General Dynamics (Convair) ASW V/STOL seaplane

VEHICLE CONFIGURATION​

The resulting vehicle configuration (Figure 3) is a six-engine canard seaplane with a fully developed hull to accommodate the STOL flight requirement. The aircraft is about the size of a P3A (ORION). The Canard arrangement gives a location for the six engines within reasonable structural considerations and offers the advantage of a longitudinal trim control in hover and transition without the use of a tail rotor. The vertical and short take-off lifting capabilities of the aircraft are considered to be 93,000 and 115,000 pounds, respectively. The “no-fuel” operational weight should be about 81,000 pounds.

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AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS​

In discussion with personnel in the ASW Office of the Bureau of Naval Weapons, the suggestion was made that consideration be given to the Air Transportable Sound Surveillance System (ATSSS) bouy concept, the active passive unit now under development (Reference 9). This system would provide the aircraft with multi-sensor deployment; it would prevent data degradation from towing effects; and it should give unbroken target contact during aircraft manuevers. The ATSSS buoy is shown in figure 12. While the ATSSS concept considers both active and passive operation, it was further suggested that if the system were to be used only passively for target tracking, a buoy designed for purely passive operation might have only have the weight of the ATSSS system (about 1,500 pounds), a three-fold increase in battery life could be expected (permitting nearly 24 hours of operation), and the bearing accuracy might be improved in the passive mode to +3°. The cyclic operation would be approximately the same as the initial ATSSS concept~~15 minutes to lower the array and 30 minutes to raise it. It is assumed that the size would remain the same as that of the original buoy concept. It is further considered that a modified A-New Data Handling System would be incorporated in the airplane. The system modifications would delete items not required to perform the mission selected. Other systems considered for the aircraft are: a limited Jezebel capability, 180°-scan radar, low-light-level TV, and automatic ECM.

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ASW MISSIONS​

The seaplane has been considered for three ASW missions: contact maintenance (tracking), contact investigation, and the temporary barrier. It is not implied specifically that the seaplane cannot perform such missions as convoy and task-force screening, amphibious area screening, and open-ocean search. It is, however, believed that these missions can be more economically performed by other vehicle systems.

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hesham said:

Thank you Grey,


and that means the General Dynamics/Convair GD/C-63-200 designation was a
project for Vertical Float Sea-Stabilization Concept.

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Foreword

This paper is an extension of the work covering operational
aspects of the TMB Open-Ocean V/STOL Seaplane. Following a program
review presented at the Office of Naval Research, several items
involving system costs and operational doctrine were deemed worthy
of further study. The extension suggested encompassed the following:

1. Hold continuously in contact maintenance one nuclear
submarine.
2. Consider an alteration of bearing accuracy.
3. Use single crew on 15-hour mission.
4. Eliminate the need for a tanker aircraft.
5. Consider use of one set of buoys for several aircraft,
each with replacement batteries.
6. Consider degradation of acoustical range as a function
of sea state.
7. Decrease radius of action as necessary.
8. Consider 48-hour turn-around time.
9. Compare the proposed system with an existing fixed-wing
system.

The extended efforts treated from 1 through 7, with the last item
left for application by the appropriate experts.

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