Convair
Encyclopedia
Convair was an American aircraft manufacturing company which later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Vultee Aircraft
Vultee Aircraft
The Vultee Aircraft Corporation became an independent company in 1939 and had limited success before merging with the Consolidated Aircraft Corporation in 1943 to form the Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation, or Convair.-History:...

 and Consolidated Aircraft
Consolidated Aircraft
The Consolidated Aircraft Corporation was founded in 1923 by Reuben H. Fleet, the result of the Gallaudet Aircraft Company's liquidation and Fleet's purchase of designs from the Dayton-Wright Company as the subsidiary was being closed by its parent corporation, General Motors. Consolidated became...

, and went on to produce a number of pioneering aircraft, such as the Convair B-36
Convair B-36
The Convair B-36 "Peacemaker" was a strategic bomber built by Convair and operated solely by the United States Air Force from 1949 to 1959. The B-36 was the largest mass-produced piston engine aircraft ever made. It had the longest wingspan of any combat aircraft ever built , although there have...

 bomber, and the F-102 Delta Dagger
F-102 Delta Dagger
The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was a US interceptor aircraft built as part of the backbone of the United States Air Force's air defenses in the late 1950s. Entering service in 1956, its main purpose was to intercept invading Soviet bomber fleets...

 and F-106 Delta Dart
F-106 Delta Dart
The Convair F-106 Delta Dart was the primary all-weather interceptor aircraft for the United States Air Force from the 1960s through the 1980s. Designed as the so-called "Ultimate Interceptor", it has proven to be the last dedicated interceptor in USAF service to date...

. It also manufactured the first Atlas
Atlas (rocket family)
Atlas is a family of U.S. space launch vehicles. The original Atlas missile was designed in the late 1950s and produced by the Convair Division of General Dynamics, to be used as an intercontinental ballistic missile...

 rockets, including the rockets that were used for the pioneering manned orbital flights of Project Mercury
Project Mercury
In January 1960 NASA awarded Western Electric Company a contract for the Mercury tracking network. The value of the contract was over $33 million. Also in January, McDonnell delivered the first production-type Mercury spacecraft, less than a year after award of the formal contract. On February 12,...

. The company's subsequent Atlas-Centaur
Atlas-Centaur
The Atlas-Centaur was an American expendable launch system designed and built by General Dynamics Convair Division in San Diego, CA. It was derived from the SM-65 Atlas missile. It was a member of the Atlas family of rockets, and was used for 61 orbital launches between 1962 and 1983. It was...

 design continued this success and derivatives of the design remain in use as of 2010. In 1994 most of the company's divisions were sold by then-owners General Dynamics
General Dynamics
General Dynamics Corporation is a U.S. defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2008 it is the fifth largest defense contractor in the world. Its headquarters are in West Falls Church , unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Falls Church area.The company has...

 to McDonnell Douglas and Lockheed
Lockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...

, with the remaining components deactivated in 1996.

Origins

The Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation, whose name was in the course of time changed to Convair, the Convair Corporation and similar names, was an American aircraft, rocket, and spacecraft company for the design, development, and manufacturing of such high-technology aerospace
Aerospace
Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...

 products, and/or sub-units of them, or else a subsidiary of a larger corporation. It existed as a company from 1943 until 1994, although the Consolidated Aircraft
Consolidated Aircraft
The Consolidated Aircraft Corporation was founded in 1923 by Reuben H. Fleet, the result of the Gallaudet Aircraft Company's liquidation and Fleet's purchase of designs from the Dayton-Wright Company as the subsidiary was being closed by its parent corporation, General Motors. Consolidated became...

 company had existed before that, and had produced aircraft that were important in the early years of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, especially the PBY Catalina
PBY Catalina
The Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other...

 for the U.S. Navy, the Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...

, the British flying forces, and some others. The Catalina remained in production through May 1945, and a total of over 4,000 of them were built. What was soon to be called "Convair" (first unofficially, and then officially), was created in 1943 by the merger of the Consolidated Aircraft
Consolidated Aircraft
The Consolidated Aircraft Corporation was founded in 1923 by Reuben H. Fleet, the result of the Gallaudet Aircraft Company's liquidation and Fleet's purchase of designs from the Dayton-Wright Company as the subsidiary was being closed by its parent corporation, General Motors. Consolidated became...

 Company and the Vultee Aircraft
Vultee Aircraft
The Vultee Aircraft Corporation became an independent company in 1939 and had limited success before merging with the Consolidated Aircraft Corporation in 1943 to form the Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation, or Convair.-History:...

 Company. This merger produced a large airplane company of that time period, though still smaller than the giants like Douglas Aircraft, Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...

, and Lockheed
Lockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...

. Convair always had most of its research, design, and manufacturing operations in San Diego County of Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...

, and nearby counties, though other locations were involved, as well.

Jet Age, Cold War, and Space Age

In March 1953, all of the Convair company was bought by the General Dynamics Corporation, a conglomerate of military and high-technology companies, and it became officially the Convair Division within General Dynamics.

After the beginning of the Jet Age
Jet age
The Jet Age is a period of history defined by the social change brought about by the advent of large aircraft powered by turbine engines. These aircraft are able to fly much higher, faster, and farther than older piston-powered propliners, making transcontinental and inter-continental travel...

 of military fighters and bombers, Convair was a pioneer of the delta-winged aircraft design, along with the French Dassault
Dassault Aviation
Dassault Aviation is a French aircraft manufacturer of military, regional and business jets, a subsidiary of Dassault Group.It was founded in 1930 by Marcel Bloch as Société des Avions Marcel Bloch or "MB". After World War II, Marcel Bloch changed his name to Marcel Dassault, and the name of the...

 aircraft company, which designed and built the Mirage fighter planes.

One of Convair's most famous products was the 10-engined Convair B-36
Convair B-36
The Convair B-36 "Peacemaker" was a strategic bomber built by Convair and operated solely by the United States Air Force from 1949 to 1959. The B-36 was the largest mass-produced piston engine aircraft ever made. It had the longest wingspan of any combat aircraft ever built , although there have...

 strategic bomber, burning four turbojets and turning six pusher props driven by Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major radial piston engines. The Convair B-36
Convair B-36
The Convair B-36 "Peacemaker" was a strategic bomber built by Convair and operated solely by the United States Air Force from 1949 to 1959. The B-36 was the largest mass-produced piston engine aircraft ever made. It had the longest wingspan of any combat aircraft ever built , although there have...

 was the largest landbased piston engined bomber in the world. The Atlas missile, the F-102 Delta Dagger
F-102 Delta Dagger
The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was a US interceptor aircraft built as part of the backbone of the United States Air Force's air defenses in the late 1950s. Entering service in 1956, its main purpose was to intercept invading Soviet bomber fleets...

 and F-106 Delta Dart
F-106 Delta Dart
The Convair F-106 Delta Dart was the primary all-weather interceptor aircraft for the United States Air Force from the 1960s through the 1980s. Designed as the so-called "Ultimate Interceptor", it has proven to be the last dedicated interceptor in USAF service to date...

 delta-winged interceptors, and the delta-winged B-58 Hustler
B-58 Hustler
The Convair B-58 Hustler was the first operational supersonic jet bomber capable of Mach 2 flight. The aircraft was designed by Convair engineer Robert H. Widmer and developed for the United States Air Force for service in the Strategic Air Command during the 1960s...

 supersonic intercontinental nuclear bomber were all Convair products. For a period of time in the 1960s, Convair manufactured its own line of jet commercial airliners, the Convair 880
Convair 880
The Convair 880 was a narrow-body jet airliner produced by the Convair division of General Dynamics. It was designed to compete with the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 by being smaller and faster, a niche that failed to create demand...

 and Convair 990
Convair 990
The Convair 990 Coronado was a narrow-body jet airliner produced by the Convair division of General Dynamics, a "stretched" version of their earlier Convair 880 produced in response to a request from American Airlines. The 990 was lengthened by 10 feet, which increased the number of passengers from...

, but this did not turn out to be a profitable business. However, Convair found that it was profitable to become an aviation subcontractor and to manufacture large subsections of airliners, such as fuselages for the larger airliner companies, McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. It formed from a merger of McDonnell Aircraft and Douglas Aircraft in 1967. McDonnell Douglas was based at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport...

, Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...

, and Lockheed
Lockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...

.

The Convair Division produced its own airplane designs, such as several airliners, until 1965, when it shifted from these to airframe
Airframe
The airframe of an aircraft is its mechanical structure. It is typically considered to include fuselage, wings and undercarriage and exclude the propulsion system...

/aerostructure
Aerostructure
An aerostructure is a component of an aircraft's airframe. This may include all or part of the fuselage, wings, or flight control surfaces. Companies that specialize in constructing these components are referred to as "aerostructures manufacturers," though many larger aerospace firms with a more...

 subcontracting projects for other companies. Convair also shifted more money and effort into its outer space products, especially rocket boosters. The Convair-made and cryogenically fueled Atlas missile ICBM for the U.S. Air Force had within just a handful of years become obsolete, and had been replaced by the room-temperature liquid-fueled Titan II missile and the solid-fueled Minuteman missile.

Convair worked hard to make its Atlas rocket product into a very reliable space booster rocket, especially when combined with the Centaur upper stage to form the Atlas-Centaur
Atlas-Centaur
The Atlas-Centaur was an American expendable launch system designed and built by General Dynamics Convair Division in San Diego, CA. It was derived from the SM-65 Atlas missile. It was a member of the Atlas family of rockets, and was used for 61 orbital launches between 1962 and 1983. It was...

 rocket for launching geosynchronous communication satellites and space probes. The Centaur rocket was also designed, developed, and produced by Convair, and it was the first widely used outer space rocket to use the all-cryogenic fuel-oxidizer combination of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The use of this liquid hydrogen – liquid oxygen combination in the Centaur was an important direct precursor to the use of the same fuel-oxidizer combination in the Saturn S-II
S-II
The S-II was the second stage of the Saturn V rocket. It was built by North American Aviation. Using liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen it had five J-2 engines in a cross pattern...

 second stage and the Saturn S-IVB
S-IVB
The S-IVB was built by the Douglas Aircraft Company and served as the third stage on the Saturn V and second stage on the Saturn IB. It had one J-2 engine...

 third stage of the gigantic Saturn V
Saturn V
The Saturn V was an American human-rated expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. A multistage liquid-fueled launch vehicle, NASA launched 13 Saturn Vs from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida with no loss of crew or payload...

 moon rocket of the Apollo project. The S-IVB had earlier also been used as the second stage of the smaller Saturn IB
Saturn IB
The Saturn IB was an American launch vehicle commissioned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for use in the Apollo program...

 rocket, such as the one which was used to launch Apollo 7
Apollo 7
Apollo 7 was the first manned mission in the American Apollo space program, and the first manned US space flight after a cabin fire killed the crew of what was to have been the first manned mission, AS-204 , during a launch pad test in 1967...

. The Centaur upper stage was first designed and developed for launching the Surveyor
Surveyor program
The Surveyor Program was a NASA program that, from 1966 through 1968, sent seven robotic spacecraft to the surface of the Moon. Its primary goal was to demonstrate the feasibility of soft landings on the Moon...

 lunar landers, beginning in 1966, to augment the delta-V of the Atlas rockets and give them enough payload capability to deliver the required mass of the Surveyors to the Moon.

More than 100 Convair-produced Atlas-Centaur rockets (including those with their successor designations) were used to successfully launch over 100 satellites, and among their many other outer space missions, they launched the Pioneer 10
Pioneer 10
Pioneer 10 is a 258-kilogram robotic space probe that completed the first interplanetary mission to Jupiter, and became the first spacecraft to achieve escape velocity from the Solar System. The project was managed by the NASA Ames Research Center and the contract for the construction of the...

 and Pioneer 11
Pioneer 11
Pioneer 11 is a 259-kilogram robotic space probe launched by NASA on April 6, 1973 to study the asteroid belt, the environment around Jupiter and Saturn, solar wind, cosmic rays, and eventually the far reaches of the solar system and heliosphere...

 space probes, the first two to be launched on trajectories that carried them out of the Solar System
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...

.

In addition to aircraft, missiles and space vehicles, Convair developed the large Charactron
Charactron
Charactron was U. S. registered trademark by Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation for its shaped electron beam cathode ray tube. Charactron CRTs performed functions of both a display device and a read-only memory storing multiple characters and fonts. Typotron was U. S...

 vacuum tubes, which were the precursors of modern cathode ray tube
Cathode ray tube
The cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms , pictures , radar targets and...

 (CRT) computer displays, and to give an example of a minor product, the CORDIC
CORDIC
CORDIC is a simple and efficient algorithm to calculate hyperbolic and trigonometric functions...

 algorithms, which is widely used today to calculate trigonometric function
Trigonometric function
In mathematics, the trigonometric functions are functions of an angle. They are used to relate the angles of a triangle to the lengths of the sides of a triangle...

s in calculator
Calculator
An electronic calculator is a small, portable, usually inexpensive electronic device used to perform the basic operations of arithmetic. Modern calculators are more portable than most computers, though most PDAs are comparable in size to handheld calculators.The first solid-state electronic...

s, field-programmable gate array
Field-programmable gate array
A field-programmable gate array is an integrated circuit designed to be configured by the customer or designer after manufacturing—hence "field-programmable"...

s, and other small electronic systems.

Dissolution

In 1994, the General Dynamics Corporation split and sold the original Convair Division, along with other General Dynamics aerospace units that had been swept into it over the decades. The airframe
Airframe
The airframe of an aircraft is its mechanical structure. It is typically considered to include fuselage, wings and undercarriage and exclude the propulsion system...

/aerostructure
Aerostructure
An aerostructure is a component of an aircraft's airframe. This may include all or part of the fuselage, wings, or flight control surfaces. Companies that specialize in constructing these components are referred to as "aerostructures manufacturers," though many larger aerospace firms with a more...

s manufacturing company and the space boosters company (both mostly in California) were sold to the McDonnell Douglas Corporation. The Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...

 factory and its associated engineering locations and laboratories – which had been previously used for the manufacture of hundreds of General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark fighter-bombers and F-16 Fighting Falcon
F-16 Fighting Falcon
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...

 fighters for the U.S. Air Force, along with dozens of smaller projects – were sold, along with all intellectual property and the legal rights to the products that were being designed and built within, to the Lockheed Corporation
Lockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...

. In 1996, General Dynamics deactivated all of the remaining legal entities of the Convair Division.

Timeline

  • 1923 Consolidated Aircraft Corporation formed by Major Ruben Fleet
  • 1934 AVCO
    Avco
    Avco Corporation is a subsidiary of Textron which operates Textron Systems Corporation and Lycoming.-Brief history:The Embry-Riddle Company created the Aviation Corporation in 1928 as a holding company tasked with acquiring small airlines...

     acquired the Airplane Development Corporation from Cord and formed the Aviation Manufacturing Corporation (AMC)
  • 1936 AMC liquidated to form the Vultee Aircraft Division, an autonomous subsidiary of AVCO
  • 1939 Vultee Aircraft Division of AVCO reorganized as an independent company known as Vultee Aircraft, Inc.
  • 1941 Consolidated Aircraft Corporation sold to AVCO
  • 1943 Consolidated-Vultee, formed by the merger of Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee Aircraft; still controlled by AVCO
  • 1947 Convair acquired by the Atlas Corporation
    Atlas Corporation
    The Atlas Corporation, was formed in 1928, from a merger of the United Corporation, an investment firm started in 1923 with $40,000, with Atlas Utilities and Investors Ltd. The corporation specialized in capital formation and management. In 1929, Atlas was a $12,000,000 investment trust...

  • 1953 or 1954 Convair acquired by General Dynamics
    General Dynamics
    General Dynamics Corporation is a U.S. defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2008 it is the fifth largest defense contractor in the world. Its headquarters are in West Falls Church , unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Falls Church area.The company has...

  • 1985 General Dynamics formed their "Space Systems Division" from the Convair Space Program
  • 1994 Space Systems Division sold to Martin Marietta
    Martin Marietta
    Martin Marietta Corporation was an American company founded in 1961 through the merger of The Martin Company and American-Marietta Corporation. The combined company became a leader in chemicals, aerospace, and electronics. In 1995, it merged with Lockheed Corporation to form Lockheed Martin. The...

  • 1994 Convair Aircraft Structures unit sold to McDonnell Douglas
    McDonnell Douglas
    McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. It formed from a merger of McDonnell Aircraft and Douglas Aircraft in 1967. McDonnell Douglas was based at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport...


Aircraft

  • Vultee XA-41 (1944) - ground attack aircraft prototype
  • Convair XB-53 (1945) - proposed jet-powered medium bomber, project cancelled before prototypes completed
  • Convair B-36 Peacemaker (1946) intercontinental bomber
  • Stinson 108
    Stinson 108
    -See also:-References:...

     (1946) - general aviation aircraft
  • Convair Model 110
    • Convair CV-240 (1947)
      • Convair CV-300
      • Convair CV-340
      • Convair CV-440 Metropolitan
      • Convair C-131 Samaritan
      • Convair T-29
      • R4Y Samaritan
      • Convair CV-540 (1955)
      • Convair CV-580
      • Convair CV-600 (1965)
      • Convair CV-640
      • Convair CV5800
      • Canadair CC-109 Cosmopolitan - licence built turboprop powered CV-440
  • Convair Model 118
    Convair Model 118
    |-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Wegg, John. General Dynamics Aircraft and their Predecessors. London: Putnam, 1990. ISBN 0-85177-833-X.* Yenne, Bill. The World's Worst Aircraft. New York: Dorset Press, 1993. ISBN 0-88029-490-6....

     ConvAirCar (1947)

  • Convair XB-46
    Convair XB-46
    |-See also:-External Links:*...

     (1947)
  • Convair XC-99
    Convair XC-99
    The Convair XC-99, 43-52436, was a prototype heavy cargo aircraft built by Convair for the United States Air Force. It was the largest piston-engined land-based transport aircraft ever built, and was developed from the B-36 bomber, sharing the wings and some other structures with it...

     (1947)
  • Convair XF-92
    Convair XF-92
    The Convair XF-92 was the first American delta-wing aircraft. Originally conceived as a point-defense interceptor, the design was later made purely experimental...

     (1948)
  • Convair R3Y Tradewind (1950) - military flying boat
  • Convair X-6
    Convair X-6
    -See also:*Project Pluto*Project Rover*NERVA*WS-125Comparable aircraft* Tupolev Tu-119-External links:* original published on Aviation History, March 1995.* Section devoted to NB-36H...

     (1951) - proposed nuclear powered aircraft
  • Convair YB-60
    Convair YB-60
    |-See also:-References:* Jacobsen, Meyers K. and Wagner, Ray. B-36 in Action . Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 1980. ISBN 0-89747-101-6....

     (1952) - jet bomber prototype based on B-36
  • Convair F-102 Delta Dagger (1953)
  • Convair F2Y Sea Dart (1953)
  • Convair XFY
    Convair XFY
    |-See also:-References:NotesCitationsBibliography* Allen, Francis J. "Bolt Upright: Convair's and Lockheed's VTOL fighters". Air Enthusiast Volume 127, January/February 2007, pp. 13–20. ISSN 0143-5450....

     Pogo (1954)
  • Convair P6Y
    Convair P6Y
    -See also:...

     (1955)
  • Convair B-58 Hustler (1956)
  • Convair F-106 Delta Dart (1956)
  • Convair 880
    Convair 880
    The Convair 880 was a narrow-body jet airliner produced by the Convair division of General Dynamics. It was designed to compete with the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 by being smaller and faster, a niche that failed to create demand...

     jet airliner (1959)
  • Convair Kingfish
    Convair KINGFISH
    The Kingfish reconnaissance aircraft design was the ultimate result of a series of proposals designed at Convair as a replacement for the Lockheed U-2...

     (1959) - proposed stealth reconnaissance aircraft, project cancelled
  • Convair 990 Coronado jet airliner (1961)
  • Convair Model 48 Charger
    Convair Model 48 Charger
    |-See also:-References:* "". Flight International, 14 January 1965. pp. 54–55.* Ginter, Steve. Naval Fighters Number Thirty-Nine: Convair Model 48 Charger. Simi Valley, California, USA:Naval Fighters, 1997. ISBN 0-942612-39-6....

     (1964)
  • Convair Model 49 (1967-project)

Note: U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy aircraft designations that begin with "X" are merely experimental models of aircraft only made in small numbers. Military aircraft designations that begin with "Y" are developmental models made in small batches, which may or may not have subsequently entered large-scale production.

In the former designation system the Navy and the Marine Corps used, a final letter of "Y" identified a Convair or a Consolidated product, such as the PBY-5 flying boat.

Missiles and rockets

  • MX-774 (1948) - precursor to Atlas
  • RIM-2 Terrier
    RIM-2 Terrier
    The Convair RIM-2 Terrier was a two-stage medium-range naval surface-to-air missile , and was among the earliest surface-to-air missiles to equip United States Navy ships. Originally, the Terrier had a launch thrust of 23 kN , and weight of 1392 kg...

     (1951) - surface to air naval missile
  • XGAM-71 Buck Duck (1955) -decoy missile
  • Pye Wacket
    Pye Wacket
    Pye Wacket was the codename for an experimental lenticular-form air-to-air missile developed by the Convair Division of the General Dynamics Corporation in 1957...

     (1957) - air to air defensive missile project, cancelled during development
  • Convair X-11
    SM-65A Atlas
    The SM-65A Atlas, or Atlas A, also designated X-11 was the first full-scale prototype of the Atlas missile, which first flew on 11 June 1957. Unlike later versions of the Atlas missile, the Atlas A did not feature the stage and a half design...

     (1957) - Atlas A prototype
  • Convair X-12
    SM-65B Atlas
    The SM-65B Atlas, or Atlas B, also designated X-12 was a prototype of the Atlas missile. First flown on 19 July 1958, the Atlas B was the first version of the Atlas rocket to use the stage and a half design....

     (1958) - Atlas B prototype
  • SM-65 Atlas The Atlas ICBM Air Force missile (1957)
  • FIM-43 Redeye
    FIM-43 Redeye
    The General Dynamics FIM-43 Redeye was a man-portable surface-to-air missile system. It used infrared homing to track its target. Production was terminated in September 1969 after about 85,000 rounds had been built - in anticipation of the Redeye II, which later became the FIM-92 Stinger...

     (1960) - man portable surface to air missile
  • Atlas rocket The Atlas civilian space booster
  • Centaur
    Centaur (rocket stage)
    Centaur is a rocket stage designed for use as the upper stage of space launch vehicles. Centaur boosts its satellite payload to geosynchronous orbit or, in the case of an interplanetary space probe, to or near to escape velocity...

  • Atlas-Centaur
    Atlas-Centaur
    The Atlas-Centaur was an American expendable launch system designed and built by General Dynamics Convair Division in San Diego, CA. It was derived from the SM-65 Atlas missile. It was a member of the Atlas family of rockets, and was used for 61 orbital launches between 1962 and 1983. It was...

     and its successor-designations, all of which combined an Atlas booster with a Centaur upper stage – a civilian rocket to launch spacecraft to outer space.


Legacy

"Convair Drive" at the Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport serving Toronto, Ontario, Canada; its metropolitan area; and the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration that is home to 8.1 million people – approximately 25% of Canada's population...

is believed to be named for the Convair company.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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