Method and apparatus for deploying and recovering water borne vehicles

Abstract

Method for launching and recovering a water borne vehicle from a surface ship in water having a turbulent surface while the surface ship is drifting or underway. The water borne vehicle is stored in a portable standard container van which is generally stored on land when not in use and attached to the deck of the surface ship when the vehicle is to be deployed. The container van has a bottom surface supporting a plurality of rollers which allow the vehicle to be translated therealong from a stowed position to a launch position wherein the nose of the vehicle rests on the rollers and the rear of the vehicle rests on a roller assembly which is pivotly attached to the stern of the surface ship, an overhead gantry crane with its lifting cable attached to the nose of the vehicle, rotates the vehicle about the pivotal attachment to the surface ship to emerge the rear of the vehicle into the water for stability, translates the vehicle rearwardly with the nose remaining in the air and the rear portion in the water to a launch position with the nose now positioned over the water and spaced from the stern of the surface ship and then lowers the nose of the vehicle into the water to complete the launch. The recovery of the vehicle is accomplished by reversing the launch procedure. The vehicle after launch can be tethered to the cable or released therefrom. If the vehicle is detached from the cable for launch then it must be reattached to the cable prior to the recovery procedure.