u/ZaxZone

Electrical issue.

r/popemobile is dedicated to the Popemobile - the vehicle used by the Pope to greet crowds during his public appearances.

This subreddit will include photos and information ranging from the early Sedia Gestatoria to modern electric versions of the popemobile!

Any and all modes of transport used by the Pope or Vatican, such as boats and aircraft, are welcome as well as vehicles used by the Pope during his private life.

Come check out r/popemobile and help make it a great resource for all fans of the Popemobile!

Hey everyone! I'm u/ZaxZone, moderator at r/popemobile!

This community is dedicated to the Popemobile - the vehicle used by the Pope to greet crowds during his public appearances.

From the early Sedia Gestatoria to modern electric versions of the popemobile, if it was used to transport the Pope then it belongs here!

Any and all modes of transport used by the Pope or Vatican, such as boats and aircraft, are welcome here as well as vehicles used by the Pope during his private life.

Welcome and let’s make this a great resource for all fans of the Popemobile!

Among the efforts to curtail an arms race following World War One, the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty - signed by the British Empire, France, Italy, Japan and the United States - limited the construction of warships among its signatories, specifically for battleships, battlecruisers and aircraft carriers (which were an emerging concept at the time).

However, the first version of that treaty did not explicitely limit the construction of submarines (save for a maximum displacement of 10000 tons) and soon enough the French authorities ordered the construction of a "submarine cruiser", as a way to circumvent some of those limitations (and mostly because French shipbuilders were already quite experienced with designing cutting-edge submarines).

The "Surcouf" was designed following the requirements that it should be able to carry provisions for 90 continuous days of high-seas deployment, and feature firepower comparable to that of a battlecruiser. Indeed, the submarine was built around a turret sporting two 203mm guns - which were the largest caliber allowed by the Washington Naval Treaty. According to the specifications, it could fire up to a distance of 16 kilometers with its own instruments, and 26 kilometers with aircraft support. To this end, the Surcouf was also the first submarine to carry a reconnaissance aircraft. Initially an improved version of the Besson MB.35 floatplane designated MB.411 was chosen for that task {images 3 and 4}, but a bespoke gyroplane was later devised to replace it in the form of the Dorand G.20 {image 5} - although development for it never came to fruition with the fall of France in 1940.

Launched in 1929 and commissionned in 1934, the Surcouf would remain the largest submarine in the world until the launch of the Japanese I-400 class in 1944 - namely because the 1930 London Naval Treaty specifically regulated submarine warfare in order to address the topics that the Washington Naval Treaty did not cover. In particular, submarines were now limited to 2000 tons - with each major nation allowed to operate three units of up to 2800 tons. However, the Surcouf and its 3250 tons of displacement was exempted by the terms of this treaty as the sole exception, mostly on the basis that it was already operational at this point.

At the time of the Battle of France in 1940, Surcouf was being refitted in France and managed to escape to the United Kingdom and ultimately remained under the control of the Free French forces. In February 1942, the submarine departed Halifax, Canada, with the intent of rallying Australia and was sunk on the way to the Panama Canal during the night of the 18th to 19th of the same month. The circumstances of her sinking are unclear, although the most likely scenario points towards American forces being responsible after confusing her with an enemy ship.

Sources :

- Covert Shores : Surcouf, The Ultimate Interwar Cruiser Submarine

- Drachinifel : MN Surcouf - Guide 136 (Extended)

Images :

- (1) Marine & Océans : Chronique Navale du 18 Février

- (2) Aviation Navale Française 1939 - 1940 : Sous-Marin Surcouf

- (3) & (4) Aviation Navale Française 1939 - 1940 : Besson MB.411 "Petrel"

- (5) Old Machine Press : Dorand Gyroplane G.20 (G.II)

those tank turrets looks cool

Manta Ray is an American underwater drone designed to sleep on the ocean floor for months, and that radical choice might make it the most strategically important machine nobody is talking about right now.

The vehicle moves without a propeller — it changes its own weight to sink and rise, converting that motion into forward travel, which means its energy draw is almost zero for most of the mission.

It was shipped across the country in five standard containers and bolted together on a dock in two days, a deployment model that quietly rewrites every assumption about how you get a large underwater asset into position fast.

With the Navy accelerating procurement of rival systems and the Pentagon funding at least three competing design teams, Manta Ray's silence since early 2024 is either the most suspicious pause in undersea robotics — or the calm before something significant.

The glider’s whole trick is refusing to spin a propeller

Manta Ray is a glider, and gliders have been in the water since the 1960s doing survey work for the Navy and NOAA. The mechanism is old and mildly counterintuitive.

Rather than turning a propeller, the vehicle changes its own weight. It pumps seawater in to get heavy and sink, pumps it back out to get light and rise, and the wings convert all that vertical falling into forward travel. Brian Theobald, chief engineer for Manta Ray at Northrop Grumman, has described the propulsion as “falling forward [with purpose] through the water all the time,” going up as well as down.

The American drone crossed 2,700 miles inside five shipping containers, gets bolted together on a dock in two days, swims out by pumping seawater through itself instead of turning a propeller, then anchors to the ocean floor and sleeps there until someone wakes it

SHIPPING FOOTPRINT

5 containers

The whole vehicle travels as subsections in five standard shipping containers and gets assembled at the destination.

LAST PUBLIC TEST

Feb–Mar 2024

Full-scale in-water testing off Southern California. No further milestone announced since DARPA’s May 2024 release.

FUNDED

NAVY XLUUV LINE

$1.13 billion

16 vehicles through FY2031, starting with two Boeing Orcas at $135.8 million in FY2027.

Here is an old news segment:

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/1.3334686

https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Foxcatch

Come on over to r/WarPlanetsToys to share about and discuss the animated series Shadow Raiders by Mainframe Entertainment as well as the toy line War Planets by Trendmasters from which the show is based on!

Shadow Raiders was broadcasted on YTV from September 16, 1998 to June 23, 1999 and ran for two seasons; A third season was planned but was unfortunately cancelled.

Come on over to r/WarPlanetsToys to share about and discuss the animated series Shadow Raiders by Mainframe Entertainment as well as the toy line War Planets by Trendmasters from which the show is based on!

Come on over to r/WarPlanetsToys to share about and discuss the animated series Shadow Raiders by Mainframe Entertainment as well as the toy line War Planets by Trendmasters from which the show is based on!

https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Shadow\_Droid

More info:

https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Mountain\_Terrain\_Armored\_Transport

r/Starwarsvehicles is dedicated to all of the vehicles found within the Star Wars universe!

From speeder bikes to capital ships if it's a vehicle found in Star Wars then it belongs here! Both canon and legends are welcome.

Post photos and discuss your favorite vehicles and help make this a great resource for Star Wars fans!