Seversky SEV-3

SEV-3

Role	Three-seat amphibian
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Seversky Aircraft
Designer	Alexander Kartveli
First flight	1933

The Seversky SEV-3 was an American three-seat amphibian monoplane, the first aircraft designed and built by the Seversky Aircraft Corporation.

Design and development

The SEV-3 was an all-metal cantilever low-wing monoplane powered by a nose-mounted 420 hp (313 kW) Wright J-6 Whirlwind radial engine. It had two cockpits in tandem, a forward cockpit for the pilot and a rear cockpit for two passengers, both with sliding canopies. It could either be fitted with twin amphibious floats which had main wheels fitted in the floats to allow it to operate from land, or with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage with the mainwheels enclosed in large fairings.^[1]

The SEV-3 first flew as a floatplane in June 1933, demonstrating excellent performance as both an amphibian and a landplane.^[2] It was built in small numbers mainly for export.

Alexander de Seversky standing before the SEV-3XAR, autumn 1934

Operational history

An SEV-3 established a world speed record for piston-engined amphibians in 1933, and on 15 September 1935, a Wright Cyclone-powered SEV-3 set a record of 230 mph (370.8 km/h) which stood for 49 years. A landplane version was also developed with conventional landing gear.^[3]

The design influenced a long line of Seversky and later Republic aircraft, eventually leading to the development of the P-47 Thunderbolt. A landplane version was used by the United States Army Air Corps as a basic trainer with the designation BT-8.

Operators

Spain

Spanish Republican Air Force

Colombia

Colombian Air Force

Variants

SEV-3XAR: Amphibian
SEV-3XLR: Landplane
SEV-3MWW: Amphibian for the Colombian Air Force, six built.
BT-8: Landplane basic-trainer for the United States Army Air Corps, 30 built.

Specifications (BT-8)

BT-8

Data from United States Military Aircraft since 1909^[4]

General characteristics

Crew: 2
Length: 24 ft 4 in (7.42 m)
Wingspan: 36 ft 0 in (10.98 m)
Wing area: 220 ft² (20.4 m²)
Empty weight: 3,017 lb (1,317 kg)
Gross weight: 4,050 lb (1,841 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney R-985-11 Wasp Junior, 450 hp (336 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 175^[5] mph (282 km/h)

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Seversky SEV-3.

Notes

↑ Green and Swanborough Air Enthusiast Ten, pp. 9–10.
↑ Green and Swanborough Air Enthusiast Ten, p. 9.
↑ "Amphibian Flies Nearly Four Miles a Minute" Popular Mechanics, December 1935
↑ Swanborough and Bowers 1963, p. 527.
↑ at sea level

Bibliography

Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. "The end of the beginning...The Seversky P-35". Air Enthusiast, Ten, July–September 1979, pp. 8–21.
Howson, Gerald. "A Seversky in the Spanish War". Air Enthusiast, Eighteen, April–July 1982, pp. 32–36.
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985) London: Orbis Publishing, 1985.
Swanborough, F.G. and Peter M. Bowers. United States Military Aircraft since 1909. London: Putnam, 1963.
Taylor, Michael J.H. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions, 1989. ISBN 0-517-69186-8.

Republic and Seversky aircraft

Seversky aircraft

Republic aircraft

Fighters	P-43 P-44 P-47 XP-69 XP-72 F-84 F-84F XF-84H XF-91 XF-103 F-105

Reconnaissance	XF-12

Missiles	JB-2

Civil aircraft	RC-3

Republic aircraft (by name)

United States trainer aircraft designations, Army/Air Force and Tri-Service systems

Advanced Trainer
(1925-1948)

Basic Combat
(1936-1940)

Basic Trainer
(1930-1948)

Primary Trainer
(1924-1948)

Main sequence
(1948-present)

1948 redesignations	T-6 T-7 T-11 T-13A T-13B/D T-17 T-19

New designations	T-28 T-29 T-30 T-31 T-32 T-33 T-34 T-35 T-36 T-37 T-38 T-39 T-40 T-41 T-42 T-43 T-44 T-45 T-46 T-47 T-48 (I) T-48 (II) CT-49 T-50 T-51 T-52 T-53

Alternate sequences

1962 redesignations	T-1 T-2

1990-1996 sequence	T-1 T-2¹ T-3 T-4¹ T-5¹ T-6

¹ Not assigned

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