The W.19 used its endurance to scout ahead of smaller W.12 and, later, W.29 aircraft in North Sea operations. The smaller machines could wait on the water while the W.19 searched for a contact. Once it found something, the scout called them in for closer reconnaissance. W.19 crews also fought Felixstowe F.2 and Curtiss America flying boats. The smaller German aircraft had the advantage when they surprised these larger machines, whose design emphasized long-range reconnaissance. Endurance, readiness on the water, and the ability to concentrate aircraft at a contact formed a coordinated scouting system.
Chapter · 44:45-46:11
W.19 long-range scouting and layered floatplane tactics
The larger W.19 extended reconnaissance range and guided shorter-ranged floatplanes toward targets in a layered North Sea scouting system.