The FBA 17 was a training
flying boat produced in
France in the 1920s.
Design and development
Similar in general layout to the aircraft that FBA had produced during
World War I, the Type 17 was a conventional two-bay
biplane with unequal-span, unstaggered wings and side-by-side open cockpits. The
pusher engine was mounted on struts in the interplane gap. Apart from their use by the
French Navy, a small number were sold to the
Polish Navy, the
Brazilian Air Force, and civil operators as well. Some versions were built as amphibians, and others had fittings to allow them to be
catapulted from warships.
In 1931, the
US Coast Guard purchased an example for evaluation, and being pleased with the design, arranged for the type to be built under licence by the
Viking Flying Boat Company in
New Haven, Connecticut. Six aircraft were eventually produced and served with the Coast Guard under the designation OO until the outbreak of
World War II.
17 HMT.2FBA 17 HMT.2 photo from L'Aéronautique December,1926
(Hydravion Mixte de Transport) 2-seat amphibious transport aircraft,
Hispano-Suiza 8A-powered, (37 built)
A FBA-17HMT2 plane called Lubliniak, was bought by the
Airborne and Antigas Defence League (LOPP) with was funds donated by the readers of Głos Lubelski, for use in propaganda flights across central and eastern Poland.[1]
17 HMB.2
17 HMT 2s already in service with the French Navy, were redesignated HMB 2, after being fitted with a bomb rack on the port side of the hull.
17 HMT.4
4-seat amphibious transport aircraft,
Hispano-Suiza 8A-powered, (2 built)
17 HT.4
(Hydravion de Transport) 4-seat transport aircraft,
Hispano-Suiza 8A-powered, (35 built)
^Grey, C.G., ed. (1928). Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1928. London: Sampson Low, Marston & company, ltd. pp. 102c–103c.
^Parmentier, Bruno (10 December 1998).
"F.B.A. 17 HE 2". Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
Pearcy, Arthur (1991). U.S. Coast Guard Aircraft Since 1916. Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd.
ISBN1-85310-118-4.
Further reading
Bousquet, Gérard (2013). French Flying Boats of WW II. Sandomierz, Poland: Stratus.
ISBN978-83-63678-06-7.
Cortet, Pierre (September 2000). "Rétros du Mois" [Retros of the Month]. Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (90): 4.
ISSN1243-8650.
Morareau, Lucien (December 1998). "L'escadrille du bout du monde" [Squadron at the End of the World]. Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (69): 42–51.
ISSN1243-8650.
Nelcarz, Bartolomiej & Peczkowski, Robert (April 2000). "Les appareils français dans la Marine Polonaise" [French Aircraft of the Polish Navy]. Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (85): 22–27.
ISSN1243-8650.
Nelcarz, Bartolomiej & Peczkowski, Robert (2001). White Eagles: The Aircraft, Men and Operations of the Polish Air Force 1918–1939. Ottringham, UK: Hikoki Publications.
ISBN1-902109-73-2.
Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 382.
External links
Parmentier, Bruno (10 December 1998).
"F.B.A. 17 HL 1". Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
Parmentier, Bruno (10 December 1998).
"F.B.A. 17 HL 2". Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
Parmentier, Bruno (10 December 1998).
"F.B.A. 17 HMT 2". Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
Parmentier, Bruno (10 December 1998).
"F.B.A. 17 HMT 4". Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
Parmentier, Bruno (10 December 1998).
"F.B.A. 17 HT 4". Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
Parmentier, Bruno (10 December 1998).
"F.B.A. 171 HE 2". Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
Parmentier, Bruno (10 December 1998).
"F.B.A. 172 HE 2". Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
Parmentier, Bruno (10 December 1998).
"F.B.A. 172 HMT 2". Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
Parmentier, Bruno (10 December 1998).
"F.B.A. 172 HT 4". Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
"FBA 17". www.airwar.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 20 February 2018.