Curtiss SO3C Seamew The Curtiss SO3C Seamew was developed by the Curtiss - Wright Corporation as a replacement for the SOC Seagull as the United States Navy ' s standard floatplane scout . Curtiss named the SO3C the " Seamew " but in 1941 the US Navy began calling it by the name " Seagull " , the same name as the aircraft it replaced ( the Curtiss SOC a biplane type ) , causing some confusion . The British Royal Navy kept the Curtiss name , ( " Seamew " ) , for the SO3C that they ordered . One of the US Navy ' s main design requirements was that the SOC Seagull ' s replacement had to be able to operate both from ocean vessels with a single center float and from land bases with the float replaced by a wheeled landing gear . Design and development . From the time it entered service the SO3C suffered two serious flaws : in - flight stability problems and problems with the unique Ranger air - cooled V - shaped inline engine . The stability problem was mostly resolved with the introduction of upturned wing tips and a larger rear tail surface that extended over the rear observer ' s cockpit . The additional tail surface was attached to the rear observer ' s sliding canopy and pilots claimed there were still stability problems when the canopy was open . The canopy was often open because the aircraft ' s main role was spotting . While the in - flight stability problem was eventually addressed ( although not fully solved ) , the Ranger XV - 770 engine proved a dismal failure even after many attempted modifications . Poor flight performance and a poor maintenance record led to the SO3C being withdrawn from US Navy first line units by 1944 . The older biplane SOC was taken from state - side training units and restored to first - line service on many US Navy warships until the end of World War II . Operational history . Royal Navy service . A number of the SO3C - 1s , not a floatplane , but a fixed undercarriage version , were ordered by the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm under the terms of Lend - Lease . In RN service the SO3C was given the designation " Seamew " , a name used again in the 1950s for the Short Seamew . Crews gave it the more appropriate name " Sea Cow " . Lettice Curtis , in her book " Forgotten Pilots " , stated ' that although its standard fuel tanks held 300 gallons , it would only just take off with the eighty gallons ' fixed as the maximum for Air Transport Auxiliary trips . In addition the tail needed to be raised before becoming airborne , as ' it was possible to take - off in an attitude from which it was both impossible to recover and in which there was no aileron control ' . The final comment from this experienced pilot was ' it is hard to imagine how , even in wartime , such an aircraft could have been accepted from the factory , let alone given valuable cargo space across the Atlantic ' . The first batch for the RN was to have a centreline bomb rack and arrestor gear . Later versions , known as the Seamew Mk . I , were the SO3 - 2C variant . 250 Seamews were allocated and some 100 actually delivered , the last batch was refused in favour of additional Vought Kingfishers . Deliveries to the RN started in January 1944 . It was declared obsolete in September the same year and completey removed from service in 1945 . The SO3 - 1K was to have been taken into service as the Queen Seamew , but an order of 30 was cancelled . Seamews served with No . 744 NAS and No . 745 NAS at RCAF Yarmouth , Nova Scotia Canada , and with No . 755 NAS based in Hampshire , UK .