The year is 1961. USA needs an edge agaist the soviets. They turned to military supplier Convair, who at the time was looking into various applications of nuclear power in aircraft for the US navy. Thus they needed a craft that could approach enemy terrorty without its presence being known, and then strike quickly. This is what the team at convair came up with. This top-secret black project would be called the submersible nuclear ramjet.It would have a sea weight of 350,000 pounds, which would lighten up to 240,000 pounds when the tanks were empty.
source/image(PrtSc): Found And Explained
It would be able to carry around 20,000 pounds of nuclear tipped weapons.This submersible Nuclear Ramjet mission would be one a quick, retaliatory strike. It would be used for operations which had little or no warning, or for when the powers that be deemed a first strike. The crew of nine would start their deployment being subltly located near the teriroty of a nation, submerged under the sea sitting quiet. The mission profile was long, and would have employed life support systems designed for space missions.
source/image(PrtSc): Found And Explained
When code red was given, the team would spring to action and pressurise the ballast tanks. These tanks would slowly be heated by the nuclear reactor, forming steam. This would simtaniously start to be released and the aircraft, if we can call it that, would rise from the ocean floor. The water would be vaporise and the jet would launch from the sea like a submarine nuclear missile today.
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As the aircraft rose to the sky, it would tilt over until it was facing forward and scream towards the combat zone low to the ground. the ramjet would slowly switch from water to air as a reaction mass and increase up to around mach 4.Upon reaching the target area, the nuclear weapon would be deployed via parachot from the top of the plane as it soared over ahead, as to not impact the ramjet inlets, and slowly fall down. It would come to rest on the ground, before detonating.
The jet, now presumably outrunning the blast and reaching safer open water, would throttle down its ramjet. It would pull into a vertical climb and then deploy special drag breaks. This would stall the aircraft and it would start to fall almost vertically tail first. Before it hit the water, it would use rocket jets for a rough final deaccelation – much like the space x rockets that we see today!Once in the water, it would refill its tanks and descend under the waves.
