The Curtiss SOC Seagull

The Curtiss SOC is one biplane which is long overdue for the credit that it justly deserves. It is very interesting how publicity, or the lack of it, determines history. If you ask "What airplane is most indicative of United States naval aviation in the 1930's ?" the majority of people will answer "The Grumman biplane fighter-of course". None, or certainly very few, will ever say "The Curtiss SOC". This is due almost entirely. to the lack of published information about this aircraft compared to the extensive coverage of the Grumman fighters in magazines and books over the years.
The truth is, however, that the SOC is the one most representative type in both numbers used and extent of service. In June 1940, for example, there were 178 F2F and F3F Grumman fighters in use by the U.S. Navy. The PBY "Catalina", (see Profile No. 183) second most numerous of the fleet aircraft in use, totalled 196 for the same period. By contrast there were 279 SOC's in operation-serving aboard every battleship and cruiser in the Fleet, aboard every aircraft carrier, as well as aboard a destroyer, a seaplane tender, two gunboats and a Coast Guard Air Station.
This remarkable Scout-Observation type also had the distinction of outlasting its intended replacement. The Ranger-powered Curtiss S03C-1 proved inferior in use aboard cruisers and was in turn replaced in 1944 by the by-then obsolete SOC's which continued their service until they were finally replaced by the Curtiss SC-1 monoplanes. In addition, a number of them survived World War 11, thus creating an enviable record of ten years of military service.
A contemporary to the Royal Navy's Fairey Seafox and Supermarine Walrus, the SOC "Seagull" began life in June 1933 as the X03C-1 open-cockpit single-float amphibious biplane entered in competition against the Douglas X02D-1 and Vought X05U-1. All three flew in 1934 and by March 1935 Curtiss had won the competition with an order for 135 airplanes. The original category of battleship observation had been broadened to scout observation and thus the X03C-1 was redesignated XSOC-1 on 23rd March, 1935. Within eight months 18 SOC-l's had been delivered with the first operational aircraft assigned to the cruiser U.S.S. Marblehead on ]2th November, 1935.

The total production of 307 aircraft is shown in Table I (below) of Navy serial number blocks. The three Coast Guard SOC-4's, purchased in 1938 by the Treasury Department, appear on this list as they were picked up by the Navy in 1943 along with other "civilian" aircraft and given Navy serial numbers.

              TABLE 1: PRODUCTION LIST


Serials   Total     Model    Engine     Contract



  9413      1       X03C-1  R-1340-12     31827 of 6-19-33.
                   (XSOC-1)               Changed to
                                          XSOC-1 on 41178
                                          of 3-23-35.
  9856-    135      SOC-1   R-1340-18     41179 of 3-23-35.
    9990

  0386-     40      SOC-1   R-1340-18     48561, 5-26-36.
    0425           (SOC-2)                Changed to SOC-2
                                          on 52347 of 1-11-37.

  0950      1      XS02C-1  R-1340-36     52347, 1-11-37.

  1064-     83      SOC-3   R-1340-22     54679, 5-18-37.
    1146

  1147-     22      SON-1   R-1340-22     P.O. 197-37 of
    1168                                  6-10-37.

  1169-     22      SON-1   R-1340-22     P.O. 11-38 of
    1190                                  6-10-37.

  48243-    3      SOC-3A   R-1340-22     USCG SOC-4's
    48245                                 V171-VI73.