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Nameless Bob · 07-24-09, 09:13 PM

"I know it took about two years to make a small version that actually worked. Great idea, get hit with a torp, just add watr and it would freeze the gap.

Also believed they mixed ice with sawdust, the blocks were actually harder than concrete."

Your right,it was harder than concrete when mixed right.The guy they used to build the small one was a bunker construction specialist.And the british navy tests showed a torpedo hit would only penetrate 3 feet.They considered 40' to be enough to make it torpedo proof.50 was more than enough.Good luck trying to get through that.The main problem it had that I see was power enough to run the electric engines and the refrigeration units as well as ship power for a boat with a top speed of 10 knots and a range I think of 11,000 nm or so.Probably a major gas hog.By the time they really started to get behind testing small versions to make the big one it was way too late for it to be worth it.They probably couldn't get one in the water until mid 44 at least and that would be really rushing it.By the time testing was done it was too much money,materials, and man hours for a war that was coming to a quick end.SledgeHammer427 is more than right.By the time they could have the boat in the water by any real timetable the only country left still left fighting would have been japan.I always liked to think of the boat as a semi-historical what if, kinda like the spruce goose.It would have worked but no need.

For me the fascination wasn't just the size of the boat but the project itself.This was the equivalent of a canadian/british manhattan project in scope and cost.I mean, look at the amount of men and man hours for construction.Then there is the amount of material being moved around for construction.Could you imagine what the work site would look like.And your trying to keep the thing secret the whole time!And then if you actually got one in the water?Can you imagine being the first u-boat commander or pilot having to radio that contact report in to the BDU?I can only imagine the looks the germans would be giving each other knowing that thing just left canada and is on it's way to them.Talk about shock and awe.Can you imagine which one gets to tell Hitler and what he would say?That would have been an akaward moment to say the least.Watching them loose sleep wondering how many more will there be and their engineers trying to figure out what to do about a mega carrier who's construction makes a u-boat essentially worthless against it.?The psychological effect and propaganda coup(newspaper pictures/headlines) would almost have made the cost and time worth it.

"Ice, it was pointed out, was plentiful and didn't sink. Let us build large unsinkable aircraft carriers of ice and thus provide air cover for an attack on a remote and unprotected part of France. Steel limits the size of our carriers to tens of thousands of tons; with ice we can throw off our shackles and build carriers of millions of tons each."

07-24-09, 09:13 PM	#14
Nameless Bob Watch Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 22 Downloads: 34 Uploads: 0	too true "I know it took about two years to make a small version that actually worked. Great idea, get hit with a torp, just add watr and it would freeze the gap. Also believed they mixed ice with sawdust, the blocks were actually harder than concrete." Your right,it was harder than concrete when mixed right.The guy they used to build the small one was a bunker construction specialist.And the british navy tests showed a torpedo hit would only penetrate 3 feet.They considered 40' to be enough to make it torpedo proof.50 was more than enough.Good luck trying to get through that.The main problem it had that I see was power enough to run the electric engines and the refrigeration units as well as ship power for a boat with a top speed of 10 knots and a range I think of 11,000 nm or so.Probably a major gas hog.By the time they really started to get behind testing small versions to make the big one it was way too late for it to be worth it.They probably couldn't get one in the water until mid 44 at least and that would be really rushing it.By the time testing was done it was too much money,materials, and man hours for a war that was coming to a quick end.SledgeHammer427 is more than right.By the time they could have the boat in the water by any real timetable the only country left still left fighting would have been japan.I always liked to think of the boat as a semi-historical what if, kinda like the spruce goose.It would have worked but no need. For me the fascination wasn't just the size of the boat but the project itself.This was the equivalent of a canadian/british manhattan project in scope and cost.I mean, look at the amount of men and man hours for construction.Then there is the amount of material being moved around for construction.Could you imagine what the work site would look like.And your trying to keep the thing secret the whole time!And then if you actually got one in the water?Can you imagine being the first u-boat commander or pilot having to radio that contact report in to the BDU?I can only imagine the looks the germans would be giving each other knowing that thing just left canada and is on it's way to them.Talk about shock and awe.Can you imagine which one gets to tell Hitler and what he would say?That would have been an akaward moment to say the least.Watching them loose sleep wondering how many more will there be and their engineers trying to figure out what to do about a mega carrier who's construction makes a u-boat essentially worthless against it.?The psychological effect and propaganda coup(newspaper pictures/headlines) would almost have made the cost and time worth it. "Ice, it was pointed out, was plentiful and didn't sink. Let us build large unsinkable aircraft carriers of ice and thus provide air cover for an attack on a remote and unprotected part of France. Steel limits the size of our carriers to tens of thousands of tons; with ice we can throw off our shackles and build carriers of millions of tons each." Last edited by Nameless Bob; 07-30-09 at 11:01 PM.