AVIATION: Flying LST

A band of anxious engineers clambered onto a floating dock in San-Diego Bay recently to watch the newest U.S. Navy flying boat, out for its first water trial; as a photographer snapped away, the plane’s bow gaped open like the mouth of a giant whale, revealing an enormous cavern for cargo. The So-ton craft, pictures of which were released last week, was the R3Y-2 “Flying LST,” built for beach-assault operations by General Dynamics’ Convair division. To pull away from a beach or dock the pilot,simply reverses propellers; the ship needs a run of only 30 seconds to take off.

Powered by four Allison T40 turboprop engines developing a total 22,000 h.p., Convair’s Flying LST is expected to cruise at better than 350 m.p.h., have a range of more than 2,000 miles, and climb faster than some World War II fighter planes. It can carry a cargo load of 24 tons, equivalent to four 155-mm. howitzers, three 2½-ton trucks, six jeeps and two half-tracks. As a transport, it can pack in 150 fully equipped troops.