Budd BB-1 Pioneer

Development

By 1930 the Budd Company was a national leader in construction of railway vehicles containing considerable amounts of stainless steel. Anxious to expand this expertise into other areas, company founder Edward G. Budd hired Enea Bossi to design and construct a flying boat of shot-welded stainless steel sheet and strip. They contracted with the Italian aircraft company Savoia-Marchetti for the use of the S.56 design. The S.56 was a single-engine three-seat flying boat. The Italian company granted licenses for construction of three units in the US, one to Budd and the others to other companies.

The resulting BB-1 was a biplane flying boat, with the lower wing attached near the top of the hull and the upper wing held high above, with a single Kinner C-5 radial engine mounted on the aircraft centerline between the wings. Wheels mounted on the sides of the hull were retracted upwards during water landings. The single tailwheel was not retractable. The pilot and two passengers rode in an open cockpit near the bow.

The prototype BB-1 first flew from the Budd Factory airfield, a field northwest of Philadelphia (Latitude 40.11/West Longitude 75.04). The field is still visible, although not used as a landing strip.

Although the Pioneer was the first American airplane to be made of stainless steel, it did not go into production. Another stainless steel amphibian, the Fleetwings Sea Bird was the first to go into production, with one prototype and five production units manufactured.