German WWII Hydrofoil

[philp]

Don't you just love it when you are looking at something and just down the page is something else?

The TR-5B Tragflugelboot is a very interesting design that could have been.

http://strangevehicles.greyfalcon.us/TR.htm

[dumaniac]

So I am guessing the engines out the side are Jumo 004?  They would need to keep the salt spray out of the air intakes.

Great concept

[Cobra]

This is Too Cool! why does this look like it would come from Battletech or Thunderbirds? Dan

[raafif]

that is a cool design -- would have been if WW2 continued another 5 yrs
The only actual finished German hydrofoil patrol-boat & design office were captured by Russia so it's no surprise that many Russian hydrofoils look similar to this.

I first saw that in a very serious book on German E-boats by a Mr Frankenstein (seriously !).  There were also Submarine E-boats in the same "future in-planning designs" section -- imagine a sleek E-boat cruising just 10ft below the surface then surfacing to attack !!   Just missed out on getting a copy of the book for $20 at a library auction -- it sells for $300 second-hand

[Doc Yo]

that is a cool design -- would have been if WW2 continued another 5 yrs
The only actual finished German hydrofoil patrol-boat & design office were captured by Russia so it's no surprise that many Russian hydrofoils look similar to this.

I first saw that in a very serious book on German E-boats by a Mr Frankenstein (seriously !).  There were also Submarine E-boats in the same "future in-planning designs" section -- imagine a sleek E-boat cruising just 10ft below the surface then surfacing to attack !!   Just missed out on getting a copy of the book for $20 at a library auction -- it sells for $300 second-hand

Raafif- Do you recollect the title of the book? I'd like to see if I can get a look at a copy via Interlibrary loan.

German Hydrofoils were interesting, right enough, but the S-Boot captains weren't terribly impressed with them
I gather.

[raafif]

Hi Doc,
           as far as I remember (20ys ago) it was "German Fast Patrol Boats 1887 to 1945 by Frankenstein" or something similar, published about 1974, hard-cover only, about 2" thick.  It covered the first Schnellboot designs, thru WW1 to 1945, hydrofoils to the VS-8 & VS-10 and other developments.  Includes the Lürssen civil types that used the S-boot hull - one still sails in NewYork harbour (ex-millionaire's yacht).

I can't see how the S-boot captains could say they didn't like them as only 6 pre-production types of the smaller size were built for river/coastal use & never commissioned.  A proper sea-going S-boot type was not built.  The much larger VS-8 (47knots) was built for the Wehrmact to transport troops etc & wasn't really tested by the Germans -- despite being over-loaded it got up on the foils in Russian hands & taken to the USSR.
There's a good little article, along with one on US Hydrofoils, in Sea Classics Vol 7 # 1, Jan 1974.

[jcf]

WWII German opinion as related on IHS site:
http://www.foils.org/trag.htm

In short, they weren't impressed.

[Doc Yo]

 Raafif-
 
        Thanks for the reply, I'll have to see if I can find that via ILL. The site Jon linked is my main source for
the S-booters opinions. The same is given in the charming " My Tank is Fight!" book, but as that author
said he did all his research on the internet, I suspect thats simply duplication, not confirmation .

[sandiego89]

Me thinks the craft in the first post needs much more wing under the surface.  Nothing there to create lift to bring the hull out of the water.  Cool perhaps, but needs more wing and more flare for stability.  JMN mode off.     

[Doc Yo]

 Hmmm. Maybe. The folis on the actual post-war craft are a bit larger, though of the smae general configuration. The designer may have been banking on the greater thrust of the  jets to get the craft foilborne...though they
are a bit close to the water when down on the hull.

Raafif- was this the title you were remembering?

( Mods. et al, sorry about the size-I thought I was linking a thumbnail. )