.This was a hard one but the Observer Corps did a masterful job identifying the type aircraft. The difficult part, and I admit I was confused, was identifying the specific aircraft. “The rear seat was the killer,” as one entrant put it.
The mystery airplane is the Naval Aircraft Factory (NAF) TG-1 (BuNo 6344) pictured in June 1924. The Navy in the early 1920s realized that the Curtiss N-9 and JN-4 Jenny trainers were outdated and needed replacement. A competition was held in July 1923 among entries from the Naval Aircraft Factory, Huff-Daland, Martin Aircraft and the Boeing Co. The challenge was to “build a new basic trainer that was adaptable by changing landing gear to either sea or land flying and was suitable for gunnery instruction, both free gunnery and bombing.” The NAF built five prototype single-float biplane gunnery trainers in 1924, designated TG-1 through TG-5 — BuNos 6344 through 6348. The Boeing Co. NB-1 won the trainer competition.
The TG-1 and -2 were fitted with 300 hp Liberty engines. The TG-3 and -4 were fitted with Aeromarine T-6 engines and the TG-5 had a Wright-Hispanio E-4 engine. There were other differences among the aircraft like where the fuel tanks were located and with the designations and BuNos on the history cards. The major outward difference among the aircraft was that TG-1 had an aft cockpit gunnery ring and round faring. The other four TGs had a regular rear cockpit and a gunsight forward of the front cockpit, possibly for the student.
BuNo 6344 was completed in early 1924 at the NAF. Its short life ended in a crash in the Delaware River on 11 July 1924, with only nine hours and 10 minutes on its airframe.
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Jack Bright of Bokeelia, Fla., was the winner of the Winter 2009 contest and will receive a one-year subscription to The Hook magazine and a Tailhook coffee mug. . Please keep your cards, letters and e-mails coming (The Tailhook Association, 9696 Businesspark Ave., San Diego, CA 92131; thookassn@aol.com). Be sure to include the manufacturer and correct designation of the aircraft at the time of the photograph. Please, no phone calls.
Oh, yeah. Only one entry per contestant, please.
Either e-mail your
guess to thookassn@aol.com
or send it to:
"What is it?"
The Hook Magazine
9696 Businesspark Ave.
San Diego, CA 92131-1643
Contest deadline is June 15, 2010.