Let’s see it preform in heavy weather ... flat calm is no test other than it floats, moves and turns. Let’s see if the forward guns stay attached as the bow goes under water.
Looks like it has the same amount of freeboard as a Burke-class does.
Yes, what looks like missile turrets would probably be awash in sea water.
I served on DD-951, the USS Turner Joy, and I distinctly remember one day in the Western Pacific we were racing like hell to get out of the way of a typhoon. There were huge ocean swells, and veryone aboard was seasick — except for the Executive Officer, thankfully!
The ship rocked like crazy. At least the Zumwalt class looks to be a larger vessel and more stable platform. Ideal for operating in the Med and Persian Gulf.
That hull form can fool you to look at it, but it is much more seakindly than the flared bow. This type of stem has been used for around 10 years on oilfield service ships in the North Sea (called an X-bow) with excellent results in very heavy weather. Pitching is what causes the bows to get under a head sea, and this type of bows hardly pitches at all.
You can see from the small bow wave and clean wake that the hull form is very efficient, resulting in lower fuel consumption.
Like hitting a 30ft wave head on. Turn into a submarine?
I’m a total landlubber, save for my love of the seafaring life in the Jack Aubrey series.
Why are a lot of people wary of this ship’s sailing qualities?