Who was this guy?

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Submarine | Homebuilt - Homemade | Submarine and Undersea Postings
Don Reid was an early R/C sub enthusiast, and defense contractor, who designed and built a full-size flying submarine. By the early 60's it was actually submerging and flying!

Story is told by his son in "The Flying Submarine: The Story of the Invention of the Reid Flying Submarine, RFS-1," published in late 2004 by Heritage Books Inc.

Full web article...



Here's a look at the actual 'flying submarine' as presented in a 60's TV show (What's My Line):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew1EVsEKKRA

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

BERNHARD C.F. KLEIN COLLECTION
No. 6559. Reid RFS-1 (N1740)




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06/18/2007. Remarks by Bernhard Klein: "The RFS-1 was constructed by Donald V. Reid, an early R/C submarine enthusiast, and defense contractor, of Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA, using parts from other (crashed) aircraft. A serious attempt to make an aircraft that could also serve as a submarine, Reid's design came to him almost by accident when a set of model airplane wings fell off a shelf and landed on the hull of one of his radio-controlled submarines he had been building since 1954. An idea was born and he decided to build the world's first flying submarine.

Reid first tested various model-sized flying submarines before attempting to build a piloted craft. As a plane, registered as N1740 and powered by a 65 hp four-cylinder Lycoming aircraft engine, the RFS-1 has flown over 75 ft (23 m) on the Shrewsbury River in 1962 by Don’s son Bruce. Initially the pilot's position was in the engine pylon but was moved forward onto the fuselage before the first flight.

To convert it into a submarine, the pilot removed the propeller and covered the engine with a rubber "diving bell". On auxiliary power, a small 1 hp electric motor situated in the tail, it traveled submerged, the pilot using an Aqualung, at a depth of 10 to 12 ft (ca. 3.5 m). The RFS-1 also bore the New Jersey State watercraft license NJ18S on the nose.

Underpowered, the Reid RFS-1, also known as the Flying Submarine, really did fly, briefly, but was unable to sustain flight; and it was submersible. Don Reid tried to interest the military in the craft, without success; he died at the age of 79 in 1991."

http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/KleinBernhard/6559.htm

[Outrider]

Flying Submarines

Interestingly enough, the U.S. Navy has been interested in this idea for some time.

This documents some WWII era interest:

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread139280/pg1

There was a request for proposals in the '60s that (obviously) didn't produce anything of note. Convair was the company selected to do the work.

http://www.articlesbase.com/science-articles/another-bid-to-build-a-flying-submarine-699877.html

There's current interest in the concept of a submersible aircraft as a means of covert delivery for Special Forces. See this DARPA slideshow for technical aspects or the Gizmodo link for a more flashy look:

http://www.darpa.mil/sto/solicitations/BAA09-06/files/Proposers_Day_Presentation.pdf

http://gizmodo.com/5059668/darpa-working-on-a-submersible-aircraft-that-can-go-from-air-to-sea

If they're looking for a more practical solution, DARPA ought consider either an airship or a seaplane that could serve as a mother-ship for the submersible. That approach lets each vehicle be optimized for its part of the mission.

This one's an interesting read and covers nearly everything on the topic:

http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,703.0.html

Pretty imaginative stuff...

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Wow! Great resources, thanks.

David,

[Bill Harris]

Interesting. As a kid in the '50s I discovered that various plastic airplane models would actually "fly" underwater. Either fly up from the bottom if water-tight and airfilled or glide down if flooded. The most memorable flyer was a delta-wing rocket shuttle that came with a neat space-station kit...

Thinking about an underwater airplane?

--Bill

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Interesting. As a kid in the '50s I discovered that various plastic airplane models would actually "fly" underwater. Either fly up from the bottom if water-tight and airfilled or glide down if flooded. The most memorable flyer was a delta-wing rocket shuttle that came with a neat space-station kit...

Thinking about an underwater airplane?

--Bill

The Lindberg 3-stage launcher (poor emulation of the von Braun/Disney launcher-glider put out by Strombecher). Is that the one?

Or maybe the little dart shaped shuttles that came with the Revell barrel-shaped Space Station?

David,