Patent ID: 8113135

Claim:
A towed submarine object comprising a submersible fuselage for towing through water, the fuselage having a fuselage axis, the fuselage comprising: a first fuselage shell; a second fuselage shell; an articulation assembly adapted to articulate the first fuselage shell and the second fuselage shell with respect to each other between an open position and a closed position, along an articulation axis substantially parallel to said fuselage axis, wherein the first and second fuselage shells are operably coupled when positioned in the closed position to enable submersion and towing of the fuselage through water; and a locking system adapted to releasably retain said first and second fuselage shells in the closed position during submersion and towing of the fuselage, wherein an unlocking of the locking system is accomplished via sliding of the first and second fuselage shells along at least one sliding axis substantially parallel to one of said articulation axis and said axis of the fuselage, wherein the first fuselage shell and the second fuselage shell are articulated so as to axially slide with respect to each other substantially parallel to said articulation axis in opposite directions, and wherein when the first and second fuselage shells are in the closed position, a first sliding movement in a first direction results in a locked position of the first fuselage shell and the fuselage second shell, and a second sliding movement in a second opposite direction results in an unlocked position of the first fuselage shell and the second fuselage shell.