Sea Shadow is an experimental stealthship built by Lockheed for use in the United States Navy. It had a low radar profile and a high stability hull design. However, it never saw combat. It was also built in a dry dock. It also had no rudders.
Sea Shadow was an experimental stealth ship
Sea Shadow was designed by the Navy to test stealth technologies. The ship featured an SWATH hull and radar and sonar control systems. To keep the ship stable when moving at high speeds, the hulls were fitted with hydrofoils. A propeller and hull stabilizer were also included on the ship. After it was delivered in March 1985, Sea Shadow was used for nighttime tests near the Santa Cruz Islands. For repairs and maintenance, the ship was eventually kept inside HMB-1. During the initial trials, crew members noticed that the ship was producing huge wakes behind itself. This was because the propellers had been installed in an unbalanced position. In 1993, Sea Shadow's hulls became public. Later, the hull of Sea Shadow was placed in a maritime museum.
It was never capable of carrying out missions.
Sea Shadow wasn't mission-capable but performed heroic feats while under the protection of the government. It featured many advanced automation systems, a bunk-style interior, which included a refrigerator, microwave, and table. It was the most expensive college dorm ever built at the time. Despite its high costs, it wasn't commissioned and never became mission capable.
It was built inside an enclosed floating dry dock
Sea Shadow is a prototype of a stealth ship. The design of the ship was inspired by the stealth ship that was used by the CIA to recover the downed Soviet submarine K-129. Today, the Sea Shadow sits atop a Suisun Bay Barge, California. The ship is available for sale at $100,420
It didn't have any rudders
Sea Shadow wasn't intended to be mission capable, but it was an excellent success in Navy stealth tests. Lacking traditional rudders, the submarine relied on stabilizers to steer. It was built to show the capabilities and potential of stealth fighter aircrafts, as well as to test innovative technologies. The Sea Shadow was first seen by the public in 1993. It was destroyed in 2006.
It did not have a weather deck
This article contains information from the U.S. government publication, the Naval Vessel Register. The entry for Sea Shadow is available here.
It was taken apart for scrap
The Sea Shadow was the prototype stealth submarine. The ship was built to avoid Russian spy satellites but it was never commissioned. It ended up in the Navy’s mothball fleet, near Benicia, California. Crew soon found out that the propellers had been installed in the wrong direction. The ship was never used except to test stealth technology.