Ithacus Jr. in flight: cross section

Another Philip Bono design (see my past posting), Ithacus was an ambitious (to say the least) 1966 Douglas concept for a suborbital troop transport, intended to deliver a bunch of bully boys to the opposite side of the planet in an hour. Yes, an hour.

The original Ithacus concept was for a truly huge lifter, with a 450-ton payload, designed to carry a battalion of 1,200 soldiers plus equipment.

This painting illustrates the Ithacus Jr. variation, with a cargo capacity of 33.5 tons or 260 soldiers. Douglas proposed launching these from aircraft carriers, which WOULD have been a sight.

Another work by the mysterious "Kollar."