# The "not secret anymore" propellor on a Trident sub.



## syscom3 (Sep 3, 2007)

> Some guy found this at the Bangor Naval Yard while looking through Microsoft virtual earth. If the USN considered it a secret, why didn't they cover it up with a small wooden shack while it was in drydock?



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## SoD Stitch (Sep 3, 2007)

syscom3 said:


> MonsterMaritime | Maritime Community, Knowledgebase, News and Chandlery » Blog Archive » The amazing things that you can find on the internet…
> 
> Live Local Search



They've definitely got a very scythe-like shape to them; not really surprising when you consider what the latest propellers look like. Must must make them more efficient and, I assume, quieter.


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## FLYBOYJ (Sep 3, 2007)

Pitch angles, blade thickness, blade warp and material are still an unknown. A dumb thing to do IMO but if it was that super secret it would of been covered...


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## ccheese (Sep 4, 2007)

Couldn't be too much of a secret if they left it open to prying eyes.
Joe has a point about composition, thickness of the blades, angles, etc.

Charles


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## timshatz (Sep 4, 2007)

Yeah, agree with Joe. So they know the basics of the design. The bad guys out there have probably figured that out by now. But the details (as listed above) is where the real info is. And that picture isn't going to help.

Agree, should've been covered up. Not a great big deal that it wasn't.


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## Matt308 (Sep 4, 2007)

Worked at Todd Shipyards while in college. They had an old fast frigate that I worked a refit. They even covered up that old gals propeller.


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Sep 4, 2007)

By looking at it, it looks similiar to most modern sub props.

I think Joe is right and the real "secret" in it is the pitch angles, blade thickness, blade warp and material. Those are still unknown.


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## comiso90 (Sep 4, 2007)

Perhaps it's dis-information..

The prop could be a fake.... 

You have to wonder how long props will be practical anyway with advances in magnetism and superconductivity ... How far off are engines with no moving parts?


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Sep 4, 2007)

That could be true as well.


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## comiso90 (Sep 4, 2007)

from wiki:
_
The magnetohydrodynamic drive, or "caterpillar drive", which has no moving parts was popularized as a submarine propulsion system by the movie version of The Hunt for Red October, written by Tom Clancy, which portrayed it as a virtually silent system.

Although experimental surface ships have been built with this propulsion system, speeds have not been as high as expected. In addition, the drive system can induce bubbles to form, compromising stealth, and the low efficiency leads to very high required reactor powers. These factors make it unlikely to be considered for any military purpose._

But who knows, I'd like to believe there is a purpose to showing the prop




.


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## Graeme (Sep 4, 2007)

One thing is certain, satellite imagery has improved in 20 yrs!

Remember 'RAM-K' from 1987? They produced colourful images, 3-views, performance estimates and dimensions (based on the concrete squares!) from this satellite shot.


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## Soundbreaker Welch? (Sep 4, 2007)

George Bush: 

"Here is a fake prop Putin. Just you don't know it. Heh, Heh, Heh, Heh."


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