Curtiss_SOC-1_Seagull_VCS-7 2026-08-20

With the failure of the Curtiss SO3C Seamew, many SOCs in second line service were returned to frontline units starting in late 1943. They saw service aboard warships in the combat zone for the rest of World War II. This is one of the few instances in aviation history in which an older aircraft type, that was retired or sent to second line service, replaced the new aircraft type that was intended to replace it. VCS-7 SOC-1, Black 18, assigned to USS Augusta, Operation Torch, November 1942.