Aeromarine PG-1

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! Role | Pursuit and ground attack aircraft |- ! National origin | United States |- ! Manufacturer | Aeromarine Plane and Motor Co. |-

! First flight | 22 August 1922 |-

! Number built | 3 |- |}

The Aeromarine PG-1 was a single-seat Pursuit and Ground Attack (PG) biplane developed by the Engineering Division of the United States Army and manufactured by the Aeromarine Plane and Motor Co..

Development and design

The PG-1 was intended to fulfill both ground strafing and aerial defense roles, the contract for construction was won by Aeromarine in May 1921.

Armed with a single 0.5 in (12.7 mm) machine gun as well as a 37 mm Baldwin cannon firing through the propeller hub; the cockpit had ¼-in (6.3 mm) armour. The wings were dissimilar, with a wide-chord upper wing with ailerons, and a closely spaced narrow-chord lower plane with dihedral that placed the tips close to the upper wing. The upper wing was mounted close to the top of the fuselage with a cut-away forward section to accommodate the cockpit, and attached to the lower plane via V-type struts.

Power was to have been provided by the eight-cylinder, water-cooled 330 hp Wright K-2 engine but the first two prototypes were fitted with 346 hp Packard 1A-1116 units due to delays in clearing the K-2 for flight testing. A third prototype was also built and testing was eventually carried out using both the K-2 and Packard's 1A-1237 at McCook Field. Prototype aircraft suffered disappointing performance, high levels of vibration and poor visibility. The aircraft had a tendency to spin when stalled. Development was abandoned in 1922.

Specifications

Data from Angelucci, 1987. pp. 35-36.

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 24 ft 6 in (7.47 m)
• Wingspan: 40 ft 0 in (12.19 m)
• Height: 8 ft 0 in (2.44 m)
• Wing area: 389 sq ft (36.1 m²)
• Empty weight: 3,030 lb (1,374 kg)
• Gross weight: 3,918 lb (1,777 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Packard 1A-1116 , 346 hp (258 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 130 mph (209 km/h; 113 kn)
• Range: 195 mi (169 nmi; 314 km)
• Service ceiling: 19,000 ft (5,791 m)
• Rate of climb: 684 ft/min (3.47 m/s)

Armament

• Guns: 1x 37mm Baldwin cannon, 1x .50in machine gun

References

Bibliography

• Angelucci, Enzo (1987). The American Fighter from 1917 to the present. New York: Orion Books. p. 36. 
• Green, W. & Swanborough, G. (1994). The Complete Book of Fighters. London: Salamander Books. ISBN 1-85833-777-1