Operational History
The early prototypes were used for a series of long-distance flights, with an attempt being made on 1 September, 1925 by the PN-9 to carry out a non-stop flight from San Francisco to Hawaii, a distance of 2,400 miles (3864 km). The aircraft ran out of fuel after 1,841 miles, a new distance record for seaplanes, but still 200 miles short of the nearest landfall. The crew then rigged crude sails made from fabric torn from the aircraft's wings and sailed the aircraft a further 450 miles to reach the Hawaiian island of Kauai on 10 September. The same aircraft was lost during an attempted long distance flight to South America, being sunk as a navigation hazard after ditching in the Caribbean Sea. The two PN-12s were also used to set various records, including range and speed over circuit records.
The various production derivatives of the PN-12 entered service with the US Navy from 30 April, 1928, when VP-7D received its first Douglas PD-1, remaining in service until July 1938, when the last Keystone PK-1 was retired.
Three Martin PM-1s were also supplied to the Brazilian Navy in 1930.
Read more about this topic: Naval Aircraft Factory PN
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