Jet Flying Boats

The post-war development of the turbine engine led to ambitious jet and turboprop-powered flying boat design by leading British, American and Russian companies ranging from fighter aircraft, the unsuccessful Saunders Roe SRA.A/1 and Convair Sea Dart fighter projects, the technically advanced Martin Seamaster maritime reconnaissance flying boat, Beriev's equally advanced Be-10 and A-42 anti-submarine flying boats and its successful Be-200 fire-fighting amphibian.

Currently the twin-turboprop powered 12-seat Dornier Seastar amphibian is being built in China which is also developing the AG600 search & rescue amphibian for the Chinese Navy. There have been a number of successful turboprop conversion of piston-engine flying boats such as the Grumman Mallard and Canadair CL-215 amphibians.

The author also covers jet-powered flying boat designs that never got off the drawing board, including the Saunders Roe Duchess, the Martin Sea Mistress, the Shin Meiwa SS-X and giant Be-Hydra.

The book covers the little-known flying-boat legacy of the Second World War, which includes jet fighter flying boat projects; the jet maritime reconnaissance flying boat development in the Cold War; the successes and failures of turbo-prop flying boats; converted turbo-prop flying boats; as well as the new horizons for 21st Century flying boats.