Boats

[glatt]

They say it's small and "quiet." I wonder what it used for propulsion. With a range of 110 miles, I'd assume a gasoline or diesel engine. And I don't think of either of those as being "quiet."

[glatt]

According to this PDF, it was gasoline powered and was very dangerous because the fumes would settle in the bottom of the boat.

During one test, a single crew-man was in SKIFF, standing in the open deck hatch. Unbeknownst to all present, a fuel leak had occurred and fumes had gathered, but the crewman had neglected to turn valve #15. With the flip of a switch, the ignition of the engine, or some other spark-generating event, the fumes ignited. Due to the vessel’s small size, there was little space for the explosion to expand—except for the open deck hatch. Thus, as powder ignited deep in the breech of a cannon that expands dramatically through the barrel, the force in the small SKIFF sought the open hatch—and, as with a cannon, there was a moveable obstruction: the crewman, who was shot through the air. He went straight up, like a missile from a submarine, and eventually landed in the water nearby. Remarkably, he was plucked from the water unharmed, except that he had lost all his body hair. As Smith described the scene, other than his swim trunks, he was “nude as a sausage.” Smith also noted how fortunate it was that he had been standing straight up and well centered in the opening, which was exactly the same width as his shoulders; if he had been lower, perhaps with one shoulder under one side of the opening, he “would have left more than his hair in the hatch.”

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by glatt

...I don't think of either of those as being "quiet."

That's probably 1950s 'quiet'. As in 'quiet to the ear'. It would probably be noticed from waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay off by a modern sub's listening equipment.

[Gravdigr]

[xoxoxoBruce]

Gondolas are for tourists and wimps.
But the flimsy little wires on the rudders don't look too safe.

[Gravdigr]

That's a lot of power in a little 20-footer.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Battleship...

[xoxoxoBruce]

We wanted no part of the war in Europe, but after a U-Boat sunk the Lusitania president Wilson told Germany knock it off, no more passenger ships or we'd come over there. Germany complied until the Russians collapsed, then the Germans said you're not the boss of me, figuring the could beat England and the U-Boats would keep the US from coming to the fight. That's why this U-Boat was in NY.