FRONTIERS IN OCEANIC RESEARCH 33 



(e) \fhe berthing space for the Trieste should be a protected space which 

 gives good insurance against waves from passing vessels, boarding by unauthor- 

 ized personnel and maximum protection against possible fires. The group also 

 has a 53-foot landing craft converted to a workboat and a 17-foot wooden lobster 

 boat which is used as a tender boat during operations. These two craft require 

 docking space near the bathyscaph. 



(/) Machinery stowage space should also be provided. 



(g) A stowage area for flammable fluids should be built. 



Afloat facilities 



The delicate bathyscaph was not built to withstand the stresses of a long tow 

 at sea. During the recent operations on Project Nekton it was necessary to 

 tow the craft for several days at a time through fairly rough sea conditions. 

 At the completion of each tow and prior to diving a careful inspection was 

 made of the craft and each time we found several items either destroyed or 

 missing. Thankfully, nothing was damaged such that we could not make the 

 dive; however, this was just a matter of luck and if we continue to operate in 

 this fashion we will most certainly sustain a disabling casualty. 



The large workboat cannot be token to sea on any operation more than a few 

 miles off the coast. The small tender boat can be put aboard the towing vessel 

 for transport to the diving area. 



The afloat facilities necessary to support the Trieste and other deep sub- 

 mersibles should consist of the following : 



(a) A mother ship which is capable of picking up and cradling the vehicle 

 or vehicles and the attendant small boats. This ship would also have numerous 

 laboratory and shop facilities such that it would be a floating research facility 

 capable of carrying out independent bathyscaph operations in any ocean. Until 

 this ship is available the Trieste is virtually limited to coastal waters due to 

 the extremely slow rate at which she can be towed. 



(b) A converted LCM landing craft has been modified so that it is able to 

 tow the Trieste in sheltered waters thus obviating the need for requesting a tug- 

 boat each time we wish to move the 120-ton bathyscaph. 



(c) The small tender boat is a small lobster boat which now fills the bill 

 perfectly. 



(d) A rubber raft is often used when the seas are too high to permit the 

 launching of the tender boat. 



Personnel 



A combined military-civilian organization in support of the Trieste is most 

 desirable. This organization should consist of a chief scientist in charge of the 

 program, an officer in charge of the Trieste and other technical military and 

 civilian personnel who would also handle bathyscaph operations. 



This concludes my prepared statement. 



Mr. Anfuso. Thank you very much. Dr. Rechnitzer, for a very 

 fine statement. I should like to ask you just a few questions. 



Do you consider the bathyscaph has been proved operational ? 



Dr. Rechnitzer. Yes, the bathyscaph has been proved operational. 

 We have two naval officers as alternate pilots, and we have a limited 

 number of civilian personnel and enlisted naval personnel at hand. 



Mr. Anffso. What scientific expeditions are you planning for next 

 year ? 



Dr. Rechnitzer. Next year Ave will confine most of our operations 

 to areas off San Diego, and these will be down to depths approaching 

 6,000 feet, or about 1 mile, We have already found that the area, 

 the sea floor, and the water over the sea floor in the San Diego area, 

 are extremely rich in animal life, far more than we really expected. 

 We also encountered rather strong currents at both 1,000 and 4,000 

 feet, And these are of interest to us. The current is so strong that 

 even the animal life is tumbled along the bottom. 



These measurements, very close to the bottom, are extremely hard 

 to make by surface-lowered instruments, because you never know 

 precisely how far you are up off the bottom. 



