Budd BB-1 Pioneer

The Budd BB-1 Pioneer was an experimental American flying boat of the early 1930s whose framework was built entirely of stainless steel joined by the shotweld method. Budd Company founder Edward G. Budd hired Enea Bossi to design it, and Budd obtained from the Italian firm Savoia-Marchetti a licence to use the design of its single-engine S.56 flying boat. The result was a biplane with its lower wing attached near the top of the hull and a single 210 horsepower Kinner C-5 radial engine mounted between the wings, with wheels that retracted upward for water landings and an open cockpit near the bow for the pilot and two passengers. It first flew in 1931, was found typical in performance and challenging to handle on the water, and logged about 1,000 flying hours on tours of the United States and Italy. It was the first American airplane made of stainless steel but did not go into production, and in 1935 its fabric and lower wing were removed and it was placed on permanent display outside the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.