Convair Model 23

The Convair Model 23 was a 1950s American design for a nuclear-powered seaplane for the United States Navy. The Navy entered the field in May 1953 by giving contracts to Convair-San Diego and Martin to study a nuclear-propelled seaplane, and by early 1955 engineering contracts had been awarded. Early designs showed a large flying boat 171 feet long with a 131.5 foot wingspan, with J75 turbojets heated by a Pratt and Whitney reactor, while the later Model 23A and 23B moved the jets to the rear of the wing and fuselage and the 23A used a delta wing. The aircraft never left the drawing board, and the Navy gave up on nuclear-powered aircraft in December 1959.