Specialty Press' Convair Advanced Designs

It is always a delight to get a new book from Specialty Press. They seem to hit a home run with every title they release and this on on Convair projects from 1923 to 1962 is no exception. It is fortunate for us that Convair (previously Consolidated, then Consolidated-Vultee) has always kept an excellent archives, much of which was turned over the San Diego Aerospace Museum for safe-keeping.

The book has been divided into several sections. The initial one is on a short history of the company from its inception until its merger with General Dynamics.

The second section contains most of the book at Consolidated/Convair was heavily into seaplanes for most of its existence. In this section one can find some truly fanciful aircraft as this was the era of the large flying boat, one that Convair tried to keep going even into the 1960s when it was obvious that landplanes had surpassed the need for waterborne craft. In here you'll find many still-borne projects, both military and civil as well as some rather incredible Mach 4 flying boats. Of course, the Sea Dart and some other prototypes are included.

About a third of the book covers the third section on bomber projects. Much of it stems from the B-24 and PB4Y-2 programs, but there are many near-wing designs that might have been promising. Of course, the B-36 and C-99 programs also generated a lot of design interest and some of these were actually contracted by airlines before being cancelled.

In all, there are 78 different projects, some little more than paper, while others reach mock-up stage and a few of them actually flew. It is a superlative compilation of designs from one of the world's foremost aviation companies.

It is a book that I can quite easily provide my highest recommendation. I know you will not be disappointed.