Experimental Torpedo Boat

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  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Nice tiller.
  • Jon B
    Jon B Administrator
    I like the 'World War II era" tiller, yes! That CERTAINLY authenticates the craft to the correct time period, doesn't it! LOL!
  • bent metal
    bent metal Senior Contributor
    where do I put the trolling motor? hhmmmm, I'm going to have to think about this one.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    A 30mm machine gun mount, eh? So, how is it supposed to be aimed and fired if it's BEHIND both of the crew?
  • hudsontech
    hudsontech Senior Contributor
    That appears to be an experimental two man stealth craft. The idea is it would be used to take two commandos to a beach to do recon, sabotage or whatever.

    I seriously doubt it would have had a machine gun, .30 cal or other wise, in actual operation - the idea being stealth. The motor would probably have been electric, powered by storage batteries.

    The Brits had something similar - only theirs was submersible. I beleive the Italians also had something along the British idea.

    Looking closer at the photos, it is obvious that somebody has reupholstered the seats - in actual use the seats would most likely had no covering. Also, the term "torpedo boat" is far fetched - it's not big enough for that, for one thing, and the sponsons near the back aren't big enough to carry torpedos of the day, if indeed it was even built in WWII. Now, limpet mines were a possibility. Maneuver the craft into an enemy harbor, slide over the side and take the mine to the hull of an enemy ship, set the timer and a couple hours later, BOOM.

    In any event you do have to take your hats off to the fellows who might have been required to use it, if indeed it made it past the prototype stage. I doubt that it did - most beach recon during WWII was done by the frogmen, precursors to todays SEALS.



    Hudsonly,

    Alex Burr

    HudsonTech

    Memphis, TN
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
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    Did anyone save some pics? I'm always a day late and a dollar short LOL
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Rick, did you ever think that your 2000th post would be about an aluminium boat equipped with a Weiner Dog and a cut down Hudson steering wheel?
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    It's a surplus belly tank, made into a runabout, mid-50s era. I saw a couple similar ones years ago in the fingerlakes area of NY. That would look exactly the same if there was a green Johnson 5 1/2 HP Sea-Horse hanging on the back. cheap fun! It's a shame they cut a Hudson wheel, there were tons of generic ones back then, different colored plastic, etc. that could have been used.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    BTW a 30 mm MG mount? HAHAHAHAHA! even a .30 cal mg would rip that mount off if the steering was in the front position and the rear seat flopped around. (a 30mm is the size of the cannon in an A-10 Warthog, a tank-killer) The weight of a 30mm barrell alone would sink this rig. It was likely a small flagstaff mount.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Wow.... that's just wild! Wonder why Ebay pulled THAT?

    Thanks for re-posting the pics!
  • SamJ
    SamJ Senior Contributor
    I saw something similar (made out of a belly tank) in the (gulp!) '60's, when I had a small racing hydroplane (which we called "Sea Fleas"). This thing appears to have a lump on the bottom, but unless it has some kind of keel, it isn't going very far. Even a canoe has a keel. :cool:
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