SECT. 5] DEEP SUBMERSIBLES FOB OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH 507 



dive during the daylight portions of a single day. If circumstances dictated, it 

 would be possible to remain submerged overnight. 



The forward and aft portions of the sphere are kept clear for the door and 

 the viewing ports. The rest of the interior is surrounded by tiers of racks for 

 operational and scientific equipment. Located on the starboard side is an 

 underwater telephone, the echo-sounder, the Draegger canisters for carbon 

 dioxide absorption, two oxygen bottles, and the compressed air for emptying 

 the entrance tube. The air regeneration is accomplished in the following 

 manner : the air in the cabin is circulated through a filter with soda lime which 

 extracts carbon dioxide, preventing it from building up to poisonous levels ; 

 new oxygen is bled into the cabin from cylinders of compressed oxygen ; excess 

 moisture is absorbed by silica gel. Gas-masks are carried along in the event of 

 noxious gases being generated by electrical shorts, etc. 



Near the door on the starboard side is a rack of silver-zinc batteries for 

 supplying all the current, there being no external batteries as yet, although the 

 installation of these is contemplated. Each important circuit has a separate 

 set of batteries. There are two sets for the 12-V ballast circuits ; there is one set 

 of 24-V for miscellaneous small equipments. Circuits of 250 V operate each 

 propulsion motor. These two sets can be placed in series to provide a 500-V 

 circuit for the mercury -vapor lights. There is also a 28-V circuit for special 

 scientific equipment. The total capacity of these batteries is 20 kWh. 



On the port side are located various controls such as ballast control rheostats, 

 motor switches, light switches, magnet controls, etc. Cine and still cameras are 

 installed which can be moved in position in front of the window along the guide 

 bar. There are also timers for controlling deballasting, etc. 



The foregoing description of the Trieste applies as of mid 1960 ; she is presently 

 undergoing extensive modifications. 



4. Diving Saucer 



The Cousteau "diving saucer" (Cousteau, 1960) is a new submersible craft 

 with great promise for future oceanographic research (Fig. 6). It was built by 

 Jean Mollard under the direction of J.-Y. Cousteau at Marseilles, for use from 

 the small oceanographic ship, Calypso. In early 1960, it made its debut — a 4-h 

 dive to 300 m, its maximum operational depth. This craft was built to fill the 

 need for a small and agile sea craft approaching the maneuverability and 

 dexterity of the scuba diver but not limited to his 60-m working depth. Another 

 specification was that it be small enough to be lifted aboard the Calypso by a 

 hydraulic crane and stowed below deck. 



The pressure hull is a flattened or oblate sphere of 2-cm thick steel, spun in 

 two halves and then welded together. The manned capsule accomodates two 

 persons lying prone, the pilot and a scientific observer. A second fiberglass 

 fairing, open to the sea, surrounds the equator of the cabin forming an inner 

 and outer hull for the power assemblies, etc. The craft is 2 m in diameter and 

 1.5 m thick ; the total weight in air is 3500 kg. 



