Shearer Torpedo Boat

By Crusader1307

The quite innovative Shearer Torpedo Boat was "The Boat That Never Was". Invented and designed by Thomas Shearer in 1918, he envisioned a small and covert Ship capable of delivering a full sized Torpedo. In design, The Shearer was 100-feet long. Piloted by a crew of 1, she was in essence, "submersible" (with only a small portion of her "Wheel House" visible. Diesel powered by a single screw, Shearer stated that his boat could reach speeds of 36-knots. In deployment, she carried a 18-foot, self-guided anti-Ship Torpedo. The Pilot controlled a lever which opened a single, watertight door. From this the Torpedo could be electronically fired. It is said that Shearer did create a prototype, but it did not survive into "modern" times. The US Navy showed little interest in his vessel *owing to the end of World War I. He tried again in the 1930s and 1940s, but still no active interest.