jfb@ihlpm.att.com (Joseph F Baugher) (08/17/90)
From: jfb@ihlpm.att.com (Joseph F Baugher)
The Convair F2Y Sea Dart water-based fighter has been the subject of several
recent postings, so I thought that I would put this summary out on the net.
Enjoy!
In 1948, the Navy launched a competition for the design of a supersonic
seaplane interceptor. In 1951, Convair was awarded a contract for two
prototypes with a delta wing planform, a single delta-shaped tail, and a
watertight hull. The aircraft would land on a pair of waterskis which
retracted into recesses within the fuselage. The skis were extended for
landings and takeoffs, but were retracted for flight or for mooring.
Pending the availability of more powerful engines, the first prototype was
fitted with two side-by-side afterburning Westinghouse J-34 engines of 3400
pounds of thrust each. The engines were fed by two intakes mounted on either
side of the fuselage, above the wings and behind the cockpit.
The Navy had such confidence with the design that they ordered 4 YF2Y-1 pre-
production and twelve production F2Y-1 aircraft before the first prototype had
flown. These were to be powered by a pair of J-46 jets of 6000 pounds of thrust
each.
The XF2Y-1 prototype took to the air for the first time on April 9, 1953.
The first tests revealed (as expected) that the aircraft was severely under-
powered for its weight. In addition, the waterskis vibrated continuously
during takeoff and landing. In order to cure the vibration problem, a
single waterski arrangement was also tried. This did not seem to improve
things by any appreciable amount.
The YF2Y-1, with its more powerful J-46 engines, joined the test program in
early 1954. Convair's test pilot Charles Richbourg took the YF2Y-1 through
the sound barrier while in a shallow dive on August 3, 1954. This was the
first time that a seaplane ever went supersonic. However, Richbourg was
killed that November while demonstrating the YF2Y-1 in an air show over
San Diego Bay. Apparently, the aircraft got pushed past its safety margin and
the plane disintegrated in midair. Bits and pieces of flaming debris fell
into the bay. I still remember the rather vivid photos of this accident
that appeared in Life magazine.
In the meantime, the Navy had been gradually losing interest in the Sea Dart
project. The Navy was already planning for the introduction of supersonic
carrier-based fighters, and the problems with the vibrating waterskis
seemed to be insoluble. The Navy cancelled its order for the production lot
of 12 F2Y-1 fighters in early 1954, even before the first of the YF2Y-1
service test aircraft had been delivered. The fatal crash of the YF2Y-1
aircraft later that year, with the surrounding bad publicity, did not help
matters, and, in the event, only three of the four YF2Ys ordered were actually
delivered.
Also cancelled was the F2Y-2, which had been envisaged as the definitive
production version of the Sea Dart. It had a single waterski, an area-ruled
fuselage, plus a single afterburning Pratt and Whitney J-75 turbojet of
15,000 pounds of thrust.
Evaluation of the surviving Sea Dart aircraft continued until 1957, when the
program was finally terminated. One YF2Y-1 aircraft is on display at the Naval
Air Test Center Museum at Patuxent River, Maryland.
There is a rather odd postscript to the Sea Dart story. In 1962, five years
after the official termination of the Sea Dart project, the Navy was ordered
to redesignate all of its fighter aircraft in order to conform to the new
tri-service unified aircraft designation scheme. For some obscure reason,
the Sea Dart was assigned the designation F-7. Perhaps some clerk in the
Defense Department had some fond memories of this warplane, and decided to
honor it posthumously with an official F-number.
Specs for the YF2Y-1:
Gross weight: 16,500 lbs. Maximum takeoff weight: 21,500 lbs.
Maximum speed: 695 mph at 8000feet, 825 mph at 36,000 ft.
Climb rate: 35,000 feet in 1.7 minutes. Range 513 miles
(these are estimated performance figures, which I don't think were ever
achieved in test)
The Sea Dart was never equipped with any armament.
Source: The American Fighter, Enzo Angelucci and Peter Bowers, Orion Books,
New York, 1987.
Joe Baugher *************************************
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jfb200@cbnewsd.att.com
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