Vought VE-10

The Vought VE-10 Bat Boat was an American biplane flying boat that Vought built in 1919 as a commercial machine. Chance Vought announced it at about the time work began on the VE-9. It had a short three-seat hull and a 90 horsepower Curtiss OX-5 V8 engine. Its maiden flight on 2 August 1919, with test pilots James A. Taylor Jr. and Caleb S. Bragg at the controls, showed a well balanced and easy to control aircraft with performance like that of many land planes of the time, and Aircraft Journal called it one of the most promising commercial airplanes to appear since the armistice. Despite large public interest Vought sold none, and although the Navy and Army test pilots liked its flight characteristics, the Navy had no use for it beyond unofficial flights. Only one was built, a militarized derivative called the VE-15 was never built, and the final fate of the VE-10 is unknown.