CONVAIR Skate

History

In the second half of the 1940s, as turbojet technology and general aviation technology advanced, the United States Navy (USN) began to develop more radical aircraft designs for potential future battlefield roles. One such role is the "airship fighter" or "seaplane fighter", a fighter jet designed with a ship-like airframe/airframe that can take off and land from water sources while maintaining the combat capability of the fighter jet. Several countries, including the UK, have investigated this type of aircraft, but few viable mass production candidates have proven to be the case.

During this period, the Soviet Union also managed several "Ekranoplan" jet "Ground Effect Vehicles" (GEVs).

The concept of a seaplane/airship fighter is interesting because it allows operations to access almost all of the places in the world where these types of aircraft can serve as a base. The aircraft will be looked after by accompanying naval vessels (such as seaplane suppliers) and provided with the appropriate fuel and weapons to meet mission requirements.

Take off and recover from the water while providing combat-like performance with added tactical advantage.

Propulsion will come from 2 Westinghouse XJ40-WE-10 afterburner turbojets, each delivering over 7,920 pounds of thrust. With the afterburners engaged, that power increases to 11,750 pounds of thrust each. Performance figures estimated by CONVAIR engineers include a maximum airspeed of 713 mph, a service ceiling of 52,500 feet and a rate of climb of 22,800 feet per minute.

The combat range is 460 miles.

The proposed standard armament consists of 2 to 4 x 20mm guns mounted externally to the wings and powerplant. Sources also point to the ability to mount a 30 x 5 inch airborne rocket. No bomb-carrying elements were found.

U.S. Navy authorities reviewed the CONVAIR submission and deemed it appropriate, although the design did not exceed some artistic impressions and design specification drawings. Thus, the airship/seaplane fighter remained a novel concept in the minds of Cold War war planners. All was not lost, however, as in 1953 the CONVAIR F2Y "Sea Dart" seaplane took shape and made its maiden flight for the US Navy.

Five of them have been completed (though only prototypes) and are the first seaplanes to exceed the speed of sound.

The performance values ??for the skates listed below are estimates only by CONVAIR.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes