Hydrodynamics of fishlike swimming

Interest in novel forms of marine propulsion and maneuvering has sparked a number of studies on unsteadily operating propulsors. We review recent expe rimental and theoretical work identifying the principal mechanism for produ cing propulsive and transient forces in oscillating flexible bodies and fin s in water, the formation and control of large-scale vortices. Connection w ith studies on live fish is made, explaining the observed outstanding fish agility.