Convair F2Y
In 1948, the Navy held a contest for defense contractors to build a new supersonic interceptor aircraft. At this point in history, supersonic warplanes were not conducive to carriers, requiring long runways for takeoff and landing and lacking stability at low speeds. So Convair brought back the seaplane platform by putting skis on its F-102 Delta Dagger interceptor. The F2Y first flew in 1953 and the Navy toyed with the idea of putting Convair’s design on submarines. The unstable prototype was cancelled, but not before the F2Y became the first seaplane to fly Mach 1.
