A Legacy of Autonomy: Sea Legs

The history of autonomy that DLBA has to draw from dates back to 1955. In that year, Gibbs & Cox launched the 30’ (9m) Sea Legs for the U.S. Navy. Sea Legs was the first vessel to successfully use actively controllable submerged-foil hydrofoils. The foils were made of aluminum and arranged in a canard configuration with about 30% of the lift on the forward foil and the remainder of the lift on the larger aft foil. SEA LEGS made its first flight in 1957 and demonstrated its excellent seakeeping performance in rough water up to speeds of 27 knots. During the latter part of 1957 and early 1958 the craft continued its demonstration flight for NAVY and civilian visitors in the New York area. In June of 1958 Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Arleigh Burke approved a demonstration trip to the Washington D.C. area.