
Unique Ships of the U.S. Navy - protomyth
http://news.usni.org/2015/01/30/unique-ships-u-s-navy
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themodelplumber
It's Norwegian, but here's a pretty unique modern ship that I found
fascinating: [http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/the-russian-military-
despis...](http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/the-russian-military-despises-
this-strange-wedge-shaped-1648132968)

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rbc
Actually, the USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) is a pretty wild ship too, complete with
gas turbine electric propulsion and Linux:

[http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/10/the-
na...](http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/10/the-navys-newest-
warship-is-powered-by-linux/)

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Amezarak
Linux is used on the Arleigh Burke destroyers.

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mikecb
Yes, but Zumwalt has replaceable containerized datacenter units that can be
swapped out for upgraded hardware and changing mission.

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2xlbuds
Wow, reading up on Project Azorian was damn interesting.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Azorian](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Azorian)

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jonah
Which is where the Glomar Response[0] originated[1].

[0] "...neither confirm nor deny..." [1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glomar_response](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glomar_response)

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Animats
USS Albacore, the first teardrop-shaped submarine. Before nuclear submarines,
submarines spent most of their time on the surface and had surface ship hulls
with a pointed keel and bow. USS Nautilus, the first nuclear submarine, was
built that way as well. USS Albacore, which was not nuclear powered, was built
as an experimental craft, designed to be fast and agile underwater. Albacore
had an control system set up for a single pilot, using an aircraft-like yoke.
The pilot even wore a seat belt.

Albacore performed quite well, and the Skipjack class nuclear submarines
(1959) were modeled on _Albacore_. All later US (and Soviet) nuclear
submarines followed that general shape. But the single pilot approach was not
retained.

[http://www.ussalbacore.org/html/albacore_story.html](http://www.ussalbacore.org/html/albacore_story.html)

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rbc
There is also the British R-class submarine from WW1. It was designed to be
faster underwater than on the surface:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_R-
class_submarine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_R-class_submarine)

That one made series production, ten being made. I wouldn't be surprised if
the USS Albacore design team learned something from the British experience
with hunter-killer submarines.

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vvpan
There's also the Stiletto stealth boat:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M80_Stiletto](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M80_Stiletto)

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bladedtoys
The camel transport is surely by far the most powerful since the camel it is
loading is only found deep in land locked central Asia.

Pictured camel:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bactrian_camel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bactrian_camel)

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a_e_k
I got to see the SBX-1 when it came to port in Seattle a couple of years ago.
It's one odd-looking duck: [http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/sea-
based-x-band-ra...](http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/sea-based-x-band-
radar-1-sbx-1/)

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wilhil
Flip looks amazing, but, I can't understand what the benefits are / why it
needs to do that!

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spaky
Here's a more detailed article on in with some more images.

[http://www.ship-technology.com/projects/flip-ship/](http://www.ship-
technology.com/projects/flip-ship/)

Specifically: "keeping the 700 long-ton mass steady and making it perfect for
researching wave height, acoustic signals, water temperature and density, and
for the collection of meteorological data."

