Grumman G-21 Goose
The Grumman G-21 Goose is a twin-engined amphibious flying boat first flown in 1937, designed as an "air yacht" for wealthy Long Island commuters. It was Grumman's first monoplane, its first twin-engined aircraft and its first type to enter airline service. In the Second World War it served the armed forces of eleven nations, and afterward it built a long second career with small airlines in Alaska, the Caribbean and California.
Why It Mattered
The Goose began as a private commission: in 1936 a syndicate of ten wealthy New York businessmen, looking for an "air yacht" to commute between Long Island and Manhattan, were directed to Grumman after Grover Loening declined to build one. First flown on 29 May 1937, the G-21 was Grumman's first monoplane, its first twin-engined aircraft and the first Grumman type to enter commercial airline service. Able to alight on water or land, it served for decades in a wide variety of roles, well beyond the commuter flying it was designed for. The armed forces of eleven nations flew it during the Second World War, and after the war small airlines in Alaska, the Caribbean and California adopted it.
Design Notes
The Goose is an all-metal, high-wing monoplane skinned in Alclad aluminium, and its deep fuselage doubles as the hull. Two 450-horsepower Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior radials are mounted on the leading edges of the wings, and a stabilizing float hangs beneath each wing. The landing gear retracts by hand crank, so the same airframe could operate from runways and from water. Inside were seats for four to six passengers behind a crew of two, and customers could have a galley and a lavatory fitted. Flight trials led to one early refinement: the hull step was lengthened to improve the aircraft's performance on the water.
Operational History
The prototype completed its first test flight on 29 May 1937 from Grumman's Bethpage factory on Long Island, flown by Robert L. Hall and Bud Gillies. Deliveries began five weeks later, on 3 July, when the first of twelve ordered aircraft went to Wilton Lloyd-Smith, who had led the syndicate behind the commission. Civilian sales spread abroad before the war; the Dutch airline KNILM operated two in the East Indies from 1940 until early 1942, when the last was shot down by invading Japanese forces. The Royal Canadian Air Force placed the first military order in June 1938, and orders from the U.S. Army and Navy, the Peruvian air force and the Portuguese navy followed. The U.S. Army operated 26 as OA-9s and OA-13s, and the Navy and Coast Guard operated 169 JRFs in utility, transport and anti-submarine roles. France flew at least fifteen in combat in Indochina, several of them armed with bombs and machine guns. By the time production ended in October 1945, 345 G-21s had been built, and the type was serving the air forces and navies of eleven nations.
Afterlife
Most military Gooses were phased out soon after the war, but the type renewed its career as an airliner with small airlines in the Caribbean, California and Alaska. Operators such as Reeve Aleutian Airways, Alaska Coastal Airlines, Chalk's Flying Service and Mackey Airlines kept it carrying passengers and freight. The Goose still flies today, in its original piston-engined form and in turboprop conversions built for increased performance. The National Air and Space Museum's Goose, a G-21A built in 1938 for an oil company's Venezuelan operation, passed to the museum in June 1983 and moved to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in December 2003.