The Curtiss SO3C Seamew was developed by the Curtiss-Wright Corporation as a replacement for the SOC Seagull as the United States Navy's standard floatplane scout.

While the in-flight stability problem was eventually addressed (although not fully solved), the Ranger XV-770 engine proved a dismal failure even after many attempted modifications.

The older biplane SOC was taken from stateside training units and restored to first-line service on many US Navy warships until the end of World War II.

[1] A number of the SO3C-1s, a fixed undercarriage version, were ordered by the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm under the terms of Lend-Lease.

The final comment from this experienced pilot was "it is hard to imagine how, even in wartime, such an aircraft could have been accepted from the factory, let alone given valuable cargo space across the Atlantic.