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N7KTP > NAVNET 28.04.05 09:29l 83 Lines 10748 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: TRIESTE II (DSV-1)
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Sent: 050427/2235z @:N7FSP.#SEA.#WWA.WA.USA.NOAM West Seattle, WA. on 145.010
THE EXCITING STORY OF TRIESTE:
Trieste I, Trieste II, and Trieste II DSV II
Trieste I - 1953-1964
Piccard, lnventor Extraordinaire
In the 1930's, Professor Auguste Piccard, a Swiss physicist and inventor, piloted a spherical gondola suspended beneath a large gas-filled balloon, named the FNRS(for Fonds National Belge de la Recherche Scientifique, the groups that supported the pr
oject), to over ,55,000 feet, or 11 miles above the earth to research cosmic rays. In 1948, using the same scientific principles that allowed the stratospheric balloon to rise and then return to the earth's surface, Auguste and his son, Jacques, an oceano
graphic engineer, built the first bathyscaphe, FNRS-2, to dive into the ocean and return to the surface. The bathyscaphe, a Greek term meaning deep ship, was tested using unmanned dives to prove its reliability prior to piloted dives. The ten-ton watertig
ht sphere, corresponding to the gondola in appearance and function, held two men. The float, the equivalent of the gas-filled balloon, was filled with thousands of gallons of high-octane gasoline fuel, which had the desired compressibility at ocean depths
.. To submerge, the bathyscaphe carried tons of iron pellets. To return to the surface, the pilot dropped some of the iron pellet ballast and the gasoline float lifted the Trieste to the surface.
Following the sale of the FNRS-21 to the French Navy, Piccard built a
bigger bathyscaphe called Trieste, named after the town of Trieste, Italy where townspeople contributed funds for its construction. The Swiss government, the French Navy and others also provided financial backing for this expensive invention, an expense u
sually financed by companies or government but that few individuals would ever undertake.
Trieste was launched in 1953 near Naples, Italy. The Trieste had a
displacement of 50 tons (without gasoline) and 150 tons (with gasoline). The length was 50 feet (which was later expanded to 58 feet). The operating crew consisted of one pilot and one passenger. Trieste was able to move about on its own using batteries a
s a power source. A fail-safe surfacing device qas built to handle possible power failures. The electro-magnets holding the iron pellets would release this ballast automatically and send the ship immediately to the surface. Ballast tubs held 9 tons of BB-
sized pellets; this was later increased to 16 tons.
Following a 10,000-foot dive in 1953, Jacques and his father submitted a proposal to the National Science Foundation in Washington, D.C., offering collaboration with American oceanpgraphers. Although the proposal was turned down, the _Piccards kept
on trying to interest others in their invention.
Up to this time, the method for gathering information about the ocean bottom was confined to small bathyspheres that were raised and lowered by cables attached to a mother ship. To collect samples, other devices would grab random clutches of ocean bot
tom for analysis, so the idea of actually controlling movement and viewing ocean bottom dynamics was intriguing. In 1957, Piccard contracted with the U.S. Navy for evaluation and possible development of the Trieste. Following a series of successful bathys
caphe deep-sea dives in the Mediterranean, Piccard sold the Trieste to the U.S. Office of Naval Research, and she was snipped to the Navy's Electronics Laboratory in San Diego, California, arriving in December 1958. To prepare the Trieste for even deeper
dives, a mote robust observation sphere was ordered from Germany. and the float was enlarged and strengthened. A year later in 1959, Trieste set the deep-seadiving record at 18,150 feet in the Pacific south of Guam. The crew was Jacques Piccard and Dr. An
dreas B. Rechnltzer a marine biologist. This dive, was just a rehearsal, though, for the record-setting dive that would take place the early part of the following year when the Trieste journeyed to the bottom of the world.
Into the Abyss
Testing continued into the next year with Trieste making increasingly,
deeper dives each time. On January 23, 1960, Jacques Piccard, pilot, with
Lieutenant Don Walsh, USN as observer, made an historic descent into the
Challenger Deep, at the southern end of the Mariana Trench, 200 miles southwest of Guam. Following a rather slow descent of one mile per hour, or about the same speed as an elevator, after about five hours, they stopped just short of the bottom. At 1:06 p
..m. Walsh shouted to Piccard, "There it is, Jacques. We've made it!" They could see the bottom in their searchlight but had no knowledge of the status of the muddiness of the ocean floor. But the touchdown was gentle as they settled at 35,800 feet, the u
ltimate known bottom of the ocean. They looked at the bottom through an eight-inch thick plexiglas window. A foot-long fish swam by; they also spotted a shrimp and a jellyfish, their presence answering the question of whether life could survive at these e
xtreme pressures. The two men shook hands. Contact was made with the surface support ship using special acoustic underwater telephones developed by the Navy, another firstpsurface-to-7-miles down conversation. After making scientific observations for abou
t 20 minutes, Piccard released 800 lbs of ballast and the Trieste Began its ascent to
the surface. Three and one-half hours later they were safely on the surface. Two Navy jets appeared overhead, dipping their wings in salute. Unknown to Lieutenant Walsh, his crew on the surface had received a telegram from Washington; the message was "Don
't make the dive!" Not arriving prior to the dive, the telegram was eventually delivered 35 years later.
The historic dive, part of the Navy's Project NEKTON, received little
coverage in the newspapers. The nation was enthralled with NASA's new space
program and paid little attention to this never-to-be-repeated event. Trieste was put in reserve. It remained there until 1963 when the- nuclear attack submarine USS Thresher (SSN 593) sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean and 129 navy and civilian per
sonnel died. Following, several months of unsuccessful searching by other ships, the Navy deployed Trieste to the site. Trieste located the Thresher about two routine miles down. During her years of service, Trieste made 128 dives, but locating the Thresh
er was her last major accomplishment before an extensive overhaul and change of name.
The Trieste would never again return to the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench. The record:-setting dive has never been challenged not attempted by a manned vehicle. Due to the extremely high cost of supporting any deep-water research vessel, it
probably will never be repeated. This original Trieste is on exhibit in The Navy Museum, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.
Did you know?
Marie Claude, Jacques Piccard's wife, was the first and only woman to
descend in a bathyscaphe. She descended to 500 feet in 1953 as a last-minute fill-in for an observer who had to cancel at the last minute.
Trieste II - 1964-1967
The decision was made to build a second Trieste. The pressure sphere was refitted with a new float. The boxy-shape of the new float gave Trieste a new look and also a new name, Trieste II. The Trieste II dove first in the Pacific, then in the Atlanti
c when it did a second dive on the sunken submarine USS Thresher (SSN 593) in 1964. During the dives on the Thresher, it first located the debris field and photographed the area. On the third dive, the sunken sub itself was located and closely photographe
d.
In 1965, Trieste II returned to California and transferred to the Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Deep Submergence System Project Office. (DSSP).
Trieste lI DSV I - 1967-1984
Construction of the Trieste II. DSV-l (Deep Submergence Vessel)
In 1970, Trieste was placed again in overhaul in San Diego. Upon completion of this overhaul in 1970, Trieste II became Trieste II (DSV-l).
Trieste II DSV-l began duty on June I, 1971. DSV-l, the Navy's deepest diving vehicle at the time, had the following modifications: a) the personnel sphere was enlarged to provide for additional viewing ports, improved submerged endurance, and additional
instrumentation and sensor space. The viewing port and four peepholes were fabricated from plexiglas. The ports were 90=degree truncated cones exactly machined to fit sockeTs in the sphere wall; b) the float was reconfigured to provide submerged maneuveri
ng characteristics, sea keeping qualities on the surface, increased payload, and to allow at-sea docking in the newly provided tender; c) the batteries were silver-zinc for increased submerged endurance and propulsion power; and d) improvements were made
in servicing provisions to allow extended at-sea operation in conjunction with the tender without the necessity for frequent shore based support. An important change occurred in the mission of DSV-l when it was equipped with manipulators to pick up items
from the ocean floor. During the early 1970's, DSV-l made three dives to 16,500 feet and for the first time, successfully recovered objects from such a depth. For this, Trieste II (DSV-1) received the Meritorious Unit Commendation. About a year later, DSV
-l recovered an unmanned deep submergence sled carrying oceanographic equipment lost at a depth of 10,699 feet.
Back to the Shipyard for the Last Configuration
In 1973, DSV-1 entered Mare Island Shipyard for a two year overhaul. Upon completion she was deployed in support of the "Sea Floor Gecphysical_ Research Program" sponsored by The Office of Naval Research. She dove the Caytman Trough, Puerto Rico Tren
ch and Blake-Bahama Outer Ridge and was certified for operations to 20,000 feet During this time DSV-l completed the deepest manned recovery of any object from the sea floor. For this deployment of 15 dives, Trieste II (DSV-1) was again awarded the Merito
rious Unit Commendation.
Her diving years were not yet finished when she recovered military hardware from 16,000 feet at Midway Island in the Pacific and was used to investigate plate tectonic dynamics to assist Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She deployed to Hawaii to
search for an unmanned vehicle Remote Underwater Work System lost at 16,500 feet.
In August 1980 DSV-l was placed in a reduced operating status. However, DSV-l conducted a series of five dives from a barge, the first time a barge had been used as a support vessel. She successfully located and recovered a malfunctioning San Clement
e Island Range hydrophone. In 1984, Trieste II (DSV-1) was deactivated. She is currently on exhibit at the Naval Undersea Museum, Keyport, Washington.
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