Deep-Down Submarines

The loss of the nuclear submarine Thresher last year in 8,400 ft. of water was a painful reminder of just how much of the ocean bottom lies below the Navy's reach. The bathyscaphe Trieste could dive to the general area of the Thresher's wreck, but it could not do much that was worthwhile when it got there. Instruments and grappling devices operated from surface ships were all but useless in strong currents and rough seas.

Urged on by the disaster, work on deep-submergence systems has been picking up pace ever since. The Navy has recently recommended that $333 million be spent on the design and construction of deep-diving submarines capable of exploring the bottom and doing useful work at extreme depths. And in response to the growing demand from both Government and industry, the drawing boards of the nation's naval architects are producing a fleet of small, odd-looking submarines, most of them aimed at great depths.

>Alvin (named for Oceanographer Allyn Vine), is a perky little craft built by Litton Industries with Navy funds for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. It is 22 ft. long, weighs 13 tons, and has a reasonably conventional submarine shape, but the outside hull serves only for streamlining and control. When Alvin submerges, the water enters that thin skin freely. Inside is a 7-ft. sphere with walls of high-strength steel 1.33 in. thick to protect the crew from water pressure down to 6,000 ft. Its four viewing ports permit the pilot and observer to see ahead and below, and its three steerable, battery-powered propellers, two of which can swivel to point up or down, give high maneuverability and a top speed of about 7 m.p.h. Before Alvin tries deep and perilous submergence, it will begin practice runs this month in the pleasant shallows near Cape Cod.

>Deepstar, which looks like a close cousin to Alvin, is being built by Westinghouse in collaboration with Jacques-Yves Cousteau, co-developer of the Aqua-Lung. It, too, has a streamlined outside hull containing a thick-walled pressure sphere to protect its crew. Its intended depth will be 12,000 ft., and it will have a claw like a giant lobster. Deepstar will not be ready until 1965, when Westinghouse will begin using it in its own underwater research, besides leasing or selling it to other organizations that feel an urge to explore the ocean bottom.

> Aluminaut, probably the biggest research submarine under construction, is now being built for Reynolds Metals Co. by the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics at Groton, Conn. It will be 50 ft. long and made mostly of 6 1/2-in.-thick aluminum. To be launched this summer, it is expected to cruise comfortably three miles down and can stay submerged three days with a crew of three.

> Turtle, Lockheed's odd-looking entry, is lens-shaped to allow it to scoot along the bottom like a flounder. After experiments with a small, self-propelled model, Designer Willy Fiedler decided that the lenticular shape, made of two strong metal saucers joined at their edges, is the best for the moderately deep ocean. It will resist pressure and have more maneuverability than a sphere. Dr. Fiedler hopes to use it to spy on fish and learn to catch them cheaply. It can repair damaged cables and bury radioactive wastes in the ocean bottom. Lockheed has high hopes of eventually being able to build large Turtles to carry cargo, perhaps operating under Arctic ice.

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