Orenco D
Ordnance Engineering Corporation / Curtiss · United States · first flew 1920 · fighter
The Orenco Model D was one of America's first domestic post-WWI fighters, a single-bay biplane that narrowly won a 1920 US Army competition but lost production rights to Curtiss.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Mid-mounted, tapered |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Streamlined fabric-covered fuselage with rounded cross-section |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Single-bay biplane with rounded balanced rudder and circular cowling
- Straight upper wing with curved leading edge; shorter lower wing
- Streamlined fabric-covered fuselage with rounded cross-section
A neat single-bay biplane with staggered wings, the lower plane shorter than the upper. The balanced rounded rudder and large circular cowling housing the Wright-Hispano engine are the clearest recognition features. The streamlined fabric fuselage lacks the corrugated or angular look of later metal types.
Specifications
- The Orenco D has a length of 6.27 m (21 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 9.6 m (31 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 230 km/h (143 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Designed by Ordnance Engineering Corporation, the Model D won the 1920 Army pursuit competition but the service awarded the production contract to Curtiss, who built 50 aircraft. This outcome effectively ended Orenco as an aircraft manufacturer. Despite its promising performance for the era, the Model D was soon outpaced by imported designs and saw no active service life beyond evaluation. The affair highlighted tensions in early US aviation procurement between design innovation and manufacturing capacity.
Variants
Prototype and Curtiss-built production Model D; minor differences in engine and equipment fits.
Where you'll see it
Fifty production aircraft delivered to the US Army Air Service in 1921; used briefly for evaluation and training before being retired as superior types arrived.
Related aircraft
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