The existing Curtiss SO3C Seamew and Vought OS2U Kingfisher were gradually replaced by the Seahawk in the late stages of the war and into peacetime.[1] Work began in June 1942, following a US Navy Bureau of Aeronautics request for observation seaplane proposals.[3] The main float, designed to incorporate a bomb bay, suffered substantial leaks[citation needed] when used in that fashion, and was modified to carry an auxiliary fuel tank.[5] All 577 aircraft eventually produced for the Navy were delivered on conventional landing gear and flown to the appropriate Naval Air Station, where floats were fitted for service as needed.Capable of being fitted with either float or wheeled landing gear, the Seahawk was arguably America's best floatplane scout of World War II.
A U.S. Navy SC-1 from
USS
Duluth
over Shanghai, China in 1948
An SC-1 Seahawk being hoisted aboard
USS
Manchester
during a deployment to the Mediterranean Sea from in 1947/1948