TYPE: Long-Range Escort Fighter
ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only
POWER PLANT: One General Electric XT31-GE-1 turboprop, rated at 2,300 h.p. and one Allison J 33-GE-5 turbojet, rated at 703 kp
PERFORMANCE: 507 m.p.h. at 30,000 ft
COMMENT: For the long distances in the Pacific Area a long-range fighter was needed. To meet these requirements the Convair Aircraft Corporation, formed in 1943 by the merger of Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee Aircraft, proposed a single seat, long range escort fighter that combined use of both turbojet and turboprop engines. The combination of a turboprop in the nose and a turbojet in the rear fuselage was promising: The turboprop would be used for endurance cruising and the turbojet to boost performance in the action area. Two prototypes were ordered but only one completed and flown.
Although promising, the lack of suitable engines combined with the end of WW II doomed the project.