![]() ![]() Albacore is remembered in part for its unusual ‘ X ‘ form tail and contra-rotating propellers but at the time that Barbel was launched, the Albacore still had its original single-screw and ‘+’ tail surfaces. The tapered single-screw stern meant that all the torpedo tubes were forward firing. Barbel was in many respects the front-line version of Albacore with a similar hull form but room for a torpedo room with six tubes. Like the famous German Type-XXI Elektroboote she had double hull construction with the outer hull providing streamlining as well as ballast tanks. From the outset she was designed without torpedo tubes which was contentious but ensured that she was available for vital research and testing. The highly streamlined Albacore was capable of astonishing speeds 33kt for a diesel submarine. Until then virtually all submarines had a boat-like bow to cut through the waves on the surface, but the pointed bow of the Albacore was optimized for underwater performance. The hull form was initially known as the Lyon shape but soon became known as the Albacore hull, or less precisely the teardrop hull. In 1953 the USS Albacore (AGSS-569) was launched to test and demonstrate a revolutionary new hull design which owed more to the 1800’s Holland type submarines and airships, aided significantly by the research of British female mathematician Hilda Lyons. German WW2 technology had kick started postwar submarine development, but new innovations in hull form and propulsion were led by the US with countries like Britain, Russia and Netherlands contributing to the wider story. By the 1950s submarine design was going through a series of revolutions, undoubtedly led by the US Navy. ![]() When it was launched the USS Barbel was the most advanced attack submarine in the world in all respects except one it’s powerplant.
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