-> Do you have for-sure knowlege of this sort of driveline being used on
-> surface ships? My information says that most are driven by
-> mechanically-driven
Jim, I've only served on a few ships being something of a landlocked
sailor, but I was assigned to "Wiper" duty on two of them, and they used
Fuel oil -> boiler -> steam turbine -> AC generator -> 3 Phase motor ->
gearbox -> prop shaft -> prop, type power transmission, and I believe
that was typical for ships of that era. Designed roughly 40-50 years
ago. Dunno what they're doing NOW, but we thought that was a very
flexible and adequately efficient drive train at the time.
Another ship was Diesil -> AC generator -> multiphase AC motor
(Multi-pole switchable) -> propshaft -> propeller.  One of those Diesil
gensets would power a small town I was told. The whole engine room,
(Four gensets) could drive that flatbottomed scow over twenty knots.
(And the deckplates vibrated like it was coming apart!) Normally only
one genset was ON-Line with another idling.
Such a system would make a HECK of a backup HOMEPWR setup!  Ian could
run his whole shop off the one idling.
 ^..^
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