aero-mods,#11(boat-tails) Part-2 History/Timeline

[aerohead]

The origin of streamlining and "boat-tailing" is lost to antiquity,pre-dating any historical record.From the Human-Genome Project,it is believed that man sailed from the west coast of Africa some 30,000-40,000 years before the last ice-age,crossing the ocean,perhaps in dug-out,out-rigger canoe to what is now the eastern coast of Australia.No mean feat!--------------------------------Hieroglyphic records from Egypt depict a high level of sophistication in shipbuilding at 3,000 BC,with rudderless,high-fineness ratio,square-sail, galley hulls plying the waters of the Nile."Artillery" was also firmly established in the way of archery and spear warfare.Royal philosophers,scientists,alchemists,mathematicians, naval architects and astrologers would have formed the foundation of the military industrial complex of the day.--------------------------------Sumerian texts,the oldest surviving written records record a culture of sophisticated marine technology,including accounts of the "Great-Flood" and Noah,who's ark has been reconstructed according to biblical specifications and embodies a "
fineness ratio hull of approximately 4.2:1,very streamlined with 1/3rd boat-tail.--------------------------------From Homer's Iliad, it is believed that Agamemnon's navy would have sailed to,and laid siege to Troy,about 1300 BC,after Paris' indiscretion with Helen" launched a thousand (very refined,"double-ended" hydrodynamic) ships".--------------------------------- As the Roman Empire was falling in the 1st-Century,China was hitting the beach with high-speed land yachts,combining low-drag passenger hulls,wheels,and sail-power.It would be a thousand years before Europe caught on.------------------------------- Extant15th-Century papers of Leonardo da Vinci,which have survived to this day,reveal a fertile curiosity and exploration of both aerodynamic and hydrodynamic drag,and drag reduction conducted by the artist,philosopher,mechanic,medical researcher.His papers show turbulent wake studies performed and illustrated and streamlined forms,no doubt influenced by his studies of fish and birds as commented in his own words.-----------------------------In 1595,Dutch businessmen design the fast "fluytchip" sailing vessel,with 6:1 fineness ratio,streamlined hull, which will propel Holland to a major World trade player.-------------------------------In 1738,Daniel Bernoulli publishes his research findings and equations for frictionless incompressible flow,which when turned inside-out and joined back-to-back,define the perfect teardrop,and when sectioned,lengthwise,describe a very workable Clark-Y airfoil section in use today in aviation and solar-car design.---------------------------- In 1750,Leonard Euler publishes his equations to explain fluid dynamic phenomena in current use today.------------------------------- 1768,philosopher/mathematician,d'Alembert,publishes,"Opuscules mathematique." He is completely baffled by the resistive forces encountered measured in fluids.-----------------------------In 1769,the first"automobile" hits the street with Nicolas Cugnot's steam-powered 3-wheeler.---------------------------- 1783,the Montgolfier Brothers make the first manned ascent in a hot-air balloon.Witnessing the event,Benjamin Franklin makes an immediate connection with the new technology and armed warfare.The lighter-than-air race is on!----------------------------- 1794,June," U-2 incident",French reconnaissance balloonists survey battlefield frontline and make report to commanders on the ground.----------------------1798,first streamlined "sausage-shaped" balloon ascends with Pierre Testu-BrissyIn.------------------------------ 1797,building on the work of Bernoulli,Giovanni Battista Venturi reveals his waisted-tube "VENTURI",which will find application in medical sprayers,perfume-sprayers,and finally adopted by Wilhelm Maybach for his "carburetor," in 1892.----------------------------- 1809,Sir George Cayley publishes his notebook,with results of streamlining research: the outline of a trout is made in plan-view,and later compared to a NACA Airfoil Section 63A016,it's virtually a perfect match! Cayley's work will be instrumental in aircraft,ship,torpedo,and submarine design.----------------------------- 1853,H.G.Magnus publishes"The Drift of Shells",after investigating artillery shell aerodynamic drift due to spiral rifled gun barrels.He discovers the "Magnus-Effect."--------------------------------- 1861,Lillianthal begin research on bird flight.------------------------------ 1865,J. Scott Russel describes"friction-belt" laminar boundary layer against ship hulls,The Modern System of Naval Architecture.------------------------------ 1871,F.H.Wenham,and John Browning construct first wind-tunnel,England-------------------------------1871,G.L.Watson,yacht designer,experiments with "bulbous-bow." It's a failure on the yacht,as the boat won't turn.It does cut drag and finds it's way onto IJN Yamato,Admiral Kuznetsov Aircraft carrier,USS Ronald Reagan,Nimitz-class Carrier.------------------------------- 1886,"1730 Rule" suspended from British Yacht Racing Assoc. Rulebook,leads to "International Canoe-Hull" fast-yachts.------------------------------- 1891,Nikoli Joukowski,wind tunnel studies of flat plates,this is considered the beginning of serious scientific aerodynamic research.------------------------------ 1896,"sausage-balloons appear over Germany.------------------------------- 1889,Lillianthal publishes research based on birdflight.Describes efficiency of bird body and wing profiles.------------------------------ Eiffel Tower completed.Alexander G.Eiffel begins aerodynamic research,sliding various shapes from the tower, down a wire,and calculating their speed.The fastest shape is an ice cream cone,ice cream first,with a 20-degree angled cone,Cd 0.09.--------------------------- 1900,Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin begins airship research.US NAVY launches (fish-shaped) USS Holland,submarine.Okay,lets take a break!

[Xringer]

Seems like the USS Holland was a Hybrid...

Looking at the old navy photos of the Holland on a marine railway and in dry dock gives you a better idea of how streamlined it was..
On the outside, the Holland seems like a pretty advanced design.
Only 25 HP could get the Holland up to 7 knots. That's pretty good for the weight and the considerable 'wetted' surface. And it was 1900..

If you were to strip away the upper deck forward section and look at the basic profile, you will find it's got a lot in common with today's attack subs.

[aerohead]

Great graphics,thanks! I've got some pics of the USS Albacore and Skipjack-class subs which evolved from the fish form.I'll try and post, although picture scale is quite small.Thanks again