present capability for location and recovery of small objects at these depths 

 rests with the proven but limited bathyscaph Trieste II. This vehicle viewed 

 and photographed the Scorpion hulk in greater than 10,000 feet of water 

 during a record 1 20 hours submerged, which spanned nine dives in a 7-week 

 operating period. 



The Navy's man-in-the-sea project is directed toward developing new 

 equipment to permit men to live and do useful work underwater. Both 

 the Navy and private industry have cooperated in developing the equipment 

 and techniques by which divers can work for longer periods in the sea, at 

 greater depths, and with better tools and increased safety. Some aspects of 

 these activities are discussed more fully in chapter VIII. 



The Navy's Sealab III experiment has been the recent focal point of this 

 project. As a result of the many lessons learned, Sealab III has been restruc- 

 tured as a four-phase experiment. The first three phases involve the evalua- 

 tion of aquanaut equipment and techniques and the validation of biomedical 

 data at progressively deeper depths until a 600-foot capability has been 

 verified. The fourth phase will include the habitat living experiment; how- 

 ever, this phase has been delayed until fiscal year 1972 due to funding 

 limitations. 



In support of man-in-the-sea goals, a program with Duke University 

 tested thermal protection systems for divers, under saturated diving condi- 

 tions, to simulated depths of 600 feet. Psychological tests were conducted 

 at water temperatures of 90° and 45° F. and indicated that with adequate 

 thermal protection and underwater breathing systems diver performance was 

 satisfactory. 



The Navy's nuclear-powered research and engineering submersible, 

 NR-1, was delivered in October 1969, up>on the completion of successful 

 sea trials. In addition to demonstrating the feasibility of nuclear propulsion 

 at deep depths, NR-1 provides a valuable capability to conduct extended 

 search, recovery, survey, and surveillance missions to her test depth. A shake- 

 down cruise is scheduled in 1970, to demonstrate the endurance and 

 performance of both the submersible and her crew. This will include sur- 

 veys of the ocean bottom, canyon navigation, visual inspection of a sunken 

 hulk, and other mission-oriented exercises preparatory to her operational 

 utilization. 



The large object salvage system (LOSS) development responds to a Navy 

 mission requirement to be able to recover large objects, including intact 

 submarine hulls, from depths down to 850 feet. Culminating a 2-year effort, 

 the related MK-I portable deep dive system was delivered and is now being 

 tested at progressively deeper depths down to 850 feet. Air-transportable, this 

 system has been designed primarily to support worldwide salvage require- 

 ments from ships of opportunity. Feasibility studies, lift hardware develop- 

 ment, and coordination with other deep ocean projects is in progress to devise 

 an integrated salvage systems package. 



In August 1969, the Navy successfully accomplished the largest deep 

 recovery on record. The deep submersible Alvin was recovered from a depth 

 of over 5,000 feet in the North Atlantic, where she had been lost almost a 

 year earlier. This recovery feat was primarily accomplished through the 



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