A SHIP WHOSE TIME HAS COME

foreign bigger responsibilities a challenge that demands flexibility quick response and more speed at sea [Music] after years of research and development in the United States Navy we have a ship that can meet that challenge ship to be considered when strategic plans are made the hydrofoil a ship whose time has come [Music] foreign [Music] Pegasus phm1 is the first ship in a new class of hydrofoils class designed to support the fleet with speed powerful weapons and the ability to operate in virtually NEC Pegasus is lifted above the water by her foil system sharply reducing drag flying through waves that slow a destroyer ready for Missions once handled only by Major combatants and thousands of men although hydropoils are considered an advanced design they were discovered many years ago in 1898 Enrico forlanini built a hydrofoil that could make 40 nuts and in 1918 Alexander Graham Bell and Casey Baldwin tested the hd4 the hd4 held the hydrofoil speed record of 70 knots until 1962. the Navy has been studying hydrofoils for almost 30 years we have put foils on a variety of Platforms in our search for Speed and stability [Music] but this little boat proved the turning point sea legs showed the advantages of foils that are fully submerged and automatically controlled foils that allow a ship to operate in the open ocean there are two types of foil systems the fully submerged and surface piercing the kind used on many commercial hydrofoils surface piercing foils penetrate only the surface of the water lifting the ship as speed increases the system is fundamentally stable but its rough ride in Heavy Seas is unsuitable for Navy operations the fully submerged system put spoils completely below the water on struts an automatic control system maintains flying height by feeding information through a computer to the foils hydraulic actuators position the control surfaces to the best angle for flight allowing the ship to Bank in turns and to fly smoothly even in rough water the distribution of foils along the hull also differs with design the Canard configuration puts large foils after the center of gravity in the airplane or conventional configuration the foils are forward of the center of gravity in both cases a third foil is required for control and stability extended foils and struts act like deep Keels and give a whole born hydrofoil the stability of a much larger ship oils are retracted hydraulically for maintenance and to reduce Draft when home boards diesel or gas turbine engines provide Power for home-borne speeds of 12 to 13 nuts foreign operations of more than 40 knots only lightweight marinized gas turbines are used propellers and water jets are the thrust producing choices for hydrofoils water jets eliminate long mechanical transmission systems however they require more power than propellers water jets were chosen for the phm both for home-borne and oil-borne thrust but any combination could be used hydrofoil hulls are designed for strengthened good seat keeping they are constructed to withstand large waves and emergency Landings [Music] all is like this and those of all Navy ships are tested at the David Taylor naval ship research and development center near Washington DC model basins recreate actual sea conditions allowing Engineers to see how hulls behave long before construction begins people work on materials piping systems structural tests an effort with one goal a ship that will serve the Navy well the finest ship that technology can produce thank you [Music] at the center the advanced hydrofoil systems office works with engineers and technicians planning trials exploring missions evaluating data [Music] to verify the information learned from Models to evaluate new equipment missions and training methods the center uses Plain View and High Point based at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton Washington foreign [Music] view was designed by Grumman Aerospace built by Lockheed shipbuilding company at 212 feet long she is the largest hydrofoil in the world [Music] Plainview is fully instrumented for trials documentation and usually carries civilian technicians from Navy Laboratories as well as a regular crew he was built to evaluate the potential of large ocean-going hydrofoil ships Plain View and High Point have important jobs to test and evaluate equipment and systems for Fleet hydrofoils like the BHM and because studies result in new discoveries the ships themselves must be modified and improved at a major overhaul means more than paint updated equipment and interior changes [Music] High Point the Navy's oldest hydrofoil was delivered by the Boeing Company in 1963. she has logged hundreds of foil-borne hours and is a major contributor to the development program [Music] Flagstaff is a gunboat 74 feet long she was designed and built by Grumman and served in Vietnam with her sister ship to come carry [Music] Flagstaff recently was turned over to the Coast Guard to begin a new career [Music] Tucumcari was designed and built by Boeing [Music] he toured Europe in 1972 demonstrating hydrofoil capabilities to Nato Nations this performance was so impressive that Germany and Italy agreed to share the development costs for a hydrofoil design giving each a new Naval capability at less expense [Music] the operating experience with these warships set the stage for the design and construction of the phm the Navy's first missile equipped Patrol hydrofoil combatant this is the first ship built as a multinational project and the first U.S Navy ship built to metric specifications I christend Pegasus was launched in November 1974 in Seattle Washington where she had been designed and built by Boeing Pegasus has many of ducumcari's features such as water jets and Canard configuration but she is almost twice as long 40 meters and her Electronics equipment is far more extensive once foil-borne the automatic control system requires no decisions from the Helmsman it makes allowances for turbulence trim and altitude and Banks the ship in turns [Music] the fully swiveled strut on the forward system provides agility and excellent turning rates even in Heavy Seas [Music] foreign [Music] water jet nozzles pivot in response to the health buckets provide reversing control a bow thruster supplements the nozzles and makes her easy to maneuver down below the crew can eat sleep and work during operations normal conversation is possible [Music] in the engineering operations station the single engineman monitors and controls the main and auxiliary machinery and the entire electrical plant [Music] Machinery spaces are unmanned except for routine inspection eight Harpoon missiles will be carried and two clusters on the fan tail Harpoon is an all-weather surface-to-surface Ship Attack weapon Wings on the missile fold inside a canister the canister serves as a shipping carton then protects the weapon during normal ship operations [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign missiles are activated from the combat information center [Music] phm's 76 millimeter gun is lightweight automatically controlled unmanned up to 80 rounds a minute can be fired without reloading the Fire Control System can track several surface and air targets at the same time fire both the gun and the Harpoon and be used for navigation this ability to fire guns and deliver missiles while flying at 40 knots is due to development trials on other hydrofoils trials with guns [Music] torpedoes [Music] trials with missiles [Music] trials with towed systems for Abby submarine warfare [Music] through these trials hydropoil experts learn that the best way to service a small ship is to bring her home a mobile support group now based ashore provides the phm with quick turnaround she can be refueled supplied and repaired within hours [Music] at Sea a squadron of phms would be served by a support ship they could range far from land their guns and missiles ready for action providing the Navy with a whole new area of flexibility [Music] the BHM and others in her class will augment surface forces particularly in offshore coastal areas and narrow passages where larger ships can't maneuver the hydrofoils couldn't lighter Hull born for a week or more return for supplies and resume operations during wartime they could detect and attack enemy forces be used for blockade operations or in Convoy Duty they could free larger ships for Duty in the open ocean the ship can have speed she can have powerful weapons she can be seaworthy but she will never leave the duck without people the hydrofoil program is characterized by special people adaptable innovative skillful several crew members have developed effective ship improvements like this tactical navigation system on High Point the system allows the Navigator and the Helmsman to see their ship's position relative to others all superimposed on a chart in real time [Music] in the future we expect to build faster larger hydrofoils hydrofoils that can cross the ocean without refueling ships that consider speed and rough water a way of life this technology will be extended to the civilian world so it too can travel fast and smoothly in all kinds of weather the fully submerged system developed by the Navy's research program is being used successfully on new commercial hydrofoils ships like these with speeds up to 50 knots are carrying passengers in Hawaii and Hong Kong on routes where rough water and blustery weather are common as the oceans grow smaller we need a ship that is fast efficient and reliable a ship that can cover vast areas in a short time armed with powerful weapons banned by a small well-trained crew the Navy has taken the careful developmental route with the hydrofoil a concept that now is a reality a ship whose time has come [Music] foreign [Music]