HK1111389A - Dynamic stabilisation device for a submarine vehicle - Google Patents

Description

Dynamic stabilizer for underwater vehicle

Technical Field

In particular, the present invention relates to a roll stabilization system for moving underwater vehicles.

Background

Autonomous, remote or towed vehicles are known for use in underwater applications.

In the case of a static or slowly moving vehicle, the respective positions of the centre of gravity, the centre of volume (the point of buoyancy effect) and any axis of rotation (for example in the case of a towed vehicle) are generally such that, when the vehicle is submerged, the vehicle naturally positions itself in a zero roll position, so that the restoring torque generated towards the vertical position is generally sufficient to ensure the stability of the vehicle.

On the other hand, in the case of a vehicle having a preferential direction of motion (hereinafter collectively referred to as the "vehicle axis") and the vehicle moving very rapidly along that axis (from a few nautical miles to over 10 nautical miles), the hydrodynamic effects on the vehicle may overcome the static stabilizing forces described above and thereby cause the vehicle to become unstable.

There are stable solutions that consist, for example, in equipping the vehicle with a tilt sensor (list sensor), controlling the guiding/orienting means (actuators, control surfaces, wings, etc.), thus effectively controlling the roll.

However, these systems have the following disadvantages:

the vehicle needs to be equipped with a power source (internal or external),

the vehicle needs to be equipped with a tilt sensor,

the need to mount a motor-driven actuator to the vehicle,

the need to establish a control loop,

the actuator consumes an energy source, usually electric energy,

disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a solution to some or all of these disadvantages.

Another object is to propose the use of a stabilizer that can simultaneously act as:

a tilt or roll sensor relative to a reference angular position, for example a vertical position, and corresponding to substantially zero roll;

-a mechanical roll control source.

According to one aspect, the invention thus describes a method for controlling underwater navigation of a moving vehicle, wherein:

-mounting at least one wing (which wing may also be referred to as "control surface" in the following description) freely rotatable about an axis transverse to the roll axis of the vehicle along which the vehicle moves substantially in said direction, where the vehicle has a reference angular position with respect to its roll axis corresponding to substantially zero roll (meaning defined in a few degrees),

by arranging the majority of the volume of the flap behind or in front of the rotation axis, respectively, with respect to the direction of movement, the flap is stabilized in front of or behind its rotation axis, and/or a torque generated by buoyancy is applied to the flap, so that when the vehicle is tilted about the roll axis, and thereby the flap is tilted about the roll axis, the torque generated by the smoother and/or said buoyancy tends to let the flap pivot the flap about its rotation axis, the leading edge thus positioning itself down or up, respectively, so as to generate a dive or plane angle on the flap, respectively, which in turn generates a hydrodynamic force when the vehicle is moving, which hydrodynamic force tends to return the flap to said reference angular position corresponding to a reduction in the roll of the vehicle.

According to another aspect of the invention, it is proposed to functionally connect said free wing (and/or said control surface) to a stabiliser, which is itself freely rotatable about an axis parallel to a plane containing the roll axis and the yaw axis, by means of a control device, so that when the vehicle is tilted about the roll axis and thus causes the wing to tilt about the roll axis, a relative angular movement between the stabiliser and the fuselage of the vehicle causes an action on the control device, which consequently pivots the wing about its axis of rotation. Whereby the direction of cooperation between the movement of the stabilizer and the movement of the wings is such that, when the vehicle is in natural motion, it adopts an angle that generates a torque tending to return it to said reference angular position corresponding to a reduced roll of the vehicle.

It is therefore conceivable to assemble the stabilizer so that it pivots about an axis of rotation, the movement of which acts on said fins, either changing the force or even changing the thrust direction of the propeller, so as to bring the vehicle back to its vicinity of zero roll.

This principle can be used to control a single wing (or multiple wings) mounted to be free to rotate about the wing's axis, positioned under the vehicle, and stabilized in front of its axis so that when the vehicle is tilted about its roll axis (bottom wing up), the torque generated by the stabilizer pivots the wing about its axis, and the leading edge is then naturally positioned down on the wing creating a dive attitude.

This effect can also be obtained by using the torque generated by buoyancy on the fins, while the volume is placed mainly aft of the axis of rotation.

The same result can also be obtained by placing the free flap in the vertical top position and by placing the stabiliser and/or the volume opposite to what has been described above.

Although it is natural to design the vehicle so that at standstill gravity and buoyancy combine to hold the vehicle in a vertical position and stationary, the arrangement does not exclude a vehicle that is in a vertical stationary position only in a dynamic manner, which means that when the vehicle moves forward its state at standstill is uncertain.

The principle of the stabilizer control flaps can also be used to generate the force while the free flaps are placed in e.g. a lower position, and the vehicle can be fitted with one or more other motor-driven flaps (or other actuators) for controlling the vehicle and placed in the opposite half space. In this case, it is possible to try to make the vehicle unstable by generating the rolling torque in preparation. Under the effect of this rolling force, as the vehicle moves forward, the reaction force of the bottom flap pivots until it generates a torque opposite to that of the actuator and therefore a force along the transverse axis of the vehicle. The vehicle is then stabilized in a position near vertical and slightly inclined, and the flaps provide a lateral force that can alter the trajectory of the vehicle. Although not controlled and able to rotate freely on its axis, the flap may therefore assist in controlling the vehicle.

According to such an aspect of the invention, and in general terms, the invention therefore also relates to the manufacture of an underwater vehicle, as is known for example in document US2005-0268835-a1, which is incorporated herein, comprising a fuselage in which the roll axis of the vehicle is located, and a positioning device operated by an actuator to control the vehicle, but with the special feature that the stabilizer is to be designed to be mounted on the vehicle and positioned relative to the wing and/or the related control surface so that, as the vehicle moves forward along its axis of motion, the stabilizer is controlled by the driver to pivot the wing (control surface) under the effect of the roll force until the stabilizer generates a torque opposite to that of the positioning device and thus a force along the axis, which is transverse to the axis of motion of the vehicle.

This is particularly useful for controlling vehicles that require reduced fuel consumption and enhanced stability.

As can be seen, in a particular application, a vehicle according to the invention, when submerged and in motion, can stabilise the position of one or more towed objects attached to the vehicle for that purpose.

Drawings

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description, which refers to different embodiments, one of which is the preferred method. In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view with sections of a control device according to the present invention when the vehicle is leaning starboard;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are two perspective views of a vane control system driven by an actuator;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are two perspective views of the actuation system with sections;

figure 6 shows the rear of the vehicle being towed sideways to starboard,

figure 7 shows the free tab of figure 6 from the center of the vehicle along the axis of the vehicle,

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate the rotational axis of the airfoil and the possible lean of the airfoil leading edge and show the line of action of the hydrodynamic force at the hydrodynamic center from the side;

fig. 10 shows a solution with a single (free) flap;

FIG. 11 illustrates a solution with hollow pivoting wings and rear control surfaces susceptible to direct action by the smoother;

FIG. 12 illustrates a solution for a wing panel with a rear control surface susceptible to direct action by a smoother;

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a wing panel with a control surface as shown in FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 shows a solution with a free pivoting flap and an aft flap susceptible to indirect action by the stabilizer;

figures 15 and 16 show cross-sections along the plane XV-XV (from the rear), in a zero inclination position (figure 15), and with the vehicle inclined (figure 16);

fig. 17, 18, 19 are three-fold plan views of a wing panel having the control surface of fig. 14 in a zero pitch position (fig. 17) and in a pitch position (fig. 18 and then fig. 19).

Detailed Description

In fig. 1, the submerged underwater vehicle 1 according to the invention is used here for supporting and accurately positioning towed underwater objects, in particular towed linear acoustic antennas 3.

The vehicle 1 has a hollow central fuselage 5 and a number of vanes, here three vanes, referenced 7a, 7b, 7c, arranged around the central fuselage 5.

The fuselage 5 has a longitudinal axis 5a which is the roll axis of the vehicle.

The fuselage comprises a central fixed part 9 and a concentric shell 11, between which there may be a relative rotation about the axis 5a, thereby enabling the vanes to rotate about the axis together with the shell.

The flaps, which develop along an axis transverse to the axis 5a (here a radial axis), are respectively mounted to rotate about pivots which extend along their respective transverse axes of rotation 13a, 13b, 13 c.

To this end, each tab is fixed to the pivot shaft towards its heel, for example where the tab 7c is directed towards 17c (where the shaft 15c extends radially along the axis 13c for the tab 7 c).

For the description relating to the tabs, let us consider the tab 7b (the mounting of the other tabs is substantially identical), with a radial axis 15b traversing the casing 11, inside this casing 11 this radial axis 15b being connected to a transversal base 19 fitted with a projection or lug 21, this projection or lug 21 sliding in a circumferential groove 23 of a ring 25 (figures 1 to 3).

Offset with respect to the groove along the axis 5a, the ring 25 is crossed transversely by two diametrically opposite holes 29, in each of which two holes 29 a finger 31 moves (figures 2 and 3).

As fig. 4 or 5 also show, the finger 31 is an element of a radial device with an eccentric offset 33, which is moved by a double-arm cross-drive (Bellcrank)35 driven by an output shaft 37 of a motor 39.

For the flap 7c, this control is not present. Thus, it is "free".

The shaft 37 is driven by a gearmotor which rotatably drives an axial screw 41, with a gear 43 with a radial shaft cooperating with the axial screw 41, thereby forming a double-arm cross transmission 35 (fig. 5).

The gear 43 is mounted on a radial shaft 45, which radial shaft 45 rotatably drives the gear 43.

The shaft 45 is fitted with an eccentric end offset as shown in fig. 3.

The mounting of the fins 7a with the ring 49 is identical (fig. 4).

Two motors (see 39, 39 'in figures 4 and 5) and two actuating devices 29, 29', 31, 31 ', 37, 43, 39, 39'. the wings 7a and 7b are driven in connection with the rings 25, 49.

The rotating rings 25, 49 are coaxially offset along the axis 5a, whereby the wings 7a, 7b are also coaxially offset along the axis 5 a.

For the free tab 7c, its radial axis 15c traverses the housing 11 and is held axially in the housing 11 so that the radial axis 15c rotates relative to the housing 11 and, if necessary, about the tumble axis 5 a. In another solution, the shaft is fixed to the housing and the pivoting occurs inside the flap.

Thus, the angular positioning of each flap with respect to the axis under the action of the outside, or of the stabilizer (flap 7c), can be freely adjusted, or controlled by said motor drive (flaps 7a, 7b), herein referred to as "actuator". Other actuators (power cylinders) may also be provided.

The stabiliser 90 is mounted to the vehicle and positioned relative to the vane 7c, and as the vehicle moves forward along the roll axis 5a, the movement of the vane in the roll direction will generate a torque which tends to pivot the vane about its axis 13c, its leading edge 70c naturally orienting itself to form an angle of attack on the vane which will thereby return the vehicle to the said reference angular position of the vehicle corresponding to reduced roll.

In the example shown in fig. 1, when moving forward, without imposing an offset on the vanes 7a, 7b, nor a large roll, the vane 7c will be positioned in a substantially vertically downward position, and the two vanes 7a and 7b will naturally position themselves in an upper position (above the fuselage).

If it is desired to exercise control of the depth, control is applied to the actuators of the two upper flaps 7a, 7b, which flaps 7a, 7b pivot about their axes of rotation, which causes the vehicle 1 to exert a resulting vertical force on, for example, the upstream and downstream portions 3a, 3b of the towed object to which the vehicle 1 can be attached (assuming of course that the device will be advanced).

For lateral control (horizontal plane) the same two upper flaps 7a, 7b will be controlled so that they rotate in the same direction.

The depth control is preferably a local control using a pressure signal, as described in the document US-2005-0268835-a 1.

For the connection (mechanical or electrical connection, signal flow, etc.) of the components of the towed object, the central fixed part 9 of the fuselage 5 is equipped with a first and a second connection collar 53, 55.

In fig. 1, 8 and 10, the free flap 7c is located below the fuselage, and the smoother 90, 900 carried by this flap is located forward of the pivot axis 13c (see front end indicated at AVT).

Thus, when the vehicle is subjected to a rolling motion, the bottom flap 7c tends to rise and the mass of its stabiliser tends to dive it. The tab adopts a negative angle of attack that creates a force that drives the tab downward and thereby reduces roll.

In fig. 6, the stable free flap 7c is still shown at the bottom and the rolling force to starboard is due to the thrust of the upper flap 7a, 7b, the bottom flap straightening the flap 7a, 7b only when sufficiently inclined, as described below.

In fig. 7, the smoother 90 causes the fin to dive when it is sufficiently offset from its reference angular position corresponding to "zero roll", thereby straightening the vehicle.

As shown in fig. 8 and 9, the hydrodynamic center (indicated as CPD) designated by reference numeral 117 is preferably rearward of the pivot axis 13c of the vane 7c (see forward AVT and rearward ARR designations). Thus, the overall stability of the vehicle is ensured in a natural manner.

In the equilibrium position, the hydrodynamic force is such that it generates a rolling torque opposite to the torque generated by the other fins, here 7a and 7 b. This force also creates a rotational torque on the airfoil. For its part, this weight is located in front of the axis 13c and generates a rotational torque on the flap about its axis, which opposes the hydrodynamic force in the equilibrium position.

Fig. 8 shows the action line 111 of the hydrodynamic force, also showing the static hydrodynamic center (in CPS) located at 113. The center of power is located at the position of the line such that the surface of the root end of the airfoil is substantially equal to the surface of the free end of the airfoil. Equilibrium is achieved when the weight torque about the airfoil axis is substantially equal to the hydrodynamic torque. The vehicle is tilted until all of these forces are in equilibrium.

Here, the decision to place the stabilizer at the bottom of the wing, close to the fuselage 5 (shown in particular in fig. 1, 8 and 10) is guided in particular by two considerations:

the largest torque arm needs to be used for the stabilizer,

it is desirable to facilitate the backward inclination of the leading edge 70c with respect to the vertical (see angle a in fig. 8 and 9) to limit the adhesion of algae or wire hooks.

In fig. 8, the pivot axis 13c is assumed to be vertical, or at least perpendicular to the roll axis 5 a.

As shown in fig. 9 and 10, this axis 13c may preferably be inclined toward the rear so that, behind the intersection of the two axes 5a, 13c, the two axes 5a, 13c form an acute angle β' therebetween, or an acute angle β with respect to the perpendicular direction of the axis 5a (see fig. 9).

The inclination of the axis 13c at an angle other than 90 deg. enables the equilibrium angle at rest of the airfoil to be proportional to the vehicle inclination and/or the reduction caused by the dynamic effect for a more effective effect.

Tilting the axis 13c rearwardly and straightening the leading edge 70c of the flap helps to slow the amplitude of the swing when lateral forces are generated by the vehicle.

In this condition, the leading edge 70c, which is less inclined with respect to the vehicle than with respect to the axis of rotation of the airfoil (so that if one considers that A < β, or A '< β' with respect to the axis 5 a) should be advantageous.

It is contemplated that the fins are inclined at about 15 to 25 degrees and the axis of the fins is inclined at 15 to 35 degrees.

The angle of inclination of the free vane's axis of rotation may result in the placement of the stabilizer at the end of the vane closer to its free end 700c, as shown in fig. 9, where the stabilizer is shown at 900, just behind its leading edge. The rolling action of the stabilizer is utilized, which produces a natural stabilizing torque that ensures the vertical stability of the vehicle even in the event that the vehicle is stopped.

The free flap may advantageously be manufactured from a synthetic material in combination with a foam material. Thus, the floating action of the foam produces the same effect through its buoyancy action, except for the mass which exerts a diving torque on the fin.

Fig. 10 to 19 show other possible embodiments, in particular in combination with the fact that the above can be applied to solutions with control surfaces alone and/or to wings equipped with control surfaces.

Thus, in fig. 10, the vehicle has only one tab 7c1, the tab 7c1 being stabilized on the front portion, for example indicated at 90 ', and mounted so as to be able to rotate freely about the pivot axis 13' c of the tab 7c1 with respect to the central fuselage 5 'of the roll axis 5' a of the vehicle. Which may include some or all of the above discussion. The fuselage 5' of the vehicle 10 can be of the monoblock type.

In fig. 11, the stabilizer 910 is mounted on a flap 7c2, which flap 7c2 is free to pivot about its axis of rotation 13c2 intersecting the axis of rotation 5a, which axis of rotation 5a may be the axis of rotation of the vehicle fuselage, not shown here.

On an airfoil, which may be hollow, the smoother 910 is mounted so as to be freely rotatable about an axis 910a, which axis 910a passes through a leading edge 911 and a trailing edge 913 of the airfoil.

Here, the stabilizer 910 is placed at the root of the vane, which has a pivot axis on axis 13c 2. The stabiliser may be located closer to the free end of the tab or may be located externally, for example beyond the end of the tab.

On the rear ARR, the wing has a control surface 915, which is here mounted to pivot along the rear edge 913 about an axis 915a parallel to the axis 13c 2.

If the flap 7c2 is fixedly mounted in a rigid manner on the body of the vehicle, the pivot control surface 915 would advantageously be positioned closer to the free end 700 c.

The stabilizer 910 and the control surface 915 are functionally connected together by a control element 917, such as a flexible cable or a lever, so that the pivoting of the stabilizer about the axis 910a acts on the control surface 915 as a result of the rolling force, or even, in the case of its own mounted pivoting, on the wing, so as to return the vehicle to its reference angular rolling position and/or to help position its direction within a preset angle of possible sideslip when the vehicle is moved towards the front AVT substantially parallel to the axis 5 a.

In fig. 12, the stabilizer 920 acts directly on a control surface 921, the control surface 921 being mounted on a flap 7c3 and pivoting relative to the flap 7c3, the flap 7c3 being mounted on the vehicle fuselage 50 with the roll axis 5 a.

The flap 7c3 may be mounted to secure it to the fuselage 50.

The flap 7c3 may also be mounted along axis 13c2 under the control of an actuator device, similar to the flap actuator 7a or 7b described above. This will result in a motor driven flap 7c3 with a control surface or aileron 921, which control surface or aileron 921 is in turn controlled in the roll direction by the smoother 920, which smoother 920 is functionally connected to the control surface by a control 923.

The control 923 may be any of the foregoing.

The stabilizer 920 is located inside the fuselage 50 and is free to pivot through an angular region about an axis 920a, the axis 920a being parallel to a plane 925 containing the axis 5a and the yaw axis 5 c. This feature is used in the examples shown in fig. 11 or 14.

In fig. 13, where the flap 7c3 is assumed to be stationary, if tilting to the left occurs while the vehicle 100 is moving forward, the aileron 921 will rotate under the action of the stabilizer 920, generating lift, resulting in limited roll.

Fig. 14 and the following figures, show an indirect acting solution, where the tilting around the tumble axis generates a rotation of the control surface by a change of the angle of attack, which causes the wing carrying the control surface to rotate, thus reducing the tilting.

In fig. 14, the stabilizer 930 is placed in the fuselage 51 of the vehicle 110.

The stabilizer 930, which may be placed outside the fuselage 50 (as shown in the solution shown in fig. 12), pivots about an axis 930a parallel to the axis 5 a.

In the event of a roll, the control 931 of the type described previously transfers the action of the stabilizer to the rear control surface 933, which pivots relative to the vane 7c4 and behind the vane 7c4, the vane 7c4 being on the fuselage 51 and being able to rotate freely relative to the fuselage 51 about an axis 13c2, which axis 13c2 intersects the roll axis 5a and passes through its root and free end edges.

The axis 933a of the control surface 933 also intersects the axis 5a, but need not be parallel to the axis 13c 2.

The pivot axis of the control surface along axis 933a is carried by levers 935a and 935b, which levers 935a and 935b are fixed to the vanes and extend behind their rear edges 937.

Here, the flap 7c4 is assumed to be able to rotate freely about its axis 13c2 and is not even susceptible to the direct action of any smoother.

In fig. 15 and 16, the control 931 may include, for example, a cable or flexible rod 939 that slides within a protective housing 941 and is connected on one side to a control surface 933 as shown in fig. 14 and on the other side to a stabilizer 930 by a pivot or swivel 943 that is thus mounted to pivot about its axis.

Let us assume that the overall balance of the vehicle 110, as shown in fig. 15, is such that if it advances substantially along the roll axis 5a shown in fig. 14, it will position itself naturally vertically and pointing downwards with the free tab 7c4, unaffected by any directional force applied.

Fig. 16 shows what happens if the vehicle is tilted and thus the axis 13c2 of the flap 7c4 is tilted with respect to the vertical. When the vehicle is tilted to the left, the cable 939 is pulled. But when the vehicle is tilted to the right, the cable 939 is pushed, again resulting in the effects described above.

In fig. 17, the vehicle advances to the state shown in fig. 15. The cable 939 and the flap 7c4 are in a neutral position. The wing and rear control surface 933 can be oriented along the tumble shaft 5a when there is no sideslip.

In fig. 19, in the case of tilting to the left, the smoother drives the control surface 933 to rotate, which is caused by the force generated by the roll. This causes rotation of the flap 7c 4. The force F then mainly generated corrects the vehicle.

Finally, recalling the positioning of the flaps, neither the fixed flaps nor the pivoting flaps 7c, 7c1.. 7c4 need to be positioned downwards when considering the forward movement, and their angular position at rest can in principle be any position, just as the number of flaps and/or control surfaces on the vehicle can be arbitrary.

Claims (20)

1. A method of controlling underwater navigation of a vehicle, the vehicle having a roll axis and moving generally in a predetermined direction along the roll axis, the vehicle being located at a reference angular position relative to the roll axis corresponding to substantially zero roll, the method comprising:

providing the vehicle with at least one of an airfoil and a control surface freely rotatable about a lateral axis transverse to the roll axis; and is

Stabilizing at least one of the stabilizing wing and control surface by one of a stabilizer disposed forward of the transverse axis and a stabilizer disposed aft of the transverse axis relative to the predetermined direction of movement such that upon tilting of the vehicle about the roll axis, the torque generated by the stabilizer tends to pivot the at least one of the wing and control surface about the transverse axis, producing one of a dive attitude and a flat attitude tending to return the vehicle to its reference angular position.

2. A method of controlling underwater navigation of a vehicle, the vehicle having a roll axis and moving generally in a predetermined direction along the roll axis, the vehicle being located at a reference angular position relative to the roll axis corresponding to substantially zero roll, the method comprising:

providing the vehicle with at least one of a wing and a control surface freely rotatable about a transverse axis transverse to the roll axis, the at least one of the wing and control surface having a determined buoyancy, and first and second volumes disposed aft and forward of the transverse axis of rotation, respectively, with respect to the direction of movement; and is

Torque generated by the buoyancy force by making one of the first and second volumes more voluminous than the other tends to pivot at least one of the wing and control surface about the transverse axis of rotation as the vehicle tilts about the roll axis, creating one of a dive attitude and a flat attitude tending to return the vehicle to its reference angular position.

3. A method of controlling underwater navigation of a vehicle, the vehicle including a fuselage and having a yaw axis and a roll axis, the vehicle moving generally in a predetermined direction along the roll axis, the vehicle being located at a reference angular position relative to the roll axis corresponding to substantially zero roll, the method comprising:

providing the fuselage with at least one of an airfoil and a control surface freely rotatable about a lateral axis transverse to the roll axis; and is

Utilizing a control device functionally connecting at least one of said airfoil and control surface with a stabilizer, wherein said stabilizer is free to rotate about an axis parallel to a plane containing said roll axis and yaw axis, such that when said fuselage is tilted about said roll axis, relative angular motion between said stabilizer and said fuselage of the vehicle is effected on said control device which causes at least one of said airfoil and control surface to pivot about said lateral axis of rotation such that an angle of attack adopted by said at least one of said airfoil and control surface generates a torque tending to return said fuselage to said reference angular position.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 3, comprising locating the stabiliser remote from at least one of the wing and control surface.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 3, comprising rotatably mounting the stabiliser on the vane about an axis which traverses a leading edge and a trailing edge of at least one of the vane and a control surface.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising:

positioning the stabilizer on the fin;

rotatably mounting a smoothed airfoil on a fuselage such that the smoothed airfoil is free to pivot on the fuselage about the transverse axis of rotation;

rotatably mounting other vanes on the fuselage, each vane being mounted to pivot on the fuselage about an axis of rotation transverse to the roll axis under the action of drive means controlled by actuation means;

the vehicle moves forward in the water while tilting due to the tumbling rotational torque generated by the other flaps under the action of the actuating means; and is

As a result of the tilting, the smoothed wing is allowed to pivot naturally about its transverse axis of rotation until the tumbling fuselage and the vehicle are stabilized.

7. An underwater vehicle comprising:

a fuselage having a roll axis and being located at a reference angular position relative to the roll axis corresponding to substantially zero roll;

at least one vane mounted to be freely pivotable on the fuselage about a transverse axis transverse to the roll axis, the vane having a leading edge; and

a vane-driving stabilizer disposed on the vehicle for generating a torque when the vehicle moves forward in the water along a direction of movement that is substantially coincident with the roll axis, further rolling tilting the fuselage, the torque driving the vane to pivot about its transverse axis, the leading edge naturally positioning itself so as to generate an angle of attack on the vane that tends to return the fuselage to the reference angular position.

8. The vehicle of claim 7, further comprising:

additional vanes, each additional vane being mounted on the fuselage to pivot on the fuselage about an axis of rotation transverse to the roll axis; and

an actuating device connected to the additional flap for driving the additional flap.

9. A vehicle according to claim 8, characterised in that the additional wing driven by the actuating means is able to cause the rolling inclination of the fuselage.

10. An underwater vehicle comprising:

a fuselage having a roll axis and being at a reference angular position relative to the roll axis corresponding to substantially zero roll;

a vane mounted to be freely pivotable on the fuselage about a transverse axis transverse to the roll axis, the vane having a leading edge;

a control surface mounted on the airfoil and rotatable about a lateral axis transverse to the roll axis, the control surface having a forward leading edge; and

a stabilizer disposed on the vehicle to drive at least one of the airfoil and control surface by generating a torque when the vehicle moves forward in water along a direction of travel that is substantially coincident with the roll axis, further roll-tilting the fuselage, the torque generated by the stabilizer driving the at least one of the airfoil and control surface to pivot about a respective lateral axis, and the leading edge then positioning itself to produce an angle of attack on the at least one of the airfoil and control surface that tends to return the fuselage to the reference angular position.

11. The vehicle of claim 10, further comprising:

additional vanes, each additional vane being mounted on the fuselage to pivot on the fuselage about an axis of rotation transverse to the roll axis; and

an actuating device connected to the additional flap for driving the additional flap.

12. A vehicle according to claim 11, wherein the actuation means that the additional wing can cause the rolling inclination of the fuselage.

13. An underwater vehicle comprising:

a fuselage having a roll axis and being at a reference angular position relative to the roll axis corresponding to substantially zero roll;

a vane fixedly mounted on the fuselage, the vane having a forward leading edge,

a control surface mounted on the airfoil and rotatable about a lateral axis transverse to the roll axis, the control surface having a forward leading edge; and

a control surface drives a stabilizer disposed on the vehicle for generating a torque when the vehicle moves forward in the water along a direction of movement to further tumble and tilt the fuselage, wherein the direction of movement is substantially coincident with the tumble axis, the torque driving the control surface to pivot about a transverse axis, a leading edge of which positions itself so as to generate an angle of attack on the control surface tending to return the fuselage to the reference angular position.

14. The vehicle of claim 13, further comprising:

additional vanes, each additional vane being mounted on the fuselage to pivot on the fuselage about an axis of rotation transverse to the roll axis; and

an actuating device connected to the additional flap for driving the additional flap.

15. A vehicle according to claim 14, wherein the actuation means that the additional flap is capable of causing the rolling pitch of the fuselage.

16. A vehicle according to claim 7 or 10, wherein the transverse pivot axis is inclined at an angle other than 90 ° to the roll axis and is inclined forwardly in the direction of the roll axis.

17. A vehicle according to claim 7 or 10, characterized in that:

the stabilizer is disposed on the wing and offset in one of a forward and rearward direction relative to the transverse pivot axis of the wing, and,

the leading edge of the vane is more inclined relative to the roll axis than relative to the transverse pivot axis of the vane.

18. A vehicle according to claim 7 or claim 10, wherein the stabiliser is provided on the fin and is offset in one of a forward and rearward direction relative to the transverse pivot axis of the fin, and the fin incorporates a foam material having buoyant properties which, by virtue of buoyancy effects, magnify the effect exerted on the fin by the stabiliser.

19. An underwater vehicle having a direction of movement generally along a roll axis and comprising:

a body; and

at least one of an airfoil and a control surface, the airfoil being mounted on the fuselage and the control surface being mounted on the airfoil itself mounted on the fuselage, the at least one of the airfoil and control surface being mounted for free pivoting transverse to the roll axis;

wherein at least one of the wing and control surface is caused to pivot by a stabiliser mounted on the vehicle.

20. The vehicle of claim 19, wherein the vehicle is a towed underwater object.