[PSUBS-MAILIST] Re: high speed subs

[VBra676539@aol.com]

Sorry, I fat fingered the keyboard and sent half that message out. I was going to say that the boys built a manned torpedo sort of thing called SubMoray (maybe?) at China Lake. They used a torpedo motor/battery pack with counter-rotating props, and I think it ran 16 or 17 knots. There were two 5' diameter aluminum spheres (electronics & sonar in front/crew in second sphere) then the battery pack and then the propulsion unit. It might have been 25 feet overall, or a little longer, and was completely enclosed in a streamlined shell.

The stories I've heard are mixed. There was plenty of trouble off and on, including a flooded forward sphere which could well have killed the crew (had they been in deeper water) and I think some major Main Ballast Tank snafu. The idea was to build a manned observation sub, perhaps upgradable to a midget fast attack boat, that could be launched and retrieved (hopefully) from a Destroyer or a fast Cruiser. The project kept everyone in groceries for a while, but never really went anywhere as other systems evolving simultaneously surpassed the Moray mission statement.

As a side note, I think the Moray ended up in Hawaii and that Phil Nuytton has gotten his hooks into it for his upcoming museum. I don't know about you, but if Phil sends out invitations for the grand opening of that damned museum, I for one, am going to be there!

You will need a mighty potent sonar for something like you are thinking about. High resolution and fast scan abilities will be a must. You simply can't see well enough, even in good water, to do obstacle avoidance with anything approaching the precision you would need. In my experience, at a walking pace near the bottom, by the time you see and identify something, you've already hit it. Hauling ass underwater will be nerve wracking, at the very least. You'll need those sonic eyes, and a very good autopilot system, preferably coupled to some sort of depth control system (also automatic). At 20 knots, you'll have your hands full.

That being said, call me when you need help. I think it would be a great project. I know that Perry stuck two 10 hp motors together on PC-15 to get 6 knots. Wonder what it would take to triple that? Quadruple it? Phil is in the great white North diving, I think. When he gets back, maybe he'll stick an oar in on this subject.

Vance