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Original Artwork, CLICK for HIGH RESOLUTION: In the late 1950s the US Navy experimented with the concept of aircraft carrying submarines armed with jet fighters. Several submarines capable of carrying aircraft-sized cruise missiles had been built as a stop-gap and contingency to ballistic missile submarines: converted fleet boats USS Tunny and Barbero were fitted with external hangars on the aft deck for trials, each carrying two Regulus-I missiles. These were followed by two diesel-electric cruise missile submarines of the Grayback Class were put into service, each with four missiles, and one submarine of the Halibut Class with five missiles. If these boats could carry such large missiles, then the US Navy supposed that they could alternatively carry manned aircraft. ....
(Courtesy photo) Dec. 12, 1955: First prototype of hovercraft patented by British engineer Christoper Cockerell. A hovercraft, also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the hull, or air cushion, that is slightly above atmospheric pressure. The pressure difference between the higher pressure air below the hull and lower pressure ambient air above it produces lift, which causes the hull to float above the running surface. For stability reasons, the air is typically blown through slots or holes around the outside of a disk- or oval-shaped platform, giving most hovercraft a characteristic rounded-rectangle shape. Typically this cushion is contained within a flexible “skirt”, which allows the vehicle to travel over small obstructions without damage. ....