First flown on 22 September 1947, the S-53, naval designation HJS, was a bigger development of the S-51. It was a failure as the centre of gravity shifted too much with heavier payloads carried all forward of the engine, and the twin-rotor Piasecki HUP Retriever became the US Navy's new rescue helicopter instead. Sikorsky solved the problem by putting the engine in the nose of the S-55. BuNo 30370 was the second of two S-53 airframes built. Photo from: Vertical Flight Society

Pictured parked in the hangar at this very nice littel airfield.

France produced an armada of large flying boat types. The prototype 01 of the four-engine Br 730 maritime patrol aircraft flew in April 1938 but crashed in July. This seems to be the first production machine, No 1, but confirmation is sought. No 1 was completed in Vichy French colours but not flown until December 1944 after the liberation of southern France. On one photo it seems to wear invasion stripes. This would be a later shot. The aircraft entered service as a transport, named Véga. It crashed in Arzew, Algeria in January 1949. Three more aircraft were completed, Sirius, Altair and Bellatrix, the latter two to Br 731 standard with a redesigned nose.

Light parasol monoplane designed by Harvey and Wilson Doyle and built by Vulcan company of Portsmouth, Ohio, which made golf clubs. Name American Moth chosen to capitalise on popularity of DH Moth. Photo taken at National Air Races and shows Robert Dake (pilot, left) and Ted Taney (navigator) who were the crew for the American Moth during the 1928 transcontinental race. After eight examples, assets and rights taken over by Davis Aircraft, which produced the modified Davis V-3 and D-1, of which some 60 were built. The Doyle brothers left Vulcan to build the Doyle O-2 Oriole. Photo from: San Diego Air & Space Museum

Engineer Alfred Verville left the US Army Air Service and joined the Buhl Aircraft Company where he designed the Airster three-seat open biplane. The CA-3A model had the distinction of receiving the first US type certificate, Approved Type Certificate 1. This example took part in the 1927 New York - Spokane Air Derby, flown by Nick Mamer. The National Air Races were held in Spokane, Washington, that year.

Reasonably confident of my ID of this anonymous ultralight.

The Cessna CW-6 six-seater, first flown in November 1928 and on display here at the 1929 Wichita Auto Show. Apparently no series production. Design downsized to four-seat Cessna DC-6. NC6446 sold to Mexico as X-BACX in 1930. Photo from: Museum of Flight

Despite its fighter designation, the F2W was a dedicated racing aircraft. The manufacturer's designation was apparently Wright TX. It was powered by a Wright T-3 Tornado engine, cooled by wing surface radiators, and reportedy achieved 398.5 km/h (247.7 mph). In the 1923 Pullitzer Trophy race, the two red F2Ws took third and fourth place behind the Curtiss R2C racers also entered by the US Navy. The four planes are seen together in photo 648891. A-6743 / 8 ran out of fuel and crashed after finishing just before A-6744 / 7, which reportedly had greater fuel capacity. A-6744 was converted to F2W-2 floatplane but crashed on its first flight as such. Photo from: Museum of Flight

Air racing rivalry between the US Army and Navy did stimulate technological progress. The R-3 was one of the first aircraft with fully retractable main landing gear. It was designed at the Engineering Division of the USAAS by Alfred Verville and manufactured by the Lawrence Sperry Aircraft Company. Powered by the inferior Wright H-3 engine, the three R-3s built were unsuccessful in the 1922 Pulitzer Trophy race. 22-328 is seen here at the 1923 race, which it did not finish. This plane had received a Curtiss D-12 engine and managed a FAI speed record over 500 km in March 1923. It won the 1924 Pulitzer race, but that edition was less competitive. Photo from: Museum of Flight

Seeking revenge for its defeat in the 1922 Pulitzer Trophy race, the US Navy successfully procured a new Curtiss racer. A-6692 / 9, flown by Lt Alford Williams, won the 1923 edition and Lt Harold Brow in A-6691 / 10 came second. Both pilots also broke the absolute world speed record, with Williams bringing it to 429 km/h (267 mph). A-6692 was fitted with floats for the cancelled 1924 Schneider Trophy race. A-6691 was sold to the US Army for a sporty $1 to become the Curtiss R-8, serial 23-1235. Photo from: Museum of Flight

A Curtiss CR racer built for the US Navy had won the 1921 Pulitzer Trophy race, although flown for Curtiss by Bert Acosta. Sources disagree whether this was the CR-1, A-6080, or the modified CR-2, A-6081. With the CR-1 upgraded to CR-2 standard, the Navy flew both in the 1922 edition at Selfridge Field, but was beaten by the US Army's variant of the CR, the Curtiss R-6. The CRs were then changed to CR-3 floatplanes to win the 1923 Schneider Trophy. A-6081 also set a speed record for seaplanes and was modified to CR-4 testbed and trainer for the 1926 Schneider races. Photo from: Smithsonian Institution

First flown on 10 November 1937, the Z.509 was an enlarged Z.506, intended for air mail route to South America although LATI opened a landplane route in 1939. Project abandoned and the three aircraft built were impressed by the Regia Aeronautica in December 1939. Photo published in Flight in April 1939 after I-ATLA broke several FAI records for seaplanes. Photo from: Smithsonian Institution

The sole Bellanca K was built for a transatlantic flight to Rome. Cesare Sabelli's crew took off from Old Orchard Beach, Maine on 20 September 1928 but returned with a loose piston and ditched. The aircraft was repaired but subsequent users also experienced engine problems: a flight from Argentina to Spain didn't happen, a record endurance flight failed due to high oil consumption and finally Thor Solberg ditched NX4864 off Newfoundland on his way to Norway on 23 August 1932. The odd design of the aircraft, with lifting surfaces forming a sort of W-shaped lower wing, was supposedly very efficient and led to the Model P Airbus/Aircruiser. Photo from: Smithsonian Institution

Third prototype of the Embraer EMB-100 Bandeirante, the predecessor of the well-known Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante. It is on display in an aviation theme park in the hometown of Embraer, Sao Jose dos Campos, named after Brazilian aviation pioneer Santos Dumont.

More than 320 of this bomber were built and it was withdrawn from active service in 1937. During its long career, several developments were experimented. Some aircraft were modified in training and transport aircraft capable to carry paratroopers. The LeO 20 was also used by the Aéronautique Navale and exported to Romania and Brazil . Photo from A.Littolff family album and published with her permission.