Loening OL Amphibian

The Loening OL, often simply called the Loening Amphibian, was an American two-seat amphibious biplane designed by Grover Loening for the U.S. Army Air Corps and the U.S. Navy. First flown in 1923, it featured a distinctive single large central hull with a Liberty engine mounted above the upper wing, stabilizing floats beneath the lower wings, and retractable wheeled landing gear cranked by hand from the cockpit, allowing operation from both water and land.

The hull, built of Duralumin over a wooden frame, was divided into watertight compartments served by a bilge pump. About 165 were built in numerous variants, the Army versions designated OA-1 and the Navy versions OL. Loening amphibians performed observation, transport, and goodwill missions, most famously the 1926-1927 Pan American Goodwill Flight, and served reliably with both services through the late 1920s and into the 1930s.