Of conventional biplane configuration and construction, the aircraft was designed so that its pontoons could be speedily detached and replaced with wheeled undercarriage for shore operations.

Fifty of the original design (later referred to as the 39A) were produced, featuring twin floats and powered by a Hall-Scott A-7 engine.

On October 26, 1922 Godfrey DeCourcelles Chevalier landed a 39B on a moving ship, USS Langley, the first time this had been achieved on an American aircraft carrier.

An example of a 39B is preserved at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, although it has been severely damaged by two fires, one in 1966 and one in the early 1980s.

General characteristics Performance Media related to Aeromarine 39 at Wikimedia Commons