Subskimmer
Encyclopedia
Diver Propulsion Vehicle
A diver propulsion vehicle is an item of diving equipment used by scuba and rebreather divers to increase range underwater...
which is a form of RIB
Rigid-hulled inflatable boat
A rigid-hulled inflatable boat, or rigid-inflatable boat is a light-weight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a solid, shaped hull and flexible tubes at the gunwale. The design is stable and seaworthy...
(inflatable boat) with an outboard petrol (gasoline) engine. It is equipped to inflate and deflate itself as it runs. When submerged it seals its motor and runs with battery-electric thrusters, which are on a rotatable cross-arm, and is deflated. Thus it transforms between a fast light surface boat and a submerged diver propulsion vehicle
Diver Propulsion Vehicle
A diver propulsion vehicle is an item of diving equipment used by scuba and rebreather divers to increase range underwater...
. The central box contains the pump to deflate and inflate the tubes, and miscellaneous kit. The batteries, being heavy, are in a thick tube along its keel. Its outboard motor has a long snorkel so the Subskimmer can run on motor just submerged to try to avoid detection. Its thrusters are on a rotatable cross-arm which contains navigation kit.
The Subskimmer project was started in the late 1970s by Submarine Products Ltd. of Hexham
Hexham
Hexham is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, located south of the River Tyne, and was the administrative centre for the Tynedale district from 1974 to 2009. The three major towns in Tynedale were Hexham, Prudhoe and Haltwhistle, although in terms of population, Prudhoe was...
in Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the first boats being sold in their original form in 1983/84.
There are 3 photographs of a working Subskimmer being demonstrated in Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, in the 15 September 1983 edition of the Daily Telegraph newspaper; the caption states its range as 6 miles (9.7 km) at 2 knots (3.9 km/h) underwater and 100 nautical miles (185.2 km) at 20 knots (39.2 km/h) on the surface. Submarine Products Ltd also built an orange search and rescue version of Subskimmer called Seasearcher with high intensity submersible spotlights fitted.
When Submarine Products Ltd closed down, Subskimmer (as at 1989) was made by Defence Boats Ltd, based in Hexham
Hexham
Hexham is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, located south of the River Tyne, and was the administrative centre for the Tynedale district from 1974 to 2009. The three major towns in Tynedale were Hexham, Prudhoe and Haltwhistle, although in terms of population, Prudhoe was...
.
At December 1992 it was being made (renamed Kraken 90) by Serrico, who were based at Saint-Georges-du-Vièvre
Saint-Georges-du-Vièvre
Saint-Georges-du-Vièvre is a commune in the Eure department in Haute-Normandie in northern France.-Population:-References:*...
in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
in France.
In 1993 KSA (Underwater) Ltd http://www.kompass.com/en/GB30923546 in Alston
Alston, Cumbria
Alston is a small town in Cumbria, England on the River South Tyne. It is one of the highest elevation towns in the country, at about 1,000 feet above sea level.-Geography:...
in Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
, England http://www.armadainternational.com/05-6/complete_05-6.pdf http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Fast+on+water.-a0173229618 bought all rights to the Subskimmer. KSA (Underwater) Ltd gave some marketing rights to Alpha Champ Marine Products Ltd, who defaulted on payment for the rights and all agreements with them subsequently lapsed. Alpha Champ Marine Products Ltd ceased to trade in 2007 and was dissolved in 2009.
In 2009, Special Products division of Marine Specialised Technology Limited bought KSA (Underwater) Ltd along with all rights to its product range including Subtug and Subskimmer Submersible Craft, and moved all production to its manufacturing facility in Liverpool where it already designs and manufactures surface craft for military and commercial applications.
Users
Subskimmers are used by:- The Royal Thai NavyRoyal Thai NavyThe Royal Thai Navy is the navy of Thailand and part of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, it was established in the late 19th century. Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartiwongse is "The Father of Royal Thai Navy". Similar to the organizational structure of the United States, the Royal Thai Navy includes the...
Marine Corps http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Fast+on+water.-a0173229618
Other uses of the name
The word "subskimmer" has been found on the WWW used incorrectly to mean:-- An ExocetExocetThe Exocet is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. Hundreds were fired in combat during the 1980s.-Etymology:...
-type anti-ship missileMissileThough a missile may be any thrown or launched object, it colloquially almost always refers to a self-propelled guided weapon system.-Etymology:The word missile comes from the Latin verb mittere, meaning "to send"...
. - In the image at this link (pointed to by this link and this link), a one-man diver-tug with a big propeller below and handlebars. Malaysia's and PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
's navies have or had examples of it. This is a diver propulsion vehicleDiver Propulsion VehicleA diver propulsion vehicle is an item of diving equipment used by scuba and rebreather divers to increase range underwater...
, sometimes known as a scooter or a sled. - As a genericTrademarkA trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
to mean the Infernus, a Subskimmer-like boat being designed and made by students in SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
; its developers call it "a subskimmer"; see also http://www.svd.se/dynamiskt/naringsliv/did_7111860.asp or http://flygmac7.flyg.kth.se/msy/msy.pdf (in SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
)
External links
- http://www.specialoperations.com/Navy/SPWS/ describes a fast boat that acts like a Subskimmer, but may not be inflatable.
- 5 images of Subskimmers at http://www.globaltradelink.co.uk : in rain, bouncing on wake, running fast, underwater, awash.
