Aviation Naval Warfare Land Systems Small Arms Space By Flag By Year By Tag

CONVAIR Submersible Seaplane

1966 COLD WAR X-PLANE

History of the CONVAIR Underwater Seaplane

Throughout World War II (1939-1945), attack aircraft and attack submarines played a role in the Allied victory over the Axis powers played a vital role. Both domains are in the hands of the United States, whose airborne raiders helped conquer Italy and Germany in Europe, while its submarine force thwarted Japanese efforts in the Pacific. With the end of the war in 1945, against the backdrop of evolving technology and the growing threat posed by the Soviet Union to the East, the United States Navy (USN) authorities began to consider the idea of ??a "submersible seaplane".

As its name suggests That way, submersible seaplanes would have the inherent ability to fly above the waterline and dive into the deep blue to neutralize enemy surface ships - especially Soviet ships - while retaining the proven qualities of air assault platforms and fighter jets -U - Boots in the pack.

The concept was considered as early as 1934 by Soviet engineer Boris Petrovich Ushakov, who outlined plans for a three-engine seaplane with anti-submarine capabilities. The idea was presented to the authorities in 1936, but it was not further implemented.

American research entered the 1950s, and by 1955 turbojet and submarine technology had matured to a useful level. Turbojets made their debut in World War II and had some shining examples before the end of the war, and by the end of the war a lot of information had been gleaned from the Americans and the Soviets about capturing German submarine technology. The All American Engineering Company developed an early product of a submersible seaplane, but the unconventional idea initially ran into troublethough the U.S.

Navy's interest in the subject continued into the 1960s.

The U.S. Navy has presented its formal plans for its underwater seaplane attack aircraft capable of reaching Sea State 2 waters (no more than 1.8 feet in flat waves) and reaching an operational altitude of approximately 2,500 feet at air cruising speeds of up to 225 miles per hour.

When fully sealed and submerged in anti-ship role, the vessel can advance to a depth of 75 feet at speeds of up to 10 knots and has a maximum range of 50 nautical miles (or up to 10 hours submerged).

The main weapon of this vehicle is to fire torpedoes at enemy ships or launch mines to cut off key areas like ports/harbours in the event of war. In addition, the vehicle could potentially carry and release/recover agents for covert operations -- and travel to places in the US Navy's inventory that traditional submarines cannot access.

In 1962, North American aeronautical engineer Donald Reid built his two-seater (two-seater) "Reid Flying Submarine", designating the "RFS-1" submersible seaplane as a company using derelict aircraft Parts private company. Although the USN was able to demonstrate the required characteristics, it didn't buy into the idea, so the project ended - the RFS-1's main flaw was its weight, which limited the vehicle's short "jumps" over water.

By this point, the concept of an underwater attacker was more or less considered viable by U.S. naval authorities and defense industry personnel, leading to fears that CONVAIR would be awarded a contract to develop such a solution in 1964. The company had previously completed (and tested) the unique ski-equipped F2Y "Sea Dart" twin-turbojet supersonic seaplane, in service from 1953 to 1957, and built five prototypes.

While being able to exceed the speed of sound as a seaplane (an impressive feat in itself), the program was terminated in November 1954 with the loss of an aircraft and its test pilots - while the overall results of the program were Judging does not fit the intended role.