Modelling > Sea
PT Boats - Elco, Vosper, Schnellboot etc...
GTX_Admin:
Cool. Any more details?
Artoor_K:
--- Quote from: GTX_Admin on May 01, 2018, 01:01:52 AM ---Cool. Any more details?
--- End quote ---
I'll try to translate from polish book...
In 1939, just before II World War beggining, dentist from Berlin - Engelmann designed a revolutionary vessel for IIIrd Reich. As he described, it should achieve speed of 50 knots. In 1940 project bureau of shipyard in Brema received full documentation with order to build a prototype. Year after that semi-submersible torpedo shnellboot VS 5 was ready to tests.
Lenght was 40,8 m, width 2,8 m, height 5,50 m. It has four engines with 8040 hp (together) two small cannons and two torpedo launchers. It has a crew of 17 and displacement of 256 tons. As seen on drawings and photos , only superstructure was on the surface. Whole hull was under water.
In october 1941 tests began on Gdansk's Gulf. Just before it there was a strike of Trade Union of Seamen. Incredible monstrous Engelmann's shnellboot was unstable even being moored. There was a possibility that when bigger waves will occure, shnellboot will bank and sink with whole crew. Nothing strange, height was unproportional to witdth. Engelmann tried to ensure crew that additional balast with 12,5 ton weight will help, well, without any result. Finally, when shipyard put a 100 000 german marks on table as a insurance for life of crew , VS 5 was allowed to test. Reality proved union's fears to be legit. Even without armanent and at half speed shnellboot behave like a faded, banks were more than 13 degrees. Moreover, just like in aviation, banked airplane begins to turn, banked VS 5 started to turn too. There was no chance of controlling such a ship on tests, just try to imagine torpedo attack or combat of VS 5.
There is no information how VS 5 ended. As a scrap or sunk while being tested? There os no documentation about it.
Jeffry Fontaine:
From YouTube:
Three part video from ELCO about PT Boat construction during WW2 at their Bayonne, New Jersey plant.
PT Boats - Giant Killers part 1 of 3
PT Boats - Giant Killers part 2 of 3
PT Boats - Giant Killers part 3 of 3
Once you get past the old-timey intro music and ignore the static it is quite interesting.
jcf:
The 68' Vosper MTB development craft Bloodhound, used for torpedo trials,
two Lorraine-Dietrich W18 aero-engines. The boat had a midships mounted
trainable launch tube.
A Vosper project of 1939 for a 45' MTB with a single Merlin.
GTX_Admin:
Interesting. The use of the Merlin makes me wonder about a airboat cross with something like the Vosper one above. Maybe with a big shroud around the propeller?
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