In response to the U.S. Navy's need in the late 1940s for a carrier-based, long-range jet bomber, the Glenn L. Martin Company, the successful purveyor of large sea planes, proposed its Model 245, a hybrid that could fly to the carrier's operating area, refueling from submarines along the way, and then jettison the boat hull for operation from a carrier. It was apparently to be used only from staging from a carrier, because it did not have folding wings. The Navy went with the more conventional Douglas A3D Skywarrior instead.Pictures and information courtesy of the Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum.
1 comment:
You know - there was a lot of this "jettisoning" nonsense in the 50's and early 60's. One of the early designs for what wold become the B-58, for example, with the parasite concept used for the GEBO II configuration.
Post a Comment