Seal Class Submarine Proposal

 Introduction

There is and has been a lot of  discussion around a  new Submarine Project for Australia. The USA and UK have proposed a quite  bizarre, a kind of strategy that Australia must and will comply and has history knows, what UK says ,we follow, like good fello's. After all UK the Military Fortress and with a very military Royal family as InWW11 we did what Churchill told us, like turning troopships of tired  soldiers around back into conflict and we complied.We appear still have that mentality.

As we are part pf the Commonwealth, King Charles111 will probably sign off without question, as did his mother, on Iraq and Afghanistan. Australia, do as you are told and pay up, when invoiced by :UK or USA

A little Mason history is necessary,has I go back quite a while, 87 but not 'brain dead', just a little unsteady on my legs like President Biden.

My first encounter with submarines, was ages 11-12! a private in the Gloucester regiment of Army Cadets, under age I think,.A day.trip,on camp to a Sub: base in Weymouth, Down the Hatch and that was OK, but when I heard the Hatch closed and locked, Mason went off his little head and they quickly put me outside, not off the Sub, a kind of charge for being silly---whew never again it was cold out there on that deck.

Years later my brother in law became a Sub Mariner and loved it. what class of machine he never said of course. Still proud of UK's military, particularly the Navy. Out of it now of course. Talking to him it is clear that USA sailors are no more intelligent than most other nationalities and they are all quite capable of operating Nuclear machines with the same training. Just like Jet Pilots or power station operatives, complicated possibly  but mostly computor activated and controlled.

Years later I was to be active in criticising the Collins Class build, Swedish machine design.A white water Submarine for Blue water operation. A disaster to say the least. At the moment I hear they are not operational and do not have Captains- Top Naval Brass should stood be stepped down, with immediate effect.

What is a Submarine?, for this I go back to the late 1960's. Mason was with Chrysler in the UK.

All the top advertising people from around the World, Detroit New York etc, were gathered in London, complete with the Chrysler CEO. On the agenda was budget etc for advertising the groups "COMPACT VANS' and they droned on about the differences and advantages of this or that van. I whispered to my American boss of Truck Strateges, that they were hopeless, he smiled in his mid American way and stood up .Yes Jack said the chair,. Malcolm Mason my big gun on vans and Trucks, would like to say something. Down the path, to what thought would be my demise and up to the podiem. 

My words where I think. We should start from basic's -- WHAT IS VAN, once we know that the rest will follow.--------Silence, then came the a response,OK Mac please go on.. Adlibing I went on to say there must be parameters, like Wheel base;Position of the wheels;Engine sizes and position,Door and floor arrangements. plus other items I don't remember. Excellent Malcolm and the discussion changed course ,ending the chair advising what we need is a good market research report.

Yes a Company was chosen and an extensive survey was achieved. I still have that survey.

The result was the parameters of the van as we know it today World Wide. First Renault; Citroen; Mercedes Benz:Ford Transit;VW. and all these years later came Toyota and now Mitsubishi (The Chrysler associate). First with the strategy but last with the Mason concept, born in London.

What has all this to do with submarines. I say today "WHAT IS A SUBMARINE", because compared with the current designs of what I call the 'Walrus" big and cumbersum and possibly not fit for purpose, we shall see. The male Walrus of course has very big teeth and very powerful, but still a lumbering, giant of a sea animal. Today's subs are just that. Remember the Falklands. The Delgrado! a German built battle ship, came out of harbour. The UK Nuclear powered etc Walrus submarine squared up with it (making sure the QE11 was out of range)   Without warning sent off a torpedo or two and sank her there and then Over 600 Argentinian lives were senselesly sacrificed . 

At the moment my pigeon post indicated that UK is back there, updating no doubt.

I will propose the Mason Strategy and my thoughts for the future and the parameters required.

The Seal Class machine should be extremely dangerous and we will need at least TEN.to protect our cities and infrastructure. It would be smaller than current designs, with,Walrus performance of speed and mobility. The French design of course is the best and ( Cost per Tonne) at the moment and could be well on the way by now

The operational strategy would be identify threat.;;attack and get out at high speed; agile at good depth and virtually undetectable.

WHAT IS A SUBMARINE; The market survey, is the tricky one, In the here and now, I do not have a sample target, so I will be the sample. MY original ideas, not any one elses

Number 10

Size   ---Length 14 to16 M    Beam 3 to 4 M    Height 3M including auxillary rudder.   .

Materials--- Balistic Aluminium skin with inner shield multi stich fabric as in tank outer  body armour. French and Italian, I have samples

Internal structure Timber and hard non flamable plastic

Normal Propulsion- Nuclear using non military grade. Back up Electric.

 Extensive use of Ceramics

Each one hidden in pens like the old UBoats and the Atlantic,out Portugal ww2                                   .With water jct propulsion and rear rocket powered propulsion, would have the best Seal like agility.

Torpedo's would be pencil thin rocket powered and capable of  exiting the water some distance from the Submarine ie both sea and air capability

Like a Seal or more particularly a large fish, it would articulated in three parts. Forward;Middle and  Rear. The jioned need not be waterproof and with a centre Spine, for communication, again like a fish,easy!!.

That's it really  the deadly machine of the future which Australia could  design and build.

COST- For TEN, about  half of what the current proposal,. a project that will end up, with Australia paying the developement bill and still not have FULL control over their OPERATION

Yes Ladies and Gentlemen,a machine designed  and built by us. Helped possibly by the French, plus any machines they have to sell or lend.!!!! in the interim.

Malcolm E Mason

N.S.W Australia

twitter@malcolmemason.

email   masonedgar@gmail.com

An alternative name could be AUSTRALIS CLASS

02 44 78 10 43