upgraded in depth from 300 to 350 meters and 

 became SP-350. 



Such name changes have occurred with a 

 number of vehicles, and produce a quandary 

 concerning which one to use and what it is 

 now. Strictly for convenience, the names used 

 herein are the ones with which the author is 

 most familiar. The other aliases are given 

 under "Remarks" in the individual listings in 

 Chapter 4. 



A change of owners generally produces a 

 change in the vehicle. Mention was made of 

 increasing the operating depth of SP-350 and 

 SEA OTTER. This is only one source of error 

 in any set of "current" descriptions. The origi- 

 nal SURVEY SUB 1 or TS-1 had port and 

 starboard vertical thrusters mounted amid- 

 ships, the "new" TS-1 has shock absorbers 

 where the vertical thrusters once were (they 

 are now fore and aft). It also has increased life 

 support duration, a different lift padeye, and 

 an expanded suite of operating and surveying 

 equipment. This is only one of many examples 

 where the vehicle has changed by virtue of a 

 new owner, new tasks or different operating 

 philosophies. In regards to changing operat- 

 ing philosophies, the first five or six Perry 

 vehicles used Baralyme as a carbon dioxide 

 scrubbing chemical. Now Perry uses lithium 

 hydroxide and has replaced the Baralyme in 

 some other earlier vehicles with lithium hy- 

 droxide. In some cases almost the only thing 

 remaining from the original vehicle is the 

 pressure huU. AUGUSTE PICCARD, for exam- 

 ple, is described herein as it was when first 

 constructed. It is presently undergoing exten- 

 sive modification for open-ocean surveying 

 and except for the pressure hull and propul- 

 sion, will bear little resemblance to the origi- 

 nal. 



In other instances inaccuracies are intro- 

 duced by virtue of changes occurring from the 

 vehicle-as-constructed to the vehicle-as-oper- 

 ated; those changes can be substantial. The 

 operating and design details of DEEP QUEST 

 in Chapter 2 were oi'iginally obtained from a 

 1968 description of the vehicle. Mr. R. K. R. 

 Worthington, DEEP QUEST's Operations 

 Manager, kindly reviewed this chapter and 

 made numerous and critical changes to reflect 

 DEEP QUEST as it now operates. Where a 

 particular submersible has always operated 

 for the same organization and under the same 



individual, such changes have been relatively 

 easy to identify. But, when it has changed 

 hands or the principals involved in its opera- 

 tions and readiness have been replaced (as is 

 the case with the military submersibles), it is 

 a research project in itself to ascertain the 

 many modifications which have taken place 

 on merely one vehicle. 



In short, the descriptions and operating de- 

 tails of the submersibles herein reflect them 

 at some time in their life — though every effort 

 has been made to be as up-to-date as possible. 

 Dimensional characteristics, such as length, 

 height and width, weights, operating equip- 

 ment, safety devices, propulsion arrange- 

 ments and other features are all subject to 

 change which, except for those vehicles no 

 longer operating, is probably continuous. For 

 a first approximation the descriptions are 

 valid, but if precise details are desired, one 

 should contact either the current operator or 

 operating manager. In the course of the U.S. 

 Naval Oceanographic Office's submersible 

 leasing program, it was quickly revealed 

 (sometimes with chagrin) that the marketing 

 arms of large corporations were quite often 

 ignorant of changes to the vehicle which the 

 operators performed. 



Vehicle Status 



It would seem to be a relatively simple task 

 to state what a vehicle's status is — i.e., it is 

 either operational or not operational. But, in 

 reality, a vehicle's status may be quite diffi- 

 cult to define accurately. ALUMINAUT is a 

 typical example. It is now in storage in Flor- 

 ida and has not dived since 1969. This does not 

 mean, however, that it cannot or will not dive 

 again. If a sufficiently profitable contract 

 were to appear for ALUMINAUT, its owners 

 probably would take it out of storage and put 

 it to work. PC-3B or TECHDIVER is another 

 example; it hasn't dived for a number of years, 

 but again, under the right financial climate, it 

 undoubtedly could be induced to operate. 

 Some of the shallow vehicles, such as the 

 NAUTILETTE series, only dive in the summer 

 months when the weather on the Great Lakes 

 is amiable; in the winter they are in storage. 

 A few vehicles are on display in museums or 

 parks, others have been cannibalized to a 

 point where they are now in bits and pieces 

 and scattered in backyards. So, in some cases 



