Largest Seawolf Model (besides SSN-23)?

Idaho's Pend Oreille, home to Farragut Naval Training Station during WWII, is the fifth deepest lake in the U.S. (1150 ft). This inland lake's depth and general environment are suited to conducting high-tech naval research without unwanted variables and costs involved with open ocean operations. The site supports development of advanced ship and submarine designs as a Naval Surface Warfare Center unit. Advanced programs use Large scale models to conduct hydrodynamic, hydroacoustic, flow management, maneuvering, detection and advanced propulsion system testing.

The LVS-1, Kokanee, operated by the Acoustic Research Detachment (ARD) for the Naval Sea Systems Command, is a one-quarter scale model of the SSN-21. The unmanned, battery-powered model is 90 feet long and weighs in at just over 150 tons. This huge model was delivered to Carderock Division's Acoustic Research Detachment (ARD) Bayview (about 30 miles north of Coeur d'Alene in the northern Idaho panhandle) in November 1987 for related testing.

The first large-scale (1:4) submarine model was sent to Lake Pend Oreille in 1967, when ARD began to play an increasingly important role in submarine silencing. Kamloops, was a large scale scale version of Sturgeon (SSN 637) class submarines.

LSV II Cutthroat, the quarter-scale version of Virginia class Submarines, is the world's largest underwater autonomous submarine vehicle. At 111 feet long, the Cutthroat is half the size of a World War II submarine, about 24 feet longer than Kokanee and said to be quieter.

More information is available here from GlobalSecurity.org and here from chinfo.navy.mil.

Photo above is of the submarine model Dolly Varden. Visiting Idaho? Pend Oreille cruises are available. Be sure to investigate the Farragut State Park and its naval exhibits. -

posted by Vigilis @ 11:15 AM