Convair Model 48 Charger
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The Convair Model 48 Charger was a prototype light attack and
observation aircraft A surveillance aircraft is an aircraft used for surveillance. They are operated by military forces and other government agencies in roles such as intelligence gathering, battlefield surveillance, airspace surveillance, reconnaissance, observat ...
of the 1960s, developed to meet a requirement for a dedicated counter-insurgency (COIN) aircraft. It was a two-seat,
twin-boom aircraft A twin-boom aircraft is characterised by two longitudinal booms (extended nacelle-like bodies). The booms may contain ancillary items such as fuel tanks and/or provide a supporting structure for other items. Typically, twin tailbooms support ...
powered by two
turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel ...
engines which lost out to the
North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco The North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco is an American twin-turboprop light attack and observation aircraft. It was developed in the 1960s as a special aircraft for counter-insurgency (COIN) combat, and one of its primary missions was as a forw ...
of similar layout. Only the single prototype Model 48 was built, and this turned out to be the last complete aircraft constructed by Convair.


Design and development

In 1959, two
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
officers developed the concept of a small low cost aircraft capable of providing
close air support In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and moveme ...
to the U.S. Marines, capable of operating from roads close to the battlefield, the concept being known as the Light Light Marine Attack Aircraft (L2VMA). As interest in such an aircraft grew, with interest from the US Army for a similar type, the Convair Division of
General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...
started studies into
counter-insurgency aircraft Counter-insurgency aircraft or COIN aircraft are a specialized variety of military light attack aircraft, designed for counter-insurgency operations, armed reconnaissance, air escort of ground forces, and ground support against "low-intensity en ...
in 1961. In 1963, the various requirements were merged into a tri-service specification for a Light Armed Reconnaissance Aircraft (LARA), to be used not just by the U.S. Marines and Army, but also by the United States Air Force for counter-insurgency and
forward air control Forward air control is the provision of guidance to close air support (CAS) aircraft intended to ensure that their attack hits the intended target and does not injure friendly troops. This task is carried out by a forward air controller (FAC). ...
roles, and to be available for export.Willis 2010, pp. 60–63. The specification produced responses from nine manufacturers, including Convair, who submitted its Model 48 Charger in March 1964. The Model 48 was a twin-boom
monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
, constructed mainly from
aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
, with
fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...
nose, rear fuselage and wingtips, with a retractable nosewheel undercarriage. It was powered by two
Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 The Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 is a turboprop aircraft engine produced by Pratt & Whitney Canada. Its design was started in 1958, it first ran in February 1960, first flew on 30 May 1961, entered service in 1964 and has been continuously upda ...
(military designation T74), driving three bladed
propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
s. Its wings were of relatively short (27 ft 6 in/8.38 m) span, which meant that most of the wing was in the
slipstream A slipstream is a region behind a moving object in which a wake of fluid (typically air or mustard) is moving at velocities comparable to that of the moving fluid, relative to the ambient fluid through which the object is churning. The term sli ...
of the propellers, increasing the effectiveness of the full-span trailing-edge slotted flaps and
leading edge slats Slats are aerodynamic surfaces on the leading edge of the wing of a fixed-wing aircraft which, when deployed, allow the wing to operate at a higher angle of attack. A higher coefficient of lift is produced as a result of angle of attack and speed, ...
inboard of the engines, which together acted to deflect the slipstream, giving a form of
vectored thrust Thrust vectoring, also known as thrust vector control (TVC), is the ability of an aircraft, rocket, or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine(s) or motor(s) to control the attitude or angular velocity of the v ...
, in order to reduce takeoff and landing distances.''Flight International'' 14 January 1965, pp. 54–55.Ginter 1997, p.10. The outer trailing-edge flaps doubled as
aileron An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...
s, which were supplemented by spoilers at low speed. The aircraft was fitted with a large, all-moving
tailplane A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplane ...
which attached to the vertical fins located at the ends of the tailboom(s), with the tailplane having somewhat greater span (20 ft (6.1 m)) than the distance between the tailbooms.Ginter 1997, pp. 14–15.Willis 2010, p. 63. Pilot and observer sat in tandem under a sliding canopy, while the rear fuselage held a cargo bay with a hinged tail cone capable of carrying 2,000 lb (910 kg) of cargo, which could include a complete PT6 engine, or five paratroopers, in extremely cramped conditions, with a sixth paratrooper in the observer's seat. Four 7.62 mm
machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...
s were mounted in pods on the side of the fuselage, while 2,000 lb (910 kg) of external stores, including bombs, rockets and gun pods, could be carried on
hardpoint A hardpoint is an attachment location on a structural frame designed to transfer force and carry an external or internal load. The term is usually used to refer to the mounting points (more formally known as a weapon station or station) on the ...
s under the wings and fuselage. To meet the specification's requirements for amphibious operations, it could be fitted with two large floats.Ginter 1997, pp. 30–32.Taylor 1965, pp. 231–232.


Operational history

Convair started construction of a prototype as a private venture before a winner of the LARA competition was announced. In August 1964, the US Navy announced
North American Aviation North American Aviation (NAA) was a major American aerospace manufacturer that designed and built several notable aircraft and spacecraft. Its products included: the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F ...
's design, the NA-300 (later to become the
OV-10 Bronco The North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco is an American twin-turboprop light attack and observation aircraft. It was developed in the 1960s as a special aircraft for counter-insurgency (COIN) combat, and one of its primary missions was as a f ...
) as the winner of the LARA competition. The U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force favored the Charger, however, and protested against the U.S. Navy's decision, and Convair continued construction of their prototype, which made its maiden flight on 25 November 1964. After initial flight tests, the Charger was modified with an increased wingspan and modified tail to improve low-speed control. The Charger demonstrated excellent
STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh conditio ...
capability, taking off over a 50 ft (15 m) obstacle in 485 ft (148 m) with a normal payload. This was better both than the LARA specifications requirement of 800 ft (244 m), and the Bronco.Ginter 1997, p. 44. The Charger was awarded a 100-hour joint service flight test contract where the prototype would be flown by representatives of the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Army and Air Force. If orders followed, it was planned to build the production aircraft with a deeper and longer fuselage allowing full dual controls to be fitted. The prototype crashed on its 196th test flight on 19 October 1965, owing to pilot error by its U.S. Navy test pilot, however, and further development was abandoned.


Specifications (Long-span wings)


See also


References


Notes


Bibliography

*
Convair's Charger
. ''
Flight International ''Flight International'' is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", it is the world's oldes ...
'', 14 January 1965. pp. 54–55. * Ginter, Steve. ''Naval Fighters Number Thirty-Nine: Convair Model 48 Charger''. Simi Valley, California, USA: Naval Fighters, 1997. . * Taylor, John W. R. ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1965–66''. London: Sampson Low, Marston, 1965. * Wegg, John. ''General Dynamics Aircraft and their Predecessors''. London: Putnam, 1990. . * Willis, David. "Database:North American Bronco". ''Aeroplane'', Vol. 38, No. 1, January 2010, pp. 59–76. London: IPC.


External links


Photo of Convair Model 48 ChargerCorporate video presentation
in the San Diego Air and Space Museum Yt channel. {{Convair aircraft
Charger Charger or Chargers may refer to: * Charger (table setting), decorative plates used to fancify a place setting * Battery charger, a device used to put energy into a cell or battery * Capacitor charger, typically a high voltage DC power supply ...
1960s United States attack aircraft 1960s United States military reconnaissance aircraft Twin-boom aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1964 Shoulder-wing aircraft Twin-turboprop tractor aircraft