Convair Model 48 Charger

The Convair Model 48 Charger was a twin-boom, twin-turboprop prototype light attack and observation aircraft that Convair submitted in March 1964 for the tri-service Light Armed Reconnaissance Aircraft competition. It used two Pratt and Whitney Canada PT6 engines, with most of its short wing in the propeller slipstream to deflect thrust and shorten takeoff and landing, and it carried a pilot and observer in tandem plus a small cargo bay. It first flew on 25 November 1964 and could take off over a 50 foot obstacle in 485 feet, but the Navy picked the North American NA-300, later the OV-10 Bronco. The sole prototype crashed on 19 October 1965, and it was the last complete aircraft Convair built.