Woooooow, what a cute video!!!! What a nice ship.
On a sea like a billiard table.
Below is a pic of the German battlecruiser/battleship Scharnhorst prior to July 1939.
Here's a pic of the same ship, post August 1939.
Spot the difference? The Kriegsmarine considered both the Scharnhorst and it's sister ship the Gneisenau rather poor sea boats, bow-heavy and slow in turning.
That is why in the summer of 1939 both battlecruisers/battleships were fitted with a so-called Atlantikbug (Atlantic Bow).
To be sure, this adjustment was no wonder cure. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau continued to suffer from non-combat damage in heavy seas - during which "A" turret could barely be used. But is was an improvement.
I am no naval engineer, much less a seafarer. My marine expertise limits itself to having been on board ferries across the North Sea, the Irish Sea and the Skagerrak. But when I look at the Zumwalt... I seriously wonder whether this ship can survive in a North Atlantic monsterstorm. The rationale for its bow is that it should "pierce the waves". It may pierce it so well that in a heavy storm it becomes a submarine.
Oh yeah... look where the Zumwalt's bridge is vis-à-vis the Scharnhorst's and Gneisenau's. Even with their new Atlantikbug, both ships could get "wet" to the bridge. I wonder what it's gonna look like on the Zumwalt's bridge in storms like these...
e.g. at the 1:01 mark.
I fear the Zumwalt is going to end up as but little better than the LCS - investment-wise of course. I have heard positive things about BIW so maybe they can make it a better ship than I imagine. But I do have serious doubts. Maybe, at some time in the future, BIW will be asked to fit the DDG-1000 and its sister ships with an Atlantikbug of their own.
MFBB.
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