It's worth £110million, that's 157.52 million in U.S. zogbucks.

Yours for free: The James Bond Stealth ship U.S. Navy can't even give away

By Paul Thompson
Last updated at 4:37 PM on 26th February 2009

It looks like a cross between a Stealth fighter and a Batmobile and can appear out of nowhere on the open seas.

Once seen as the future of naval warfare, the top secret 'Sea Shadow' is now being given away by the US Navy.

The vessel, which is able to evade radar detection due to its angular shape, cost over £110million to develop.

But it is now destined for the scrap heap unless someone takes it off the Navy.

The Sea Shadow comes with its own dock: Oddly, no one wants to take if off the U.S. Navy

They are willing to give away the vessel for free, but interested parties must also accept a submersible dry dock the size of a football pitch as part of the package.

Known as the Hughes Mining Barge, it was developed to house the stealth ship and keep it hidden from spy satellites.

It also acts as a dry dock and was built to raise a sunken Soviet submarine 35 years ago.

The US Navy has been trying to give away the Sea Shadow since 2006 after Pentagon chiefs said they no longer had any use for it.

The vessel - similar in shape to the Stealth fighters - was built in 1985.

But it wasn't until 1993 that it became known to the public and caused huge interest when it was first revealed.

At 164ft long the Sea Shadow had a crew of 12 and was capable of 28knots.

Its special coatings, sharp angles and other secret attachments allowed it to slip under radar and sonar.
stealth ship

The ship was built in 1985 and is a similar shape to Stealth fighters: Its special shape lets it slip under radar and sonar undetected

The vessel was never designed for combat use and was an experimental ship designed by the Lockheed Corporation.

Former crew member S.K. Gupta, now a vice president at Lockheed Martin Space Systems said the Shadow took part in war games with other US Navy ships.

'We operated during the night with impunity. We could disappear and sneak up on whomever we wanted. Nobody thought we could do it. A ship is usually hard to hide.'

The Sea Shadow was the basis of the ship used in the James Bond film 'Tomorrow Never Dies" by a mad media mogul intent on world domination.

Since 2005 it has been housed in San Diego, California.

Despite its unusual shape few naval museums in the US have expressed an interest in the stealth ship as the US Navy have insisted that the mining barge be included as part of the gift.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1156524/Yours-free-The-James-Bond-Stealth-ship-U-S-Navy-away.html