Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!rice!uw-beaver!cornell!rochester!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!osu-cis!att!cbnews!dmocsny@uceng.uc.edu
From: dmocsny@uceng.uc.edu (daniel mocsny)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: US sealift capability
Summary: How about submersible merchants?
Message-ID: <3362@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 23 Jan 89 02:31:46 GMT
References: <3336@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Sender: military@cbnews.ATT.COM
Organization: Univ. of Cincinnati, College of Engg.
Lines: 33
Approved: military@att.att.com


In article <3336@cbnews.ATT.COM>, military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) writes:
[ an alarming assessment of our merchant marine's prospects for finding
a comfortable resting place on the Atlantic ocean floor in the event
of Soviet interdiction ]

Can any readers comment on the feasibility of building submersible
merchant ships? Obviously these would be uneconomic in peacetime, but
even a few tens of meters' submergence should protect greatly against
detection. And compared to the costs of losing our merchant fleet
in a conflict, the idea may have some merit.

This group has also discussed the submarine threat to aircraft carriers.
Is a submersible aircraft carrier an idea simply too absurd to consider?

I would imagine the necessary pressure-vessel/ballast tanks would reduce
the payload by at least a factor of two compared to a surface ship of
similar displacement, while increasing the cost by a factor of anywhere
from two to ten. Assuming negligible snorkel drag, cruising speed might
increase due to wake elimination, if the vessel were optimized for
submerged (rather than surfaced) running. A submersible carrier might
be more practical if it carried either fixed- or rotary-wing VTOL
craft, since that would reduce the size requirement.

A light submersible carrier could probably not replace the really big
flattops, but it be good for sneaking in a bunch of choppers and
Harriers, especially against smaller belligerents that lack ASW
capability. One minute, you're looking at peaceful, blue ocean.
The next minute you've got this breaching craft disgorging a cloud
of aircraft and then dropping out of sight.

Dan Mocsny
dmocsny@uceng.uc.edu