F2Y Sea Dart
| F2Y Sea Dart | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| An F2Y Sea Dart with dual-ski configuration | |
| Role | Seaplane fighter |
| Manufacturer | Convair |
| First flight | 14 January 1953 |
| Retired | 1957 |
| Status | Retired |
| Primary user | United States Navy |
| Number built | 5 |
The Convair F2Y Sea Dart was an American seaplane fighter aircraft that rode on twin hydro-skis for takeoff. It flew only as a prototype, and never entered mass production. It is the only seaplane to have exceeded the speed of sound.
It was created in the 1950s, to overcome the problems with supersonic planes taking off and landing on aircraft carriers. The program was canceled after a series of underwhelming results and a tragic accident on 4 November 1954, when test pilot Charles E. Richbourg was killed when the Sea Dart he was piloting disintegrated in midair. The four surviving planes were retired in 1957, but some were kept in reserve until 1962.
The Sea Dart began as Convair's entry in a 1948 U.S. Navy contest for a supersonic interceptor aircraft. During the time, there was much skepticism about operating supersonic aircraft from carrier decks. So in order to address this issue, U.S. Navy ordered many subsonic fighters. The worry had some foundation, since many supersonic designs of the time required long takeoff rolls, had high approach speeds, and were not very stable or easy to control—all factors that were troublesome on a carrier.
Ernest Stout's team at Convair's hydrodynamic research laboratory proposed to put a Delta Dagger on water skis.
Convair's proposal gained an order for two prototypes in late 1951. Twelve production aircraft were ordered before a prototype had even flown. No armament was ever fitted to any Sea Dart built, but the plan was to arm the production aircraft with four 20mm Colt Mk12 and a battery of folding-fin unguided rockets. Four of this order were redesignated as service test vehicles, and an additional eight production aircraft were soon ordered as well.
The aircraft was to be a delta-winged fighter with a watertight hull and twin retractable hydro-skis for takeoff and landing. When stationary or moving slowly in the water, the Sea Dart floated with the trailing edge of the wings touching the water. The skis were not extended until the aircraft reached about 10 miles (16 km) per hour during its takeoff run.
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