Roden 019 Felixstowe F.2A early Version 1:72

Without any doubt, the Felixstowe flying boats can be considered to be among the best aircraft of WWI. Like their cruisers at sea, or the first tanks on land, these planes embodied the might and resilience of the British Empire. An impressive performance and a great range when flying long patrols over the North Sea contributed to its great popularity with marine pilots.

The history of this plane is closely connected with the name of Lieutenant Commander John Cyrill Porte RN, a talented English officer. At the dawn of aviation John Porte foresaw much of its potential for serving military purposes.

Before the beginning of WWI, John Porte started co-operating with American aircraft designer Glenn Curtiss. They were driven by the common effort to improve the flying boats of the time, as they believed that flying machines could be used in various tasks, military tasks in particular. The 'America' flying boat, the biggest at that time, was one of the results of their co-operation. It was intended to test this aircraft in a transatlantic flight, but the war wrecked these plans.

John Porte returned to Great Britain soon after the start of war. He was not admitted to front line service due to poor health. However, he was appointed to the command of a training unit in Hendon. Later, Porte became the commander of the naval air base at Felixstowe. While occupying this position he started to persuade the authorities to purchase Curtiss flying boats of the H-4 type, which in fact were the military version of the transatlantic 'America' boat.