top of page

AIRCRAFTS

​

STANDARD AIRCRAFT CORP.

Many thanks to Kees Kort for

his clarifications and comments.

Standard Aircraft Corporation.jpg

Kees Kort Comments

This Standard SJ-1 two-seat trainer was from a massive production order of the United States Army Air Service (USAAS) for

600 machines

(serials 4376 - was 4975).

Probably the full order

was built.
After the war lots of these machines were sold as surplus for almost scrap prices as the Air Service

had no use for them.

The machines made their mark in civil flying and barnstorming.

standard sj usaas aircraft ww1 wwi 1914 14 18 great war world guerre mondiale avion aviation

Cockpit panel of the Standard model D 1917

NARA111-SC-003663-ac

Source of Photograph: National Archives RG:111; American Military Activities

Many of those SJ-1's

were sent to Love Field near Dallas TX.

They wrecked them

almost as much as

they did the Jennys.

standard sopwith camel aircraft ww1 wwi 1914 14 18 great war world guerre mondiale avion aviation

Cockpit panel of the Standard model D 1917

NARA111-SC-003663-ac

Source of Photograph: National Archives RG:111; American Military Activities

Handley Page A.jpg
sopwith camel aircraft ww1 wwi 1914 14 18 great war world guerre mondiale avion aviation

First Handley-Page bomber built at Standard Aircraft Co. in Elizabeth, NJ July 6, 1918

NARA111-SC-14479-ac

Source of Photograph: National Archives RG 111

Aircraft 043.jpg

Launching of the 1st American built Handley-Page bomber

at Standard Aircraft Corp.field, Elizabeth, NJ July 6, 1918

NARA111-SC-14480-ac

Source of Photograph: National Archives RG 111

sopwith camel aircraft ww1 wwi 1914 14 18 great war world guerre mondiale avion aviation

Side view of Liberty Caproni at Mineola, NY undated

NARA111-SC-15359-ac

Source of Photograph: National Archives RG 111

Kees Kort comments

​

The actual building of the Caproni Liberty-engine bomber trimotor was actually very trying.

In a nutshell these were the bottle necks

- the Italian drawings in metrics (meters) had all to be redrawn in inch measures.

   A gigantic task which involved thousands of detail drawings
- the fitting of the Liberty engine necessitated alterations in the design which had to be worked in the drawings
- as the large experienced factories like Curtiss were full with production, the building was given to the relatively inexperienced Standard factory,

   which actually has never build airplanes of this size
- many alterations in the Caproni design were made by Standard which had to be approved by    the Italians, again slowing down the actual building
- as Standard had difficulties building the machine, work was shifted to the Fischer Body works    who could not fit the drawings in their building process

  so ....  again the drawings had to be redrawn

Actually it is a small wonder that the Caproni Liberty bomber trimotor was built at all.

Cost was probably excessive and the machine came much too late (actually after the armistice) and was never used at war.

Think about all those man making the drawings by hand, no computer assisted drawing (CAD) in those times !

sopwith camel aircraft ww1 wwi 1914 14 18 great war world guerre mondiale avion aviation

French aviator with Standard E-1 aircraft at Potomac Park Apr. 24, 1918

NARA111-SC-008832-ac

Source of Photograph: National Archives RG 111.

sopwith camel aircraft ww1 wwi 1914 14 18 great war world guerre mondiale avion aviation

Standard Aircraft Corp. H-3 machine, Elizabeth, NJ 1918

NARA111-SC-19900-ac

Source of Photograph: National Archives RG 111.

sopwith camel aircraft ww1 wwi 1914 14 18 great war world guerre mondiale avion aviation

Standard Aircraft Corp. H-3 machine, Elizabeth, NJ 1918

NARA111-SC-19903-ac

Source of Photograph: National Archives RG 111.

Kees Kort Comments

​

Nice picture of the second sample of the Standard E-1 pursuit trainer with serial 33770.

 

Small detail is that

the first sample of the E-1 with serial 33769

had a sightly smaller rudder

 

The second sample was likely modified as

a result of flight test of

the first sample, to better

the control in flight.

 

Smaller other differences are visible too.

sopwith camel aircraft ww1 wwi 1914 14 18 great war world guerre mondiale avion aviation

Standard E-1 [M - defense] at Potomac Park, Wash DC Apr. 24, 1918

NARA 111-SC-008831-ac

Source of Photograph: National Archives RG 111.

sopwith camel aircraft ww1 wwi 1914 14 18 great war world guerre mondiale avion aviation

Standard E-1 [M - defense] at Potomac Park, Wash DC 

NARA 111

Source of Photograph: National Archives RG 111.

sopwith camel aircraft ww1 wwi 1914 14 18 great war world guerre mondiale avion aviation

'Kays and Figel' single-seat biplane at Standard Aircraft Corp. Elizabeth, NJ 1918

NARA 111-SC-19902

Source of Photograph: National Archives RG 111.

bottom of page