RV Triton

The Triton is one of the largest trimarans in the world. It was built as an experimental ship of the Royal Navy to test the military use of trimarans. After the end of the test series it was sold in 2005 to Gardline Marine Sciences and used in marine research. Since 2007 she has as a patrol boat for the Australian Customs in use.

History

1998 commissioned the Royal Navy the British defense group QinetiQ with the construction of the experimental vessel RV Triton. This was part of the Future Surface Combatant - program, at the end should be a successor for the frigates of the Broadsword and Duke class. In the course of this project, the RV Triton was officially put into service in August 2000. Initial tests in the North Atlantic were successfully concluded in September 2001 with the landing of a Sea Lynx helicopter of the Royal Navy on board the ship. These were the first helicopter landing on a trimaran. After further tests in the Mediterranean and Southeast Asia and the United States expressed interest in the design. 2003 were joint tests of the British and American Navy held off the American east coast. Officially joined the Royal Navy from their test series in January 2004. Subsequently, the ship was awarded to the United States Navy, which used nearly a year for testing it also. Based on the Triton, the U.S. Navy developed its own prototype for its Littoral Combat Ship, the USS Independence ( LCS -2).

Decommissioning

On 7 March 2005 the Ministry of Defence confirmed that the FSC program was terminated prematurely in its original form, confirming press reports in November 2004. Futuristic trimaran concept is therefore not pursued further. Because of the disruption of the program further tests were no longer necessary with the Triton. After her return from the U.S., it was sold to the company Gardline Marine Sciences, which used them as MV Triton for research purposes. Since January 2007 she has worked as patrol vessel ACV Triton for the Australian Customs in use. For this purpose, it was equipped with two 12.7 mm machine guns.

Construction

The Triton was built as a fully functional trimaran, however, significantly less than the originally planned ships of the series production, which should have a displacement similar to today's frigates. Since it is primarily concerned with testing the trimaran design, the ship has no weapons. In the tests should be analyzed what benefits the design compared to conventional ships has only one hull. Here were the higher speed, low fuel consumption as well as the larger space in the center. For the testing of over 300 sensors and other equipment throughout the ship were installed.

The drive power supply two diesel generators. You drive a central propeller and two driven by electric motors impellers, which are mounted on the side hulls. These are also used for roll control, such as berthing. While the maximum speed of the test vessel is due to the low engine power below 20 knots, the ships of the series production should be more than twice as fast later.