The Housecat (so-named as a parody of older Grumman fighter names) was the first United States of the Seas aircraft to be put in military service. It's origins lay in the diminishing supply of spares for the pre-Crumbling aircraft in the USS inventory, which mandated a need to create a new aircraft that could viably supplement and progressively replace them while maintaining, at minimum, parity with potential rivals.

This reconnaisance seaplane was explicitly inspired by WWI-era fighter seaplanes: by combining the float and wing support struts, the outcome is a more aerodynamic aircraft than a biplane would be. However, this means that equipping it with a landing gear inflicts the plane with a draggy arrangement needed to support it's wings.