A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteristics: floatplanes and
A Grumman G-111 Albatross amphibious flying boat landing
OS2U Kingfisher in 1944. Seaplanes were commonly used in World War II for reconnaissance and search and rescue. They were launched from ships or seaplane tenders, or could take off from water in the right conditions.
de Havilland Otter floatplane
A Vought UO-1 floatplane of the U.S. Navy
The Felixstowe F.5 was a British First World War flying boat designed by Lieutenant Commander John Cyril Porte, RN of the Seaplane Experimental Station in Felixstowe.
Felixstowe F.5s in formation, 1928.
F.5 of the Gosport Aircraft Company at Calshot, eighth of a batch of 50 ordered.
Short S.2 prototype (N177) at Short Brothers Works, Rochester, Kent, 1924.
F.5 of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN)