The first aircraft was powered by a 125 hp (93 kW) Menasco C-4 piston engine driving a pusher propeller.

The first delivery was considered unacceptable in finish, prompting the production of the re-engineered Y-S model.

[2] Two Y-1S, serial numbers 0908 and 0909,were used for radio controlled development trials by the United States Navy as the JH-1.

[3] [4] A successful unmanned radio-controlled flight was made with a JH-1 drone on 23 December 1937 at the Coast Guard Air Station, Cape May, N.J. Take-off and landing was controlled via a land based radio set; for flight maneuvers, control was shifted to an airborne TG-2.

[1] Data from Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum[9]General characteristics Performance Media related to Stearman-Hammond Y-1 at Wikimedia Commons