 49'2" v: 115 ceiling: 9,200'. Wooden hull, wood spars and ribs. POP: 2 [A6616/6617]. PN-8 1925 = Similar to PN-7, was the first flying boat with an aluminum hull. Two 525hp Wright T-2; 2:1 reduction gears allowed use of 13'6" props. POP: 1 [A6799], refitted with a metal hull as PN-9. 
NAF PN-9 [A-6878] Towed into Hawaii... (Michael Allard coll)
NAF PN-9 ... and beached (unknown)PN-9 1925 = 5pOBFb PN-8 with 475hp Packard 1A-2500, redesigned nacelles and tail. POP: 1 [A6878], plus 1 conversion [A6799]. In a first attempt to make a US-Hawaii flight, 8/31/25, the latter suffered an oil leak, landed at sea, and was towed back to San Francisco, where it was damaged beyond repair by the wake of a passing freighter (p: Lt A P Snody). [A6878] ran out of gas 400 miles from Hawaii and also landed, was adrift — using sheets of fabric as sails — until Sep 10, when it was spotted off Kauai by a Navy sub and towed into port (p: Lt Byron J Connell, Cmdr John Rodgers). The plane was subsequently repaired for return to service, but did a repeat performance while on a flight to South America. Engine problems forced it down on the Caribbean, where pilot Byron Connell and crew drifted for several days before being rescued. Dwight Messimer, author of the 1981 book about PN-9's flight, "No Margin For Error," recalls that because the towing distance to shore was too great, the plane was ignobly sunk by gunfire as a hazard to navigation. 
NAF PN-10 (USN)PN-10 1926 = 5pOBFb; two 500hp Packard 1A-2500, later Curtiss V-12; span: 72'10" length: 49'2" v: 114/x/x ceiling: 4,500'. POP: 2 [A7028/7029]. PN-11 - PN-10 with wider hull and two 500hp Wright GR-1750D Cyclones; span: 72'10" length: 53'6" v: 120/x/63 range: 1950 ceiling: 12,600'. Variants were built by Douglas as PD-1, Keystone as PK-1, and Martin as PM-1 and -2. XPN-11 1927 = POP: 3 [A8006, A8483/8484], the last 2 becoming XP4N-2. 
NAF XPN-12 [A-7383]PN-12 1928 = Remotored PN-10. POP: 1 each with Cyclones and Hornets [A7383/7384]. Additionally 25 were built by Douglas as PD-1, 18 by Keystone as twin-tailed PK-1, and 30 PM-1 and 25 twin-tailed PM-2 by Martin. PT - Twin-pontoon torpedo bomber. 2pOBF; 400hp Liberty 12. Built from Curtiss HS wings and Curtiss R-6 fuselage. PT-1 1922 = HS-1L wings; span: 62'0" length: 34'5" v: 85 ceiling: 4,500'. Gross wt: 6798#. POP: 15 [A6034/6048]. SA - A unique designation, for "Ships Airplane," these were early experiments probing the use of lightweight aircraft on battleships and their potential of being able to land and take-off from them. They were essentially our first ultralights, all having the 55hp Lawrance L-3. SA-1 1919 = 1pOmwM. An uncovered, inverted triangular-frame fuselage with pilot seated on top amidst the wing-wire pylons, a la Blériot; span: 27'8" length: 21'8" load: 270# v: 65. Wing-warping control. Gross wt: 695#. POP: 2 [A5570/5571]. 
NAF SBN-1 (USN)SBN 1941 = Contract-built Brewster SBA-1. POP: 30 as SBN-1. 
NAF SON-1 [1166] (Wlliam Larkins coll)
NAF SON-1 (USN via R A Francis)SON 1938 = Contract-built Curtiss SOC-3. POP: 44 as SON-1. 
NAF SP SP aka Mercury Racer 1928 = 1pOmwM; 24-cyl 500hp Packard X1-A-2775. Name honored Mercury Flying Corp, a nonprofit organization formed to raise money in 1926 to design and build a Schneider Trophy racer for Al Williams, covertly in league with USN, who supplied two Packard motors. The result was a physically beautiful racer riddled with chronic engine problems, as well as being too overweight to have any interest in flying. That prompted Williams to withdraw from the 1929 competition. T2N 1930 = Carrier dive bomber. 2pOB; 525hp Wright R-1750; span: 41'0" length: 27'9" v: 143 ceiling: 16,750'. Water-tight metal monocoque fuselage as a flotation device. POP: 1 as XT2N-1 [A8052]. 
NAF TDN Here manned, if you hadn't noticed (USN Museum)TDN 1943 = Unmanned, radio-controlled, tv-directed torpedo drone. 0-1pOmwM; two Lycoming XA-435-4; span: c.50'0" length: c.36'0". Carried ordnance loads up to a ton of bombs or torpedoes and was controlled from a "mother" aircraft in its vicinity or from ships at sea. It was able to release its weapons or be flown directly into the target. POP: 100. Although never used in combat, it proved its value in experiments, as well as a target drone for ships' gunners. Also built in modified configuration by Interstate as XBQ-4/TDR-1. TF 1922 = 4pOBFb; two 300hp Hisso pushers; span: 60'0" length: 44'5" v: 107 ceiling: 8,000'. Classified as a Fighter, but was an unwieldy twin-boom, twin-tail scouting boat. POP: 4 [A5576/5579]; the last one with 400hp Packard 1-As. 
NAF TG-2 [A-6345] (USN via W T Larkins coll)TG 1924 = USN single-float gunnery trainers. 2pOBF; 200hp Liberty 6; span: 36'0" length: 30'0". POP: 1 each TG-1 [A6344] and -2 [A6345]. TG-3, -4 1924 = 200hp Aeromarine T-6. POP: 1 each [A6346/6347]. TN 1926 = Prototype Douglas T2D, with two Wright R-1750s and similar data. POP: 1 as XTN-1 [A7027]. TR - 1pOBF. TS-2 rebuilt as twin-pontoon racers with fuselage fuel tanks. Modified as TR-3A for 1923 Schneider race, but again did not compete. TR-1 1922 = New, thinner racing wings. POP: 2; [A6303], winner of 1922 Curtiss Marine Trophy Race (p: Lt A W Gorton), v (max): 118.4, and [A6449], converted from TS-3 with 200hp Lawrance J-1, did not compete. TS - 1pOB. Contract-built Curtiss TS (34 were built by Curtiss). Elemental design became Curtiss F4C. TS-1 1922 = POP: 5 [A6300/6304], of which the last 2 became the first TR-1 and the sole TR-3. UO 1925 = 1p Vought UO-2 modified for racing with 220hp Aeromarine U-873. POP: 1 as UO-2 [A6546], damaged in ground handling and did not compete. VE - Contract-built Vought VE-7 with similar specs. VE-7F 1921 = 180hp Wright E-3; span: 34'1" length: 24'5" v: 119/x/x ceiling: 19,200'. POP: 29 [A5943/5971].
 |
NAF XN3N-1
NAF N3N-1
NAF N3N-3
NAF NO-1
NAF PT-2
NAF SA-2