In 1915, Curtiss designed a twin-engined landplane bomber based on its Curtiss Model H flying boat that had been designed for an attempt to fly across the Atlantic Ocean non-stop, and was in production for Britains's Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS).
The RNAS was interested in Curtiss's design, and placed an order for a single prototype.
 As Curtiss's Hammondsport and Buffalo, New York factories were busy building JN trainers and H-4 flying boats, it was decided to give responsibility for the new bomber, the C-1, to Curtiss's new Canadian subsidiary, Canadian Aeroplanes Ltd., based at Toronto, giving rise to the name Curtiss Canada.

The Canada used the unequal span biplane wings and 160 hp (120 kW) Curtiss V-X engines of the H-4 flying boat, but the rest of the design was new.
 The fuselage was a long nacelle attached to the lower wing, with two gunners sitting side-by-side in an open cockpit in the nose of the nacelle, with the pilot sitting alone in a separate cockpit at the rear of the nacelle, behind the wings.
 The tail surfaces, with had a single vertical fin, were carried on twin tailbooms extending from the rear of the engine nacelles, with a third, lower, tailboom from the rear of the fuselage nacelle.
It had a conventional landing gear with twin, tandem mainwheels and a tailskid.
An early form of autopilot, the Sperry stabilizer, was fitted to improve stability for bombing.

Construction of the prototype started in May 1915, and was first flown on 3 September 1915, powered by two 90 hp (67 kW) Curtiss OX-5 engines as the planned V-Xs were unavailable.
Further orders were placed for 100 production aircraft for the RNAS, and another prototype and ten production aircraft for the Royal Flying Corps.
In 1915, Curtiss designed a twin-engined landplane bomber based on its Curtiss Model H flying boat that had been designed for an attempt to fly across the Atlantic Ocean non-stop, and was in production for Britains's Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). The RNAS was interested in Curtiss's design, and placed an order for a single prototype.  As Curtiss's Hammondsport and Buffalo, New York factories were busy building JN trainers and H-4 flying boats, it was decided to give responsibility for the new bomber, the C-1, to Curtiss's new Canadian subsidiary, Canadian Aeroplanes Ltd., based at Toronto, giving rise to the name Curtiss Canada.
The Canada used the unequal span biplane wings and 160 hp (120 kW) Curtiss V-X engines of the H-4 flying boat, but the rest of the design was new.  The fuselage was a long nacelle attached to the lower wing, with two gunners sitting side-by-side in an open cockpit in the nose of the nacelle, with the pilot sitting alone in a separate cockpit at the rear of the nacelle, behind the wings.  The tail surfaces, with had a single vertical fin, were carried on twin tailbooms extending from the rear of the engine nacelles, with a third, lower, tailboom from the rear of the fuselage nacelle. It had a conventional landing gear with twin, tandem mainwheels and a tailskid. An early form of autopilot, the Sperry stabilizer, was fitted to improve stability for bombing.
Construction of the prototype started in May 1915, and was first flown on 3 September 1915, powered by two 90 hp (67 kW) Curtiss OX-5 engines as the planned V-Xs were unavailable. Further orders were placed for 100 production aircraft for the RNAS, and another prototype and ten production aircraft for the Royal Flying Corps.
Curtiss C-1 Canada