Peter M. Bowers (1918–2003)

This book is one of many titles written by noted American aviation writer Peter M. Bowers, one of four books produced by the author for the Putnam Aeronautical Library--the other three deal with U.S. military and naval aircraft and the Boeing aircraft line. The Curtiss book is more difficult to find on the used book market, although this book, as are the others in the Putnam series, have been published by different houses over the years since the 1960's. My copy of "Curtiss Aircraft 1907-1947" is from the Naval Institute Press and published in 1987.

This is no small book at 625 pages, although more than a hundred of the pages are devoted to several appendices that attempt to track the individual serial numbers of aircraft built by Curtiss over its forty-year history. The heart of this book are the 14 unnumbered chapters into which Bowers attempts to organize Curtiss' chaotic history. The author attempts to do this by describing the company at certain dates, its significant personalities, and its facilities, followed by presentations of the aircraft built in that era. In his research of the company, Bowers found a 1935 catalog that in some cases applied contemporary designations for old Curtiss products. In other cases, like aircraft bought by the Army and Navy, Bowers follows the customers' designations, illogical though they be at times.

As an engineer for Boeing for more than three decades, Bowers is well-qualified in writing the technical descriptions of Curtiss aircraft. To keep this book at a reasonable length, the aircraft descriptions are tight in their phrasing, so a potential reader should have some sense of aviation technology. However, the book seems disorganized at times, at least to me, as I think this reflects the nature of Curtiss' surviving records when Bowers researched them. Bowers' need to use the flawed 1935 Curtiss catalog is one manifestation of that tendency.

Bowers' experience at Boeing impacts this book in another way. Despite available information that depicts Curtiss (particularly its post-1929 Curtiss-Wright organization) as a failing business, unable to adapt to new technology and design concepts, Bowers staunchly defends Curtiss and states that the problems were driven by unreasonable customer (ie Army and Navy) demands and changes. While Bowers no doubt faced similar issues at Boeing during his career there, the historic record shows that the Curtiss-Wright companies formed in 1929 was nowhere near as competent as the original business founded by Glenn Curtiss, while Bowers' Boeing adapted and thrived.

"Curtiss Aircraft 1907-1947" is a worthy addition to the Putnam Aeronautical Library, covering a noteworthy aviation pioneer that made singular contributions to aviation history but was unable to sustain itself.… (mere)