Fleet list of Aeromarine aircraft

Aircraft of Aeromarine West Indies Airways and Aeromarine Airways

It is difficult to tell the exact number of aircraft that Aeromarine operated, because none of them had to be registered,
hence no registration numbers on individual aircraft, and thus no definitive fleet list for the airline.
The good thing is that Aeromarine named all of its aircraft - the problem is that they renamed a couple of them.
I have had to go through airline issued PR literature and period articles
and try to puzzle out a fleet list based on the names associated with the different model types.
/Daniel

Aeromarine Model 50
Bi-wing flying boat ("Limousine Flying Boat") with 1 pusher engine, 3 passengers, 2 crew (pilot and mechanic),
open/enclosed front cockpit and open/enclosed rear passenger compartment.
Photo of a Model 50.
Name of aircraft: Remarks:
Aeromarine Model 50 No. 1  
Aeromarine Model 50 No. 2  
Aeromarine Model 50 No. 3  
The three Model 50s ("three-place flying boats") above are mentioned in the Aeromarine operating report from the autumn of 1921,
an excerpt of which was printed on a flyer.

Aeromarine Model 75
Converted USN Curtiss F5L ("White Fleet", and beginning in the spring of 1922 "Black Tail Fleet")
bi-wing flying boat with 2 Liberty engines, 11 passengers, 3 crew (pilot, assistant pilot/mechanic and steward/bowman),
open center cockpit and enclosed front/rear passenger compartments.
Photos of Model 75s.
Name of aircraft w/photo link(s): Remarks:
Santa Maria
To larger photo of the 'Santa Maria'
To larger photo of the 'Santa Maria'
To larger photo of the 'Santa Maria'

Ex-Aeromarine Navy Cruiser/Aeromarine Aerial Cruiser.
Christened on June 22, 1920, at Keyport, N.J. Rechristened on October 23, 1920, at Columbia Yacht Club with Pinta. Inaugurated Key West to Havana service with Pinta on November 1, 1920. Circumnavigated Eastern U.S. in September 1921. Inaugurated Detroit-Cleveland service with Wolverine on July 14, 1922. Most famous and well utilized of Aeromarine’s flying boats.

Listed in timetable of winter 1921-22 as part of Aeromarine's then current fleet list.

Pinta
To larger photo of the 'Pinta'

Christened at Columbia Yacht Club with Santa Maria on October 23, 1920. Inaugurated Key West to Havana service with Santa Maria on November 1, 1920. Broke away from mooring in Havana harbour during a storm and crashed onto rocks on January 15, 1921. Total loss except engines/instruments, though no injuries or loss of life.
Niña
To larger photo of the 'Niña'
To larger photo of the 'Niña'
To larger photo of the 'Niña'

Arrived in Key West from Keyport on Thanksgiving Day 1920 and went into service the next day.

Listed in timetable of winter 1921-22 as part of Aeromarine's then current fleet list.

Columbus
To larger photo of the 'Columbus'
To larger photo of the 'Columbus'

Arrived in Miami on December 11, 1920, from Keyport. Forced to make an emergency landing in high seas en route to Havana from Key West on January 13, 1923. Sank with loss of 4 passengers and U.S. Mail. See article on the disaster.

Listed in timetable of winter 1921-22 as part of Aeromarine's then current fleet list.

Balboa
To larger photo of the 'Balboa'

Reached Florida in January/February 1921 from Keyport. Flying boat on famous baggage label.

Listed in timetable of winter 1921-22 as part of Aeromarine's then current fleet list.

Ponce de León
To larger photo of the 'Ponce de Léon'
To larger photo of the 'Ponce de Léon'

Reached Florida in late February 1921 from Keyport. Broke away from mooring in Havana harbour during a storm and hit rocks and flooded early in 1923. Complete loss, but no injuries or loss of life. See this page for a view of the wreck.

Listed in timetable of winter 1921-22 as part of Aeromarine's then current fleet list.

Mendoza (Gov. Cordeaux)
To larger photo of the 'Mendoza'
To larger photo of the 'Mendoza'
To larger photo of the 'Gov. Cordeaux'

Replacement for Pinta with first service in Florida in the autumn of 1921. Record NYC flight with 27 people at one time in May 1922. Rechristened to honour Governor of the Bahamas, January 1923.

Listed in timetable of winter 1921-22 as part of Aeromarine's then current fleet list.

Wolverine
To larger photo of the 'Wolverine'
To larger photo of the 'Wolverine'
To larger photo of the 'Wolverine'

Inaugurated Detroit-Cleveland service with Santa Maria on July 14, 1922.
Buckeye
To larger photo of the 'Buckeye'
To larger photo of the 'Buckeye'
To larger photo of the 'Buckeye'

One of the regular flying boats on the Detroit-Cleveland service, summers 1922 and 1923, also saw service in Florida during winter seasons.
Polar Bear
To larger image of a drawing of the 'Polar Bear'

Special model produced for Uppercu’s hunting expedition to the Arctic Circle in spring 1923.
The Aeromarine operating report from the autumn of 1921, an excerpt of which was printed on a flyer,
mentions six Model 75s ("six eleven-passenger cruisers of the F5L type"), although no individual aircraft names.
We may assume that they were the six Model 75s listed in the timetable of winter 1921-22.

Aeromarine Model 85/80
Converted USN Curtiss HS2L bi-wing flying boat with 1 pusher Liberty engine, 6 passengers,
2 crew (pilot and mechanic), open center cockpit and open/enclosed front passenger compartments.
Photos of Model 85s and photo of a Model 80.
Name of aircraft w/photo link: Remarks:
Pennsylvania Listed in timetable of winter 1921-22 as part of Aeromarine's then current fleet list.
New York Listed in timetable of winter 1921-22 as part of Aeromarine's then current fleet list.
Miami
To larger photo of the 'Miami'

Christening in the spring of 1921.

Listed in timetable of winter 1921-22 as part of Aeromarine's then current fleet list.

Florida
To larger photo of the 'Florida'

Used on sightseeing and charter flights at Miami in the spring of 1922.

Listed in timetable of winter 1921-22 as part of Aeromarine's then current fleet list.

Virginia Listed in timetable of winter 1921-22 as part of Aeromarine's then current fleet list.
New Jersey Listed in timetable of winter 1921-22 as part of Aeromarine's then current fleet list.
Ambassador
To larger photo of the 'Ambassador'
To larger photo of the 'Ambassador'

Used on sightseeing and charter flights in the New York City area in the summers of 1921 and 1922.

On August 8, 1921, the New York Times reported that the Ambassador had made a forced landing inside Sandy Hook Bay and that it was used "in regular passenger service between Atlantic City and New York". ((Information from Dennis Parks, Senior Curator, The Museum of Flight, Seattle, WA.)

Morro Castle
To larger photo of the 'Morro Castle'

Shipped to Puerto Rico in January 1923; did exploration/barnstorming flights there and in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
McAlpin
To larger photo of the 'McAlpin'

Cargo carriage of millinery between New York and Boston in the summer of 1921.
Vanderbilt
To larger photo of the 'Vanderbilt'
To larger photo of the 'Vanderbilt'

Used in a publicity stunt in 1922, where flowers were dropped from the air on the New York's Soldiers and Sailors Monument.
Presidente Zayas Inaugurated "Highball Express" New York City to Havana via Beaufort, S.C., Miami and Key West September 23-25, 1921. Named for President of Cuba.

Listed in timetable of winter 1921-22 as part of Aeromarine's then current fleet list.

Niagara Operated on the Lake Erie route between Cleveland and Detroit in the summer of 1922 (brief magazine reference).
Waldorf  
Biltmore
To larger photo of the 'Biltmore'

Did aerial sightseeing flights in New York City and charter and tourist flights at Lake George, N.Y., in the summer of 1921.
Ritz-Carlton  
The Aeromarine operating report from the autumn of 1921, an excerpt of which was printed on a flyer,
mentions six Model 85s ("navy coast patrol six-passenger boats of the HS2L type"), although no individual aircraft names.

Aeromarine AMC Flying Boat
Metal-hulled derivative of USN Curtiss HS2L bi-wing flying boat with 1 pusher engine,
6 passengers, 2 crew (pilot and mechanic), open center cockpit and open front passenger compartments.
Photo of the AMC.
Name of aircraft w/photo link: Remarks:
Morro Castle II
To larger photo of the 'Morro Castle II'

First metal hull flying boat constructed in U.S. Test Flight from New York City to Puerto Rico and return January to February 1924.

(Fleet list compiled by Daniel, December 2003)

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See also Photos of Aeromarine aircraft - page1 (Model 50, 80, 85 and AMC) and page 2 (Model 75).

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This page last updated February 12, 2012.