Wave Skipper
02-17-07, 03:56 PM
I have not been here for over a week. I wrote what is below less than 15 minutes ago and then came to Subsim to post it up, and as I reached Subsim site I see the posting on its page about "want to load a Mark14 on a real WWII sub" (!!!!!!!) Is that freaky or what???
Here is what I wrote before I saw it:
I was sitting on the toilet a while ago and thinking, wouldn’t it be great if someone, say, myself for example, could win a $280 million Power Ball lotto and devote a huge hunk to building a replica U-boat, built to real specs. The crew of course should not be that hard to come by - I know there are loads of guys here and in U-boat clubs that would die for the chance to crew one. I know there are now men who are building WWII planes from scratch using old blue prints. So I got to wondering, what would be involved (if money was not an issue) to build a U-boat (say a Type IX) to German WWII specs. I suppose we’d need a German sub yard, since we’d need someone who could build to tight tolerances. Japan maybe. There are still U-boats in museums that could help us. There must still be blue prints and records somewhere. There might be some ship-yard workers still alive who actually did the work in WWII. Or perhaps workers who took care of Swedish subs in the 50s, since German engineers worked with Sweden before the war. And we could no doubt find old sub builders who worked on American WWII and 50s subs.
Of course most of us would be just happy to sail on the thing for 2 week cruises, facing storms, the elements and so forth. But we could also go a step further, such as mock torpedo attacks on an old cargo (we’d have another boat to buy and fix up to the 9s).
Or, we might want to sink a drone boat or even do mock battle with a restored WWII destroyer.
We would want real torpedoes built to spec, though most would only have dummy warheads. But we might want some with the full bang for sinking radio controlled drones (more on that later). But to load these into a sub we may have to find a third world nation that would allow us to base our completed sub in their waters. European nations and America would likely to be too anally retentive to allow this, especially since the WAAAAAR ON TERRORRRRRRRISM!!! So we’d need a laid back nation to host our base, one where a little money talks.
Now obviously we could use some up-to-date things, such as modern materials for the water seals, more fire-proof equipment (since, while I don’t mind dying, I still don’t like frying) – but that could be worked out by the crew or crews.
We’d next need at least a few old ships. Top on the list would be an old WWII Allied DD. But we’d also want a couple of old steamers or cargo ships from the period or as near to it as possible (I’d really hate to sink a WWII vintage ship – so we could settle on sinking a 1960s vintage).
For the mock DD and U-boat battles we’d want a DC designed that could make a bang but not a breach. That would have to be studied, but off the cuff I’d suggest at the moment something like 5 to 10 pounds of TNT. All that would come later and have to be worked out. We’d of course need a referee-boat, one equipped with the latest side-scanning computerized sonar that could spot how near to the U-boat the DCs were detonating. Thus it could determine if a knock out blow was delivered. Or we could try something like outer-hull pressure sensors, but that would require designing new equipment and testing it out with live charges, depths, etc. A referee boat would likely be easier.
Some of the money could be recovered by making video recordings of the actions, such as sinking an old drone ship, and selling it. I think it would make a little money.
Personally I’d be willing to be part of a crew on an old cargo targeted for real torpedo destruction. I mean the ship wouldn’t be carrying fuel or ammunition. We could seal off all the watertight doors, and even carry lumber or flotation devices in its hull like an old Q-ship from WWI. And if perchance I died, I wouldn’t mind having on my gravestone: “Died on a merchant ship sunk by a German U-boat.” I am sure there are other older men who’d take the risk rather than just wasting away in some nursing home. Heck many extreme sports are more dangerous. We could be up in the bridge far from the impact zones. But such a sinking would not be the main point of the venture. In fact the venture might never do that. It might just stick with dummy attacks with practice torpedoes and weapons. It would mainly be about sailing on a U-boat or WWII DD around the North Atlantic. I think most would get a kick just out of that.
Of course the officers and NCOs on board would come from real navy guys who served aboard subs or warships. It would require a training course with a lot of practice and training. Some might not be certified, but could always go along for short missions near land. Actually we would want several types of U-boats, and eventually Subs from America and Japan.
Too bad guys like Gates are so easily satisfied in their pathetic little lives with the stupid activities and enjoyments of the rich. If even one such man had a modicum of imagination to him what I have outlined here would be quite easy to accomplish.
Here is what I wrote before I saw it:
I was sitting on the toilet a while ago and thinking, wouldn’t it be great if someone, say, myself for example, could win a $280 million Power Ball lotto and devote a huge hunk to building a replica U-boat, built to real specs. The crew of course should not be that hard to come by - I know there are loads of guys here and in U-boat clubs that would die for the chance to crew one. I know there are now men who are building WWII planes from scratch using old blue prints. So I got to wondering, what would be involved (if money was not an issue) to build a U-boat (say a Type IX) to German WWII specs. I suppose we’d need a German sub yard, since we’d need someone who could build to tight tolerances. Japan maybe. There are still U-boats in museums that could help us. There must still be blue prints and records somewhere. There might be some ship-yard workers still alive who actually did the work in WWII. Or perhaps workers who took care of Swedish subs in the 50s, since German engineers worked with Sweden before the war. And we could no doubt find old sub builders who worked on American WWII and 50s subs.
Of course most of us would be just happy to sail on the thing for 2 week cruises, facing storms, the elements and so forth. But we could also go a step further, such as mock torpedo attacks on an old cargo (we’d have another boat to buy and fix up to the 9s).
Or, we might want to sink a drone boat or even do mock battle with a restored WWII destroyer.
We would want real torpedoes built to spec, though most would only have dummy warheads. But we might want some with the full bang for sinking radio controlled drones (more on that later). But to load these into a sub we may have to find a third world nation that would allow us to base our completed sub in their waters. European nations and America would likely to be too anally retentive to allow this, especially since the WAAAAAR ON TERRORRRRRRRISM!!! So we’d need a laid back nation to host our base, one where a little money talks.
Now obviously we could use some up-to-date things, such as modern materials for the water seals, more fire-proof equipment (since, while I don’t mind dying, I still don’t like frying) – but that could be worked out by the crew or crews.
We’d next need at least a few old ships. Top on the list would be an old WWII Allied DD. But we’d also want a couple of old steamers or cargo ships from the period or as near to it as possible (I’d really hate to sink a WWII vintage ship – so we could settle on sinking a 1960s vintage).
For the mock DD and U-boat battles we’d want a DC designed that could make a bang but not a breach. That would have to be studied, but off the cuff I’d suggest at the moment something like 5 to 10 pounds of TNT. All that would come later and have to be worked out. We’d of course need a referee-boat, one equipped with the latest side-scanning computerized sonar that could spot how near to the U-boat the DCs were detonating. Thus it could determine if a knock out blow was delivered. Or we could try something like outer-hull pressure sensors, but that would require designing new equipment and testing it out with live charges, depths, etc. A referee boat would likely be easier.
Some of the money could be recovered by making video recordings of the actions, such as sinking an old drone ship, and selling it. I think it would make a little money.
Personally I’d be willing to be part of a crew on an old cargo targeted for real torpedo destruction. I mean the ship wouldn’t be carrying fuel or ammunition. We could seal off all the watertight doors, and even carry lumber or flotation devices in its hull like an old Q-ship from WWI. And if perchance I died, I wouldn’t mind having on my gravestone: “Died on a merchant ship sunk by a German U-boat.” I am sure there are other older men who’d take the risk rather than just wasting away in some nursing home. Heck many extreme sports are more dangerous. We could be up in the bridge far from the impact zones. But such a sinking would not be the main point of the venture. In fact the venture might never do that. It might just stick with dummy attacks with practice torpedoes and weapons. It would mainly be about sailing on a U-boat or WWII DD around the North Atlantic. I think most would get a kick just out of that.
Of course the officers and NCOs on board would come from real navy guys who served aboard subs or warships. It would require a training course with a lot of practice and training. Some might not be certified, but could always go along for short missions near land. Actually we would want several types of U-boats, and eventually Subs from America and Japan.
Too bad guys like Gates are so easily satisfied in their pathetic little lives with the stupid activities and enjoyments of the rich. If even one such man had a modicum of imagination to him what I have outlined here would be quite easy to accomplish.