Military Programs 



Figure VII. 2. The Personnel Transfer Chamber (PTC), an elevator-like diving 

 station for saturated divers, provides transportation between the ocean surface and 

 the ocean bottom. The PTC is being developed by the U.S. Navy in support of a new 

 system for the salvage of large objects to depths of 850 feet. It is expected that 

 the system will be capable of raising objects, including sunken aircraft and disabled 

 ships, weighing up to 1 ,000 tons deadweight. The PTC and its related equipment 

 are being used this year in support of Man-in-the-Sea experiments in the SEALAB 

 III series. (U.S. Navy photograph.) 



increasing diver capability, communications, and visibility at 600 feet — then 

 850 feet and eventually at least 1,000 feet — were brought nearer during 

 the past year by such developments as : 



— commencing construction of the prototype Navy Mark II Deep Dive 



System, designed for 850 feet ; 

 — developing a carbon dioxide absorbent device with ten times the 



capacity of existing equipment ; 

 — developing a new microphone for divers that is unaffected by pres- 

 sure at 600 feet and a micro-miniaturized sonar with high resolu- 

 tion that mounts on a diver's "helmet" and helps him "see" in 

 murky water. 



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