Development and Design
In December 1927, the U.S. Navy placed a contract with the Hall-Aluminum Aircraft Corporation of Bristol, Pennsylvania for a developed version of the Naval Aircraft Factory PN-11, which itself could trace a development history back to the Felixstowe F.5 flying boat of World War I. The resultant prototype, the XPH-1, first flew in December 1929.
The XPH-1 had identical wings and a similar metal hull to that of the PN-11, but was fitted with a large single fin and rudder. It was powered by two Wright Cyclone radial engines and accommodated its two pilots side by side in an open cockpit, with cockpits for gunners in the nose and behind the wings.
In 1930, Hall received an order for nine production aircraft from the U.S Navy, designated the PH-1, which were fitted with more powerful engines and a primitive, partly enclosed cockpit for the pilots. Orders for the U.S Coast Guard eventually followed, with seven PH-2s (similar to the PH-1, but with armament removed, and seven PH-3s (with armament re-instated and a more refined, fully enclosed cockpit for the pilots).
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