ID this Warship concept

Michel Van

Michel Van

ACCESS: Above Top Secret
Senior Member
Joined
13 August 2007
Messages
8,363
Reaction score
10,728
superkeel-673x1024.jpg

That most insane Ship design i ever have see
source: copy of a Boy Scout booklet
more speculation here http://up-ship.com/blog/?p=13162#disqus_thread
 
I can't ID it but I do have to comment on how ridiculous this design is. How could this thing dock anywhere? How could this sail anywhere near a port or shallow water regions? I'm with Scott Lowther in that I'm guessing it is a "stealth ship" in that it's supposed to look like a civilian vessel or a small patrol ship and then surprise its opponents with an arsenal of more torpedoes than at least 20 Sturgeon class submarines and more anti-ship missiles than any one country's fleet of missile destroyers/cruisers.

I can imagine the difficulty of maintaining/servicing this thing considering the apparent incompatibility with the usual dry-dock.

I can also only imagine all of the things this ship's keel could possibly collide into in certain areas around the ocean...
 
The design is probably a close cousin to the ONR's FLIP, which was originally designed and built to help improve ASW sensors, especially sonar. So our mystery design was definitely intended as a ASW hunter-killer, with very good hearing. Unlike the FLIP however, it likely wasn't intended to routinely 'flip' from horizontal to vertical and back again. Also, unlike FLIP, it was clearly self-propelled.

EDIT: Alternatively, rather than a hunter-killer, it may have been intended as part of a 'chain' of mobile weapon/sensor platforms along the coast of the CONUS, to counter early Soviet boomers.
 
Why would the 'wings' (hydrofoils? I'm not that into dinghies..) fold up like they are obviously supposed to? To get it through suez? :D
 
Gridlock said:
Why would the 'wings' (hydrofoils? I'm not that into dinghies..) fold up like they are obviously supposed to? To get it through suez? :D
Click to expand...

Combo of sensors and diving panes, I'd say, although Orion thinks there might be secondary propulsion units instead of sensors mounted on them.
 
I can't be sure, because this is lost in the mists of time, but my hazy memory seems to recall that his originally appeared in an issue of the Naval Institute Proceedings sometimes in the '60s that was devoted to "The Navy of 1975" (or "1985" or "2000" thereabouts). There were a whole bunch of fanciful concepts including hydrofoil destroyers and amphibious assault [with landing craft] submarines.
 
wat if this is camouflage as United States Coast Guard ?
from size and window size of boat on the Picture
could be a Island class patrol boat or a Cyclone class coastal patrol ship

speculate from size of two vessels class 140 ft (42.7 m) and 179 ft (55 m)
is this "Iceberg vessels" has then a high of 700 ft (213.36 m) to 895 ft (272.7 m) and beam of 37 ft 5 in (11.4 m) to 25 ft (7.6 m)
 
Grey Havoc said:
Orion thinks there might be secondary propulsion units instead of sensors mounted on them.
Click to expand...

Based mainly on the fact that there *seems* to be a faintly visible trail behind the wing, indicating cavitation bubbles (that somehow don;t seem interested in floating upwards). Shrug.
 
F-14D said:
I can't be sure, because this is lost in the mists of time, but my hazy memory seems to recall that his originally appeared in an issue of the Naval Institute Proceedings sometimes in the '60s that was devoted to "The Navy of 1975" (or "1985" or "2000" thereabouts). There were a whole bunch of fanciful concepts including hydrofoil destroyers and amphibious assault [with landing craft] submarines.
Click to expand...

I'm thinking whoever made this concept design has officially put AvPro to shame in terms of sensationalist drawings.
 
F-14D said:
I can't be sure, because this is lost in the mists of time, but my hazy memory seems to recall that his originally appeared in an issue of the Naval Institute Proceedings sometimes in the '60s that was devoted to "The Navy of 1975" (or "1985" or "2000" thereabouts). There were a whole bunch of fanciful concepts including hydrofoil destroyers and amphibious assault [with landing craft] submarines.
Click to expand...

This sounds pretty interesting. i hope someone with access to back issues can locate that.
 
ouroboros said:
F-14D said:
I can't be sure, because this is lost in the mists of time, but my hazy memory seems to recall that his originally appeared in an issue of the Naval Institute Proceedings sometimes in the '60s that was devoted to "The Navy of 1975" (or "1985" or "2000" thereabouts). There were a whole bunch of fanciful concepts including hydrofoil destroyers and amphibious assault [with landing craft] submarines.
Click to expand...

This sounds pretty interesting. i hope someone with access to back issues can locate that.
Click to expand...
It would be great to see the article
 
Looks like something out of a Clive Cussler book. less the hull above the surface...Night Probe??
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

Please donate to support the forum.

Back
Top Bottom