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Hello all, this is my first post on Shipbucket. I have been exploring the site and forum for over a year now, and most of my drawing has been limited to minor changes to existing ships (changing armament, coloring, etc). An idea has recently popped into my mind, and I would like to bounce it around to see what you all think. So here we go...

Let's say that a certain country operates a fleet of very modern SSKs. The advantage of these diesel-electric boats is that they are quieter than their nuclear counterparts (is SSI or SSP ever used for D-E?). The drawback is their limited range. If said country wants to continue to operate these boat, but also extend their operational range, what options exist? You could send submarine tenders out to sea to refuel/replenish their supplies, but that makes the task of tracking the SSKs down pretty simple. The tenders would lead you right to them.

My idea is to disguise the tender as something else. I recently found pictures of SMS Vulkan and Kommuna, both submarine salvage ships. Could you take a ship similar to an Elbe-class tender (probably would need to be a catamaran design) and mount the superstructure of Kommuna (what is the correct term for that? Is it a gantry crane?)? This may be a ridiculous idea, but sometimes it seems there is a very fine line between innovation and stupidity.

Depends on what kind of tender you want since the term has been applied to very different ships capable of performing quite different tasks over the years.
Anyway to get the discussion rolling here's what I think a sub tender needs.

• Long endurance
• Large holds
• Tanks for fuel and water and other liquids needed by its charges
• Cranes for transferring said stores in a fairly quick fashion
• Extra crew facilities
• Extensive workshops

On the upside that's the description of an ofshore supply ship, but on the downside people tends to keep a pretty close eye on that kind of ships.
I'd shy away from the catamaran salvage ship though since they're impossible to hide from even the most superficial inspection and because if you need to salvage one of your boats you'll have bigger problems than hiding it.

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Let me clarify a bit. Ironically, my proposal for a salvage-type ship is not for the purpose of salvaging damaged SSKs; in an official capacity, this would be the mission of the ship. Additional missions could be to raise war-relics from previous conflicts in order to restore them as museum ships. **Although even in an AU, I don't know how to justify disturbing graves of deceased sailors** The real purpose of the design is to allow a ship to replenish and refuel a submarine while concealing the fact that a sub is even in the area. A catamaran design would allow the sub to surface right underneath the "salvage" ship without being seen, and the crane-structure on top of the ship would allow stores to be transferred.

On the flip side, being a catamaran would severely limit the amount of holds or tanks for fuel and water. Unless most everything was stored up top, which would make the vessel very top heavy. What I need is a submarine tender that completely does not look like a submarine tender, and conceals any docked submarines. The salvage catamaran was one idea in trying to reach that goal.

well, one big problem is that when the sub surfaces between the hulls, and cranes must reach the sub, the sub is still visible from above.
the best thing that fits your specification is a set of tenders and/or bases all around the world, so the subs can be replenished wherever needed without giving away their position.

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I suppose there is no good way to conceal that without being suspicious, which is the goal. What about the Kriegsmarine approach in WWII? The "milk cow" replenishment sub? I think it was the Type XIV. You could conceal their coming and going easier, especially if you had an underground sub base like Olavsvern or Balaklava, where the subs can submerge before they even depart the base.

James Bond The Spy Who Loved Me, The good ship Liparus.

http://jamesbond.wikia.com/wiki/Liparus

http://images.g4tv.com/rimg_606x0/Image ... ssiles.jpg


CraigH

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That is pretty fantastic. I've never seen that movie, but i did have a similar idea. Minus the opening bay doors on the front and a much smaller docking area. My idea was actually just a section large enough to mate with the loading area of the sub.

try this way..... scaled up and modernized!

http://www.betasom.it/forum/index.php?showtopic=27542

http://www.submarinosdobr.com.br/tender.htm

I would suggest a converted commercial vessel with a moon pool.

While they had a different role, you could gain some inspiration from the Q-ships of WWI and WWII.

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there are vessels which have bow doors and fit inland merchants inside them..... one was in line service to antwerp some years ago.
EDIT: found one. the Baco Liner. the size of ships fitted in is limited though, but that might be the best bet for what you want to have.

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Drawings are credited with J.Scholtens
I ask of you to prove me wrong. Not say I am wrong, but prove it, because then I will have learned something new.
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