On March 28, 1910, the first successful seaplane take-off from water at Martinque, France, occurred. The seaplane or Hydravion was flown by its inventor, Henri Fabre. A fifty-horsepower rotary engine powered the first flight, a 1650-foot distance over water. The plane Fabre flew was nicknamed "Le Canard", meaning the duck.

On Jan. 26, 1911, Glenn H. Curtiss made the first successful seaplane flight in America. Curtiss fitted floats to a biplane, then took off and landed from water. Curtiss' contributions to seaplane innovation included: flying boats and airplanes, which could take-off and land on a carrier ship.

On March 27, 1919, a U.S. Navy seaplane completed the first transatlantic flight.

Vintage Seaplane
Index of vintage seaplane photos.

LOC Photo: First seaplane circa 1910

©Mary Bellis

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