Curtiss R-6

The Curtiss R-6 was a twin-float observation seaplane developed from the earlier Curtiss Model R series and built for the U.S. Navy and Army during World War I. A three-bay biplane with unequal-span wings, it was powered by a 200-horsepower Curtiss V-2-3 engine and carried a crew of two, with the observer seated forward between the wings and the pilot behind. The R-6 has the distinction of being among the first U.S. aircraft to serve overseas: examples were operated from Ponta Delgada in the Azores on anti-submarine patrols beginning in January 1918.

After the Armistice, surviving R-6L aircraft were modified to carry naval torpedoes, making them among the earliest American torpedo-carrying aircraft. Though produced in modest numbers and quickly rendered obsolete, the R-6 was a significant early step in U.S. naval aviation and maritime patrol development.