NEKTON ALPHA, BETA, GAMMA 



LENGTH: 1 5.5 ft 



BEAM Six 



HEIGHT: 6 ft 



DRAFT: 4 ft 



WEIGHT (DRY): 2.35 tons 



OPERATING DEPTH: 1,000 ft 



COLLAPSE DEPTH: 2,500 ft 



LAUNCH DATE: 1968, 70, 71 



HATCH DIAMETER: 18 in. 



LIFE SUPPORT (MAX): 48 man-hr 



TOTAL POWER: 4.5 kWh 



SPEED (KNOTS): CRUISE 1.5/3.5 hr 



MAX 2.5/1 fir 



CREW: PILOTS 1 



OBSERVERS 1 



PAYLOAD 450 lb 



PRESSURE HULL: Cvlmdncal sfiape of A-212 and A 515 (BETA, GAMMA) mild steel, 9/16 in. thick, 8-ft length and 42 in. ID. Conning tower is 



24-in. diam. and 24 in. high of A-285 steel. 



BALLAST/BUOYANCY: Vehicle launched positruely buoyant, flooding of fore and aft ballast tanks (1,500-lb capacity each) produces 15 to 20 lb 



negative buoyancy for descent and during dive. Fine buoyancy control can be obtained by venting or blowing a 30 lb-capacity tank in pressure hull. 



PROPULSION/CONTROL: One 3.5-hp Westinghouse M-15 electric motor (24 V) mounted on the stern within a pressure-resistant tank, drives a 



10-in. diam. propeller. Mechanically actuated rudder provides lateral control and a starboard-mounted dive plane provides vertical control. 



TRIM: Up/down bow angles are controlled by dive plane. 



POWER SOURCE: Eight 6-V, 190-amp hr, lead-acid batteries, wired for 24 V and 48 V, carried in a pressure-resistant compartment. 



LIFE SUPPORT: Compressed O2 is carried in the pressure hull in two tanks, one tank is of SO-ft^ capacity and the other is of 25-ft3, both are at 



1,800 psi, CO-i is removed by blowing air through Baralyme cannisters of which four each are carried (2 lb Baralyme/cannister). An aircraft altimeter 



is used to measure ambient cabin pressure. 



VIEWING: Seventeen acrylic plastic viewports are provided which are flat discs 6.5 in. in diameter and 1.25 in. thick. 



OPERATING/SCIENTIFIC EQUIPMENT: UQC (8 kHz) 2,000 yd range, needle type depth gage (0-1,300 ft), scanning sonar (audio, variable 



frequency), Straza-type tracking system (37-kH2), compass, directional gyro, echo sounder, sample bag. 



MANIPULATORS: One hand-operated manipulator consisting of a 3-ft long rod penetrating the starboard side of the pressure hull through a 



stuffing gland and terminating in a 3-pronged grasping device can be manipulated by the observer to obtain suitable samples or artifacts. 



SAFETY FEATURES: Emergency breathing provided by two scuba regulators attached to a high pressure air system (72-ft3 capacity). 



Mechanically-droppable, 75-lb lead weight, propeller-rudder assembly droppable (40 lb), ballast tanks and trim tank blowable at maximum operating 



depth (1,040 lb total). 



SURFACE SUPPORT: Supported and launched/retrieved at sea by either R/V SEAMARK or R/V DAWN STAR. Launch/retrieval from SEAM AR K 



by a non articulated boom, from DAWN STAR by an "A" frame type apparatus. A total of four people is required to support and operate the 



submersible and support ship (DAWN STAR) at sea. 



OWNER: General Oceanographies, Inc., Irvine, California. 



BUILDER: NEKTON, Inc., a subsidiary of General Oceanographies. 



REMARKS: All operational. NEKTON ALPHA varies from sister submersibles in the following: length 15 ft, weight 2.25 tons, payload 300 lb, and 



in its topside bow viewport configuration. 



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