r/WeirdWatercraft

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)

Here is an old news segment:

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

Source: https://m.weibo.cn/detail/5331707410776943

Slide 1:

• Caption: In the early 1960s, foreign military vessels and civilian vessels were modified to create the 2nd generation of PLAGF vessels, such as the 50 tonne class transport boat, 82 tonne class transport boat, 100 tonne class transport boat, B55 class landing craft, 50 tonne class landing craft, type 203 patrol boat, type 966 patrol boat etc.
• Top photo: 100 tonne class transport boat PLAGFS J2119 (jinan military region)
• Middle photo: 50 tonne class transport boat PLAGFS J1226 (jinan military region)
• Bottom left photo: type 966 patrol boat
• Bottom right photo: Type 203 patrol boat PLAGFS S613 (shenyang military region)

Slide 2:

• Caption: after the national economy began to develop, newer classes of vessels were created as part of the 3rd generation of PLAGF vessels, which entered service in the 1980s.
• Top photo: B-class(or Yi(乙) class) catamaran dispatch boat PLAGFS G2314 (guangzhou military region)
  • Note: appears to resemble the type 681II dispatch boat. most likely the same class.
• Bottom photo: Type 792 fishing boat. (name unidentified)
  • Most likely maritime militia? it's under the national defense mobilization system which was the PLAGF back then..

Slide 3:

• Top photo: PLAGFS 1956-1-11 dispatch boat (likely the 2nd one)
  • There are three generations of PLAGF dispatch boat named 1956-1-11. it's an honary pennant number, since mao rode on the first one back in 1956-1-11. They are possibly the most highly decorated vessels in PLAGF service. judging from the time, this is the second ever one.
  • https://m.weibo.cn/detail/5083548370866978 for a photo of the current 1956-1-11. dispatch boats are in general more luxurius than standard warships(i went on PLANS Nanjiao 87(南交87) of the HK garrison before), but i speculate this may be used as a ship for the president or other high ranking military officers like it's predecessors.
• Bottom left: 1000 tonne class oiler(NATO: Fulin class; wikipedia calls it type 632, which is questionable) PLAGFS G2301 (guangzhou military region)
• Bottom right: type 684 dispatch boat(NATO: Nanhua type A class). unidentified boat

Slide 4:

• Top photo: 150 tonne class(aka Type 271III) landing craft utility PLAGFS S2226 - shenyang military region
• Bottom photo: Cargo and personnel dispatch boat(unspecified class) PLAGFS 2182 (? the waves kinda blocked it) - shenyang military region

Slide 5:

• Top photo: A-class(or Jia(甲)-class) dispatch boat PLAGFS S2103 - Shenyang military region
• Bottom left photo: Type 271 landing craft utility PLAGFS N1123 - nanjing military region
• Bottom right photo: Type 717 sidewall hovercraft. unidentifed.

Slide 6:

• Top photo: type 890 cablelayer PLAGFS N2601 - nanjing military region
• bottom photo: type 983 patrol boat PLAGFS S3658 - shenyang military region

Slide 7:

• Top photo: type 982 patrol boats
• middle photo: type 528 recon boat/patrol boat PLAGFS N3203 - nanjing military region
• Bottom left photo: type 067 landing craft PLAGFS N2401 - nanjing military region
• bottom right photo: "60 tonne class"(type 069) landing craft PLAGFS G2323 - guangzhou military region

Slide 8:

• Top photo: 1200 horsepower class tugboat PLAGFS B1102 or 81102. not very clear which one is it. if it is the former it would be with the beijing military region.
• Bottom left photo: 350 tonne class reefer PLAGFS W1113 - wuhan military region
• Bottom right photo: type 206 diving support vessel PLAGFS W1221 - wuhan military region

Slide 9:

• Border defense replenishment ship(unspecified class) PLAGFS S3718 - shenyang military region.

Slide 10:

• Type 7210 LCAC PLAGFS S3949 - shenyang military region

Slide 11:

• PLAGF vessels in a frozen river. in front is A-class(or Jia(甲)-class) dispatch boat PLAGFS S3607, multiple type 069s and A-classes are in the background. Shenyang military region, most likely china north korea border.

Slide 12:

• PLAGF vessels in a frozen river, PLAGFS S3771 and S3772. also shenyang military region. seem to be 350 tonne class reefer ships.

Slide 13: signalmen during training

Slide 14:

• Top photo: gunners during training
• Bottom photo: radio operators during training

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

What to Post:

This community is dedicated to waterborne technicals of all kinds.

These are watercraft that have been modified with weapons and armour not factory designed for them.

From modified cargo ships to weaponized barges if it’s a technical and it floats then it belongs here!

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.

The Soviet Lun-class ekranoplan (Project 903) was a massive, 380-ton ground-effect vehicle. It was armed with six P-270 Moskit (SS-N-22 'Sunburn') supersonic anti-ship missiles. Mounted on the dorsal spine in three pairs, these devastating missiles could travel at Mach 3 and were designed to destroy enemy aircraft carriers.Technical and Operational DetailsSpeed: 550 km/h (340 mph).Flight Altitude: Travelled on an air cushion just 1 to 4 meters above the sea surface, rendering it essentially invisible to traditional radar and torpedoes.Propulsion: Eight Kuznetsov NK-87 turbofan engines, generating 127.4 kN of thrust each (mounted on forward canards).Armament: Aside from the six Moskit missiles, it was defensively armed with two twin-turret 23mm PI-23 cannons (one dorsal behind the cockpit, one in the tail).Service: Built at the Nizhny Novgorod shipyard, the only completed model (MD-160) entered service with the Caspian Flotilla in 1987 and was decommissioned in the late 1990s.

Due to changing military priorities and the high costs of operation, it remains a legendary Cold War relic. Today, the derelict hull is planned to serve as an open-air museum piece for the Russian military.

Let's tread the border between this sub and r/WeirdWings.

Here is the "Waterplane", designed in 1929 by Russel and Milton Robertson : a ground-effect glider propelled by an outboard motor fitted to an articulated arm. This video was filmed in 1930, but little further information about this contraption seems to be available.

I feel it still qualifies as a bonafide watercraft given its conceptual necessity to remain in contact with a water surface ; in a sense it could be equated to a weird hydrofoil variant.

Sources :

- Patent US1825363A

- 1930 Robertson outboard motor waterplane - GIF

Source: https://m.weibo.cn/status/5329618255220216