Pitcarin PA-39 Autogyro Sea Trials

okikuma · Oct 14, 2024

Here is an old 1940s film of an American manufactured Pitcairn PA-39 Autogyro landing upon and performing jump take-offs from the fantail of the British merchant ship, Empire Mersey. The Royal Air Force and Royal Navy purchased the autogyros from the USA under the Lend - Lease program. Note the landing approach to the Empire Mersey is made with a slight "crab" angle so the pilot can keep the "landing pad" in view. Also note the mild "ground resonance" after landing. The string of multiple parallel cables strung fore and aft on the landing pad is to help prevent lateral sliding movement after landing upon a wet deck during rough seas.

For those who don’t know, the Pitcarin PA-39s were manufactured on seven previously built PA-18 autogyro airframes, purchased back by Pitcairn-Larsen Autogiro Company. It was much quicker to modify an existing PA-18 airframes than to retool up with new assembly jigs and weld up new steel tube airframes. One PA-18 that was not purchased back by the Pitcairn-Larsen Autogiro Company and converted was restored by a gentleman named Jack Tiffany in the early 2000s, and is now owned by Kermit Weeks.

After the demonstration “sea trials” on the Empire Mersey, The RAF purchased 3 PA-39s and the Royal Navy purchased two. The remaining two airframes were kept by Pitcairn-Larsen Autogiro Company for continued testing. One of the two airframes was loaned to Princeton University and its fate is unknown. The second PA-39 has been restored, painted in RAF camouflage and now resides at the EAA museum.

One account is that all 5 PA-39s were loaded on a ship and sunk on the way to Britain. A different account is that three of PA-39s were deliberately sabotaged in Canada, and those airframes were scrapped along with the associated spare parts. The ship being sunk was a cover story.

Wayne