Thomas G. Lang PhD, Aerospace Engineering, developed the SWATH concept in the 1970s while with the Naval Undersea Center, San Diego.

Dr. Lang has eight patents on SWATH. Tom led the SWATH-design-aspects of the SSP and its model tests. He supplied to Ray Vellinga and the International Hydrofoil Society the model test footage for the movie and video. He helped the NOTS documentary group with both their film sequence and narration.

SWATH is short for Small Waterplane Area Twin Hulled Craft, and SSP for Stable Submerged Platform

The first of these modern SWATH ships was the 190 ton SSP Kaimalino, and the largest SWATH built so far is the Radisson Diamond cruise ship. The Kaimalino was used by the Navy Lab that Tom worked for. It was used to support the Navy's many kinds of oceanic research projects, all of which required a stable platform.

Today there are over 50 SWATH ships in operation around the world. They have many kinds of applications, all of which make use of its low motion in waves. Typical implementations are: yachts, diving support, oceanic research, military towed sonar arrays, oceanic surveys, pilot boats; passenger, dinner, and cruise ships