 | You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in German. (July 2024)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
 Sea Shadow sailing through Californian waters nearSan Francisco in March 1999 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Sea Shadow |
| Awarded | 22 October 1982 |
| Builder | Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company |
| Completed | 1984 |
| Acquired | 1 March 1985 |
| Out of service | September 2006 |
| Stricken | September 2006 |
| Fate | Scrapped in 2012 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Stealth ship |
| Displacement | 563long tons (572 t) |
| Length | 164 ft (50 m) |
| Beam | 68 ft (21 m) |
| Draft | 15 ft (4.6 m) |
| Propulsion | Diesel–electric |
| Speed | 14.2knots (26.3 km/h; 16.3 mph) |
| Complement | 4 |
| Armament | None |
Sea Shadow (IX-529) was an experimentalstealth ship built byLockheed for theUnited States Navy to determine how a low radar profile might be achieved and to test high-stability hull configurations that have been used in oceanographic ships.
Sea Shadow was built in 1984 to examine the application ofstealth technology on naval vessels and was used in secret until a public debut in 1993. In addition, the ship was designed to test the use of automation to reduce crew size. The ship was created by theDefense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the U.S. Navy andLockheed.Sea Shadow was developed and built at Lockheed'sRedwood City, California, facility, inside theHughes Mining Barge (HMB-1), which functioned as a floatingdry dock during construction and testing.[1]
Sea Shadow had aSWATH (small-waterplane-area twin hull) design. Below the water were submergedtwin hulls, each with a propeller, aft stabilizer, and inboardhydrofoil. The portion of the ship above water was connected to the hulls via the two angled struts. The SWATH design helped the ship remain stable in rough water up tosea state 6 (wave height of 18 feet (5.5 m) or "very rough" sea). The shape of the superstructure was sometimes compared to thecasemate of the ironclad ramCSS Virginia of theAmerican Civil War.[1]
Sea Shadow had 12 bunks, one small microwave oven, a refrigerator and table. It was not intended to be mission-capable and was never commissioned, although it was listed in theNaval Vessel Register.
Sea Shadow was revealed to the public in 1993 and was housed at theSan Diego Naval Station until September 2006, when it was relocated with theHughes Mining Barge to theSuisun Bay Reserve Fleet inBenicia, California. Until 2006,Sea Shadow and the HMB-1 were maintained and operated byLockheed Martin for the U.S. Navy. The vessels were available for donation to a maritime museum.[1]
TheUSNSImpeccable andUSNS Victoriousocean surveillance ships have inherited the stabilizer and canard method to help perform their stability-sensitive intelligence collection missions.[1]
In 2006, the U.S. Navy tried to sellSea Shadow to the highest bidder;[1][2] after the initial offering met with a lack of interest, it was listed for dismantling sale on gsaauctions.gov.[3] The U.S. government mandated that the buyer not sail the ship and be required to scrap it. The ship was finally sold in 2012.[4][5]Sea Shadow was dismantled in 2012 by Bay Ship & Yacht Company ofAlameda, California.[6]
In the 1997 James Bond filmTomorrow Never Dies, media tycoon Elliot Carver (Sir Jonathan Pryce) operated a stealth ship that resembledSea Shadow's appearance. Christened asSea Dolphin II in the film, the secret and stealthy floating lair was used as a plot device to attempt to initiate World War III.[7]
The 1994 video gameUrban Strike featuresSea Shadow as an enemy unit.[8] Its 1997 sequel,Nuclear Strike features the craft as home base. The craft also appears thrice in thesingle-player campaign ofAct of War: High Treason (a 2006real-time strategy game byEugen Systems[9]) as an enemy unit. This fictional version is a stealthy aircraft carrier, capable of housing oneX-32 JSF VTOL. The craft is not playable outside the single-player campaign.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
This article includes information collected from theNaval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in thepublic domain. The entry can be foundhere.
