Great profile my friend.
The Convair F2Y Sea Dart was a unique seaplane fighter aircraft that rode on twin hydro-skis for takeoff. It only flew as a prototype, and never entered production, but it is still the only seaplane to exceed the speed of sound.
Twelve production aircraft were ordered before a prototype had even flown. No armament was ever fitted to any Sea Dart built, but the plan was to arm the production aircraft with four 20 mm cannon and a battery of folding-fin unguided rockets. Four of this order were redesignated as service test planes, and an additional eight production planes were soon ordered as well.
All four remaining Sea Darts survive to this day. The prototype is awaiting restoration for the Smithsonian Institution, and is in bad shape. The others are at the San Diego Aerospace Museum, the Wings of Freedom Air and Space Museum at Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, and at the Lakeland, Florida airport.
