Origin In 1907,
Glenn Curtiss was recruited by the scientist Dr.
Alexander Graham Bell as a founding member of Bell's
Aerial Experiment Association (AEA), with the intent of establishing an aeronautical research and development organization. According to Bell, it was a "co-operative scientific association, not for gain but for the love of the art and doing what we can to help one another." In 1909, shortly before the AEA was disbanded, Curtiss partnered with
Augustus Moore Herring to form the Herring-Curtiss Company
. It was renamed the Curtiss Aeroplane Company in 1910 and reorganized in 1912 after being taken over by the Curtiss Motor Company.
Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company tested on
Keuka Lake, New York (c. 1910-1915) ,
Maryland circa 1912 reconnaissance biplane (1918) The Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company was created on January 13, 1916, from the Curtiss Aeroplane Company of
Hammondsport, New York, and Curtiss Motor Company of
Bath, New York.
Burgess Company of
Marblehead, Massachusetts, became a subsidiary in February 1916. At the same time, the
Curtiss Engineering Company was established as a subsidiary in
Garden City, New York. With the onset of
World War I, military orders rose sharply, and Curtiss needed to expand quickly. In 1916, the company moved its headquarters and most manufacturing activities to
Buffalo, New York, where there was far greater access to transportation, manpower, manufacturing expertise, and much needed capital. The company housed an aircraft engine factory in the former
Taylor Signal Company-General Railway Signal Company. An ancillary operation was begun in Toronto, Ontario, that was involved in both production and training, setting up the first flying school in Canada in 1915. Up to 1917, the two major aircraft patent holders, the
Wright Company and the Curtiss Company, had fought the
Wright brothers patent war. This effectively blocked the building of new airplanes which were desperately needed as the United States was entering
World War I. The U.S. government, as a result of a recommendation of a committee formed by
Franklin D. Roosevelt, then
Assistant Secretary of the Navy, pressured the industry to form a cross-licensing organization (in other terms a
Patent pool), the
Manufacturer's Aircraft Association. The Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company worked with the United States' British and Canadian allies, resulting in JN-4 (Can) trainers (nicknamed the "Canuck") being built in Canada. In order to complete large military orders, JN-4 production was distributed to five other manufacturers. After the war, large numbers of JN-4s were sold as surplus, making influential as the first plane for many interwar pilots, including
Amelia Earhart. A stamp was printed to
commemorate the Curtiss JN-4, however a printing error resulted in some having the aircraft image inverted, which has become very valuable, and one of the best known rare stamps, even being featured in a number of movies. The Curtiss
HS-2L flying boat was used extensively in the war for anti-submarine patrols and was operated from bases in
Nova Scotia,
France, and
Portugal.
John Cyril Porte of the
Royal Navy and Curtiss worked together to improve the design of the Curtiss flying boats resulting in the
Curtiss F5L and the similar
Felixstowe F.3. Curtiss also worked with the
United States Navy to develop the
NC-4, which became the first aircraft to fly across the
Atlantic Ocean in 1919, making several stops en route. By the end of World War I, the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company would claim to be the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, employing 18,000 in
Buffalo and 3,000 in Hammondsport, New York. Curtiss produced 10,000 aircraft during that war, and more than 100 in a single week. Peace brought cancellation of wartime contracts. In September 1920, the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company underwent a financial reorganization and
Glenn Curtiss cashed out his stock in the company for $32 million and retired to
Florida. He continued as a director of the company but served only as an advisor on design.
Clement M. Keys gained control of the company from Willys-Overland and it later became the nucleus of a large group of aviation companies. Curtiss seaplanes won the
Schneider Cup in two consecutive races, those of 1923 and 1925. The 1923 race was won by U.S. Navy lieutenant David Rittenhouse flying a
Curtiss R3C to . Piloted by
U.S. Army Lt.
Cyrus K. Bettis, a Curtiss R3C won the
Pulitzer Trophy on October 12, 1925, at . Thirteen days later,
Jimmy Doolittle won the
Schneider Trophy in the same aircraft fitted with floats with a top speed of . The
Curtiss Robin light transport was first flown in 1928, becoming one of the company's biggest sellers during the
Great Depression, and the 769 built helped keep the company solvent when orders for military aircraft were hard to find.
Curtiss-Wright Corporation On July 5, 1929, Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company together with 11 other Wright and Curtiss affiliated companies merged to become the
Curtiss-Wright Corporation. One of the last projects started by Curtiss Aeroplane was the ambitious
Curtiss-Bleecker SX-5-1 Helicopter, a design that had propellers located midpoint on each of the four large rotors that drove the main rotors. This design, while costly and well engineered, was ultimately a failure.
Curtiss Aviation School Curtiss also operated a flying school at
Long Branch Aerodrome in
Toronto Township, Ontario, from 1915 to 1917 before being taken over by the
Royal Flying Corps Canada.
Atlantic Coast Aeronautical Station Glenn H. Curtiss sponsored the
Atlantic Coast Aeronautical Station on a 20-acre tract east of the
Newport News boat harbor in the Fall of 1915 with Captain
Thomas Scott Baldwin as head. Many civilian students, including Canadians, later became famed World War I flyers.
Victor Carlstrom,
Vernon Castle,
Eddie Stinson and General
Billy Mitchell trained here. The school was disbanded in 1922. ==Products==