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Sea Shadow stealth ship seen on TLC
From: BaDge <baj7d@avery.med.virginia.edu>
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 1997 19:47:06 -0800
|
Some of you who know me from the SkunkWorks list know I'm fond of the
navy's Sea Shadow.
Since it's stealthy, and A51 is intimately tied to stealth, I thought I'd
share this.
TLC, 'How'd they do That', just played the most in-depth review of this
boat I've seen yet. (Sat 7/26 1930ish)
They also showed it in drydock, and we finally see the undepinnings in
great detail. Basically twin mini-submarines powered by twin engines in
the bowels of the hull, are driven by bubble-formation resistant props,
with the only other underwater feature being twin airplane-style rudders
near the end of each pontoon.
This ship was used mainly as a test bed for technologies to reduce heat,
wake, sound, radar, and visible signatures.
I see no reason why it couldn't almost completely submerge, nor why it
couldn't make 40-50 kts as a hydrofoil.
The black skin is exactly that. You can see a skeleton of ribs over which
the black coating/covering is stretched in one shot.
Catch it if you can! ;-)
regards,
_____
BaDge
<baj7d@virginia.edu>
