From the Depths: Raider Hydrofoil

Channel:

Robert Dodd

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Published on April 2, 2021 6:09:49 AM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSQpE9sv9vU

Duration: 20:55

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This is kind of an addendum to the previous video. My original idea for this was as a commerce raider, intercepting enemy supply fleets. As such, it should be fast, to get into position quickly, kill the prey and be able to flee if something nastier than itself shows up. I was initially considering an airship, but went back to the hydrofoils because none of my hydrofoils were really as satisfactory as I wished them to be and I wanted one good patrol hydrofoil.

The advantages of hydrofoils are these: you don't worry as much about being downed in the water as is the case with planes and airships, because it is already riding on top of the water. And they are boats more or less: they float. While they are not completely immune to torpedoes, they are functionally mostly immune while they are foilborne. This craft has a top speed of 100 m/s (faster than most of my planes) and a very tiny area of the craft is actually touching the water. The combination of those things makes them very hard to hit with torpedoes.

The downsides are that they are not as fast as planes can be, and they really only have the yaw axis to work with as far as evading being hit. So they are likely to get hit more, or more easily anyway, than a well-designed plane will. They're also bigger than a lot of planes, so you have room for big engines and a well-secured CPU sitting in a vault of stone and alloy. So the CPU at least is insulated from EMP. Another downside is rough seas: speed is reduced in rough weather as the hydrofoil winds up basically plunging straight into waves. Aircraft have no such troubles.