With material about the line of the Convair Skate projects, which I thankfully got from lark,
I’ve tried to portray four of these designs, which I could identify. There were more, nine
different configurations are mentioned. I've got no type dsignation or project number and the name "Skate" may well have been more an unofficial designatoin of the program.
As already told in the post about the Boeing model 486, after the cancellation of the super
carriers of the United States class, the USN was following a new idea, called the “seaplane
strike force” or the mobile base concept. Three types were ordered into development, a bomber,
a transport and a fighter. In the end, all three types were actually built, although only the
Convair R3Y Trader transport flying boat ever saw limited service. For the part of the bomber,
there was one of Scotts APR issues, I think, which probably is available as electronic version
in the near future again.
Earlier designs were for a twin seat, radar equipped night fighter, shifting later to the single seat
interceptor, which was ultimately built in the form of the XF2Y Sea Dart. The following four designs
probably were made between 1948 and 1951, all based on a blended hull configuration, which was
thought to give sufficient buoyancy and good damping characteristics for take-off and landing.
Please note, for the drawings and conclusions, I mainly used photos of the hydrodynamic models
or artist’s impressions. Still yet, I couldn’t find dimensional, nor performance data, so for length and
span, I was restricted to estimations and comparisons of details like pilots or engines. I’m absolutely
aware, that I may have misinterpreted things ! I’ve always attached at least one of the source
pictures in low resolution, so you can make up your mind on your own. If someone has better or
additional material, please let me know !
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What to my opinion is the earliest of the four designs (but not necessarily the first !),
shows a twin engined aircraft, with a short fuselage, with carries in its upper half two
jet engines and the crew in a tandem cockpit. The straight wing is blended into the fuselage,
a long, uprising fin carries a V-tail, which is located far behind the fuselage. It isn’t recognisable,
if a retractable step was incorporated, or if just the edge of the fuselage was regarded as
sufficient. An interesting feature is the nose armament, which consisted of a turret, which
formed the nose cone, probably containing two guns, besides a small radar antenna. Two
additional guns were placed in the wing roots. A spray dam, probably retractable, is fitted
to the bow.
(Cut-away from Treadwell “Strike from beneath the Sea”)
