S-39
Sikorsky S-39 of the Civil Air Patrol, 1942
Role	Flying boat Type of aircraft
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Sikorsky Aircraft
First flight	24 December 1929; 94 years ago (1929-12-24)
Number built	21

The Sikorsky S-39 is an American light amphibious aircraft produced by Sikorsky Aircraft during the early 1930s. The S-39 was a smaller, single-engine version of the S-38.^[1]

Operational history

Spirit of Africa

Filmmakers Martin and Osa Johnson used a giraffe-patterned S-39 Spirit of Africa, with companion zebra-striped S-38 Osa's Ark, to explore Africa extensively, making safari movies and books.^[2]

Military usage

One example of the S-39 was acquired by the United States Army Air Corps in 1932, given the designation Y1C-28. It was evaluated for use in coastal patrol and light transport roles; in 1934 it was redesignated C-28 and assigned as a liaison aircraft to the United States Military Academy.^[3]

At least one S-39 saw service with the Civil Air Patrol Coastal Patrol from 1942 to 1943. This was part of a fleet of civilian aircraft flown by volunteers along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, searching for both German submarines and for allied ships in distress. Seaplanes such as the S-39 were sometimes used for search and rescue if another aircraft crashed or went missing.^[4] A surviving CAP S-39, previously based at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, is currently on display at the New England Air Museum.

Yacht

Edward A. Deeds had the yacht Lotosland designed to incorporate aircraft capability. After loss of the planned aircraft on first loading Deeds ordered an S-39-A replacement the next day. The aircraft was intended to allow Deeds to quickly travel from his yacht to business and events ashore.^[5][6][7]

Variants

S-39-A

4-seat version^[8]

S-39-B

Improved 5-seat version of the S-39-A^[8]

S-39-C

Converted from S-39-B^[9]

C-28

One example of the S-39 acquired by the United States Army Air Corps

Surviving aircraft

• 904 – S-39-B on static display at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.^[1]
• Composite – S-39-C airworthy with at Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida.^[10][11] It was recovered from Alaska in 1965 and incorporated parts of five S-39s. It was restored by Dick Jackson and first flew in 2003.^[9][12]
• 920 – S-39-C under restoration with Frederick W. Patterson III of American Canyon, California. This is the last S-39 produced and was originally owned by Shell Eastern, the original name of the Shell Oil Company.^{[13][failed verification]}

Specifications (S-39A)

Data from Aerofiles : Sikorsky,^[14] American flying boats and amphibious aircraft : an illustrated history^[15]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1 or 2
• Capacity: 4 or 5 pax / 1,145–1,300 lb (519–590 kg) payload
• Length: 31 ft 11 in (9.73 m)
• Wingspan: 52 ft 0 in (15.85 m)
• Wing area: 320 sq ft (30 m²)
• Airfoil: Sikorsky GS-1 ^[16]
• Empty weight: 2,678 lb (1,215 kg)
• Gross weight: 4,000 lb (1,814 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 300 hp (220 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 115 mph (185 km/h, 100 kn)
• Cruise speed: 97 mph (156 km/h, 84 kn)
• Stall speed: 54 mph (87 km/h, 47 kn)
• Range: 375 mi (604 km, 326 nmi)