The Curtiss SOC Seagull was an American single-engined scout observation seaplane, designed by Alexander Solla of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation for the United States Navy. The aircraft served on battleships and cruisers in a seaplane configuration, being launched by catapult and recovered from a sea landing. The wings folded back against the fuselage for storage aboard ship. When based ashore or on carriers the single float was replaced by fixed wheeled landing gear.
Curtiss SOC Seagull
SOC-1 Seagull in 1940
USS Portland's SOC-3 Seagulls in formation
SOC-3A Seagull touches down on USS Long Island in April 1942, celebrating the carrier's 2,000th landing. A Seagull with wheels not floats landing.
Observation seaplanes are military aircraft with flotation devices allowing them to land on and take off from water. Their primary purpose was to observe and report enemy movements or to spot the fall of shot from naval artillery, but some were armed with machineguns or bombs. Their military usefulness extended from World War I through World War II. They were typically single-engine machines with catapult-launch capability and a crew of one, two or three. Most were designed to be carried aboard warships, but they also operated from seashore harbors.
Curtis SOC Seagull
A Short 184 like this one was the first observation seaplane to participate in a naval battle.
Curtiss Seagull being recovered by USS Philadelphia
Vought OS2U Kingfisher monoplane