Image: A Cox-Klemin XS-1 scout aircraft is rolled out of the factory. – By Unknown author, Public Domain, (Wikipedia)
The Cox-Klemin XS was a 1920s American experimental scout biplane, the first aircraft launched and recovered from a submarine.
Development
The Cox-Klemin XS was based on a design by the United States Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics for a simple single-seat scout seaplane that could be disassembled and assembled quickly. The U.S. Navy contracted the Cox-Klemin Aircraft Corporation to build six aircraft designated XS-1. The aircraft were powered by a 60-horsepower (45 kW) Lawrance L-4 radial engine. One aircraft was re-engined in 1923 with a Kinner engine and re-designated XS-2.
Operational history
As part of a series of studies conducted by the U.S. Navy after World War I into the possibility of submarine-borne observation and scouting aircraft, the submarine USS S-1 became the experimental platform for this project late in 1923. The XS-1, XS-2, and the Martin MS-1 were used for the trials, mounted in a cylindrical pod behind the conning tower. After surfacing, the aircraft could be rolled out and assembled, it was then launched, ballasting the sub until the deck was awash. The first full cycle of surfacing, assembly, launching, retrieving, disassembly, and submergence took place on 28 July 1926, on the Thames River at New London, Connecticut, using the XS-2.
After further trials in 1926, all the experimental aircraft were scrapped.
Variants
- XS-1
- Lawrance L-4 powered scout biplane, six built. XS-2 One XS-1 modified with a Kinner B-5 engine—Martin MS-1 Six XS-1 standard aircraft built by Martin.
Operators
United States
- United States Navy
Specifications (XS-2)
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 18 ft 2 in (5.54 m)
- Wingspan: 18 ft 0 in (5.49 m)
- Height: 8 ft 0 in (2.44 m)
- Gross weight: 1,050 lb (476 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Kinner B-5 5-cyl. air-cooled radial piston engine, 85 hp (63 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 115 mph (185 km/h, 100 kn)
- Service ceiling: 11,300 ft (3,400 m)
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
- Caspar U.1
- Parnall Peto
- Martin MS
| XS | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Type | Submarine-operated scout biplane |
| Manufacturer | Cox-Klemin Aircraft Corporation |
| Primary user | United States Navy |
| Number built | 12 |
| History | |
| Introduction date | 1923 |
| First flight | 1922 |
References
- ^ “Cox-Klemin XS-2”. Archived from the original on 10 December 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
Bibliography
- Passingham, Malcolm (February 2000). “Les hydravions embarqués sur sous-marins” [Submarine-carried Seaplanes]. Avions: Toute l’aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (83): 7–17. ISSN 1243-8650.
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