MEKMAID l/ll 



LENGTH; 5. 15m 



BEAM: 1''0 rn 



HEIGHT: 2.60 m 



DRAFT: 1.8 m 



WEIGHT (DRY): 6.3 tons 



OPERATING DEPTH: 300 m 



COLLAPSE DEPTH: 600 m 



LAUNCH DATE: 1972 



HATCH DIAMETER: 0.60 m 



LIFE SUPPORT (MAX): 120man-hr 



TOTAL POWER 16.2 kWh 



SPEED (KNOTS): CRUISE 1.5/8 hr 



MAX 3/4 hr 



CREW: PILOTS 1 



OBSERVERS 1 



PAYLOAD: 550 kg 



PRESSURE HULL: Cylindrical shape composed o< three cylindrical sections and two endcaps of high tensile steel (St 53.7). Diameter of the 



cylinder is 1 .25 m, thickness is 15 mm and total length is 4.30 m. A cylindrical conning tower (600-mm diam.) is welded to the main hull. 



BALLAST/BUOYANCY: Glass-fiber reinforced ballast tanks (300 kg total) are located one on each side and atop the pressure hull. The tanks are 



free-flooding for descent and blown dry for ascent by compressed air. F ine buoyancy adjustments are made by regulating tanks in the pressure hull 



which are blown by compressed air. 



PROPULSION/CONTROL; A stern-mounted propeller driven by a 3-hp motor provides fore and aft propulsion. Two lateral thrusters, one in the 



stern and one aft of the conning tower, are each driven by a 1.6-hp motor. Alt propellers are controlled independently and are reversible which 



allows any combination of lateral thrust. 



TRIM: Within the "legs" beneath the vehicle is a trim system which is hydraulically or manually operated and can obtain up/down bow angles of 



±20° by moving the batteries fore or aft. 



POWER SOURCE: Within the two "legs" are pressure-resistant containers holding two lead-acid accumulators which supply 660 amp-hr at 24 V. An 



emergency battery of 24V, 115amp-hris carried within the pressure hull. 



LIFE SUPPORT: Ot is supplied from tanks of 24-1 capacity mounted external to the pressure hull. CO2 is removed automatically on command by a 



special compound called Drager-Atem Kalk and a CO2 detector controls removal rate. 



VIEWING: Four viewports are available: three in the conning tower of 180-mm diameter and 35 mm thick and one in the bow of 22-mm diameter 



and 55 mm thick. 



OPERATING/SCIENTIFIC EQUIPMENT: UOC, echo sounder, depth gage, directional gyrocompass. 



MANIPULATORS: None. 



SAFETY FEATURES: Mechanically droppable ballast. Ballast tanks may be blown at maximum operating depth by a hand valve or compressed air. 



A pressure sensor may be set to automatically activate surfacing if maximum depth is exceeded. Emergency battery in pressure hull; hull may be 



flooded for egress. 



SURFACE SUPPORT: SOO. 



OWNER: International Underwater Contractors, New York City. 



BUILDER: Bruker-Physik A.G. Karlsruhe, West Germany. 



REMARKS: Operational. A prototype, MERMAID I, was launched and tested in 1972. From these tests modifications were made and the vehicle 



renamed MERMAID l/ll in 1973. 



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