Thread: Interesting new US warship

Originally Posted by wayne394

Pity it isn't called Enterprise.

I guess that is the best match up they could do since the USS Enterprise was taken out of service in 2012. Pity that.

Bob

A couple of 16 inchers would turn that high tech "Thing" into a pill of junk. Give me couple of USS Alabamas, or some Iowa class ships any day.

Been following the development of those things for a while. I'm still amazed that the "wizards" chose a design very reminiscent of the old Tumblehome hull design that was in vogue at the end of the 19th and early 20th C. It wasn't a good design. It looked great but it just wasn't efficient as it makes the bow plow down into the water at speed and they tended to be top heavy and roll ridiculously.

Here's a pic of the USS CONNECTICUT during her speed trials running flat out "with a bone in her teeth". Plowing a lot of water. I pity the guys in the small boat that were taking the pic when she came abreast of them.


She and her sisters comprised "The Great White Fleet" that sailed around the world in 1907.

I thought the tumblehome design was more for horizontal stability and not a design for the front of the ship. It is a decent design for hull with regards to getting the angles of the boat above water to deflect radar. The Zumwalt seems to be designed to have a much longer transition to widest portion of the ship. I would need a lot more information that is most likely classified to be able to do any calculations to see how good or bad is the design of the ship. However, there is a long history of poorly designed ships and it wouldn't surprise me that someone fudged a number or a thousand to get the contract. Especially since they most likely used FEA analysis on the hull and the problems that arise from transitioning to the real world from simulations can be numerous to the extreme. This is the primary reason that many ships have to go through rigorous testing after manufacture. Of course, the scope of the actual testing dependent on the pocketbook of the customer.

I think I'd let the sea worthiness of that new hull design be well proven before I'd go onboard her.

Bob