Day 152
Half hour southeast of our campground is the city of Portsmouth. Settled in 1630, and incorporated as a town in 1653. The town, and surrounding area come with lots of historical events such as the final riding destination for Paul Revere when the British were coming. On the darker side of history the town was part of the slavery triangle trade.
Located close to downtown, you’ll find the USS Albacore, a submarine which was moved to a memorial park and turned into a museum, knowing that you could take a tour through the sub, I had to go. As we arrived at the museum we noticed a modern stealth ship called “Ghost” on display beside the USS Albacore. This fast attack stealth ship had an interesting tale on how it came to rest beside the Albacore.
The Ghost is a prototype stealth boat built by a private contractor. Normally private contractors have to prove that their ideas work prior to applying for a military contract, The private contractor for the Ghost knew they had a revolutionary design and proceeded to build the prototype prior to presenting it to the Navy. With a fully functional prototype in operation they knew the Navy would submit a contract to put the Ghost into service.
The key features of the Ghost was it’s stealth ability to make it’s radar signature minimal so larger ships didn’t pick it up on their radar displays. The body of the Ghost was positioned far above the water allowing for it to cut through waves for a smooth ride, reducing the slamming effect that rough water does to ships. The biggest breakthrough was the propulsion system of the boat. Here they attached the body of the boat to two fins, that were in turn attached to torpedo like hull forms that housed the engines. Instead of having the props at the back of these hulls, they placed the props on the front; basically they converted the boat from a rear wheel drive to a front wheel drive. This design created a super cavitating propulsion system, where the propellers create a gas bubble through which the fins and hull then would move through the water with far less drag. The first sea trails were a success and the Ghost was running at speed of 30 knots, and speculated to reach 50 with engine modifications.
The private contractor made plenty of overtures to the Navy and Pentagon about the Ghost project. The Office of Naval Research initially balked at his idea prior to the completion of the prototype. After the sea trials the company gets a contract from the Pentagon that included a requirement to hand over all patent rights. The company turned down the contract seeing that there design had many uses outside of the military market, and if the Navy didn’t go for it they could sell to friendly countries.
A short time after that, the company had secrecy orders placed on it, and secrecy orders override the patents they had for the Ghost design, which meant the company could not sell the boat. After years of litigation and fighting the company wound down and the prototype was mothballed.
The USS albacore was launched on August 1, 1952. And was a unique research submarine that helped pioneer modern submarines. The revolutionary design was derived from extensive hydrodynamic and wind tunnel testing, with an emphasis on underwater speed and maneuverability. For the next 20 years the Albacore was one of the primary test vessels for submersible advancements and upgrades. The Albacore was decommissioned on September 1, 1972.
After we toured the boat we headed to Portsmouth market square located in the heart of the city for a lengthy walk and a little window shopping.
No comments:
Post a Comment