Lockheed Model L-200 Convoy Fighter

This book presents the original proposal for the Lockheed Model L-200 Convoy Fighter of 1950, which led to the XFV-1 Salmon turboprop tailsitter naval aircraft. It was one of five submissions to the US Navy's Convoy Fighter competition, which called for a high performance turboprop VTOL fighter to protect convoy vessels from attack by enemy aircraft. The original L-200 design differed from the eventual XFV-1 in having a tail with only three surfaces, an eight-bladed propeller, and various turboprop engine installation options. Variants covered include an early L-200 study with inverted tail; the L-200-1 tactical fighter; L-200-2 stripped prototype; L-200-3 with afterburner; L-200-6 swept wing variant; and L-200-7 canard configuration. This full color 76 page book features 70 images, including rare photos, detailed blueprints, vintage artist's impressions, and beautiful color profiles. Part 2 will cover additional proposal documents, wind tunnel testing at NACA, and other unbuilt turboprop tailsitter projects. This is the fifth in a series of monographs covering the Navy's Convoy Fighter competition of 1950; previous volumes on the Convair, Goodyear, Martin, and Northrop designs are still available from booksellers worldwide.