8 



MANEUVERABILITY AND CONTROL 



The ability of submersibles to maneuver 

 and the means of controlling or directing 

 them undoubtedly represent the widest de- 

 sign departures from the military subma- 

 rine. BEAVER was designed to work primar- 

 ily on engineering tasks. Therefore, the basic 

 requirements were for tightly-controlled, 

 small scale movements which could place it 

 in a position to employ its tool kit while 

 hovering and maintaining a constant posi- 

 tion in midwater. DEEP QUEST was in- 

 tended for various tasks: It could range 

 about for moderate distances, maneuver 

 adroitly and, if required, assume virtually 

 any attitude necessary to mate with an un- 

 dersea object. Vehicles of the BEN FRANK- 

 LIN and ALUMINAUT variety were survey- 



ors in the fashion of Lewis and Clark. They 

 could range over long distances, maneuver to 

 pick up large quantities of samples and carry 

 a vast array of equipment. Smaller submers- 

 ibles, such as SP-350, Perry's CUBMARINEs 

 and General Oceanographic's NEKTONs, 

 were designed for short duration scrutiniz- 

 ing and sampling in narrow canyons and 

 along steep cliffs, as well as cruising along 

 flat or gently sloping surfaces. 



One of the more ingenious and imaginative 

 aspects of manned submersibles is the vari- 

 ety of approaches taken to achieve the de- 

 sired maneuverability. Virtually all have ob- 

 tained a high degree of maneuverability with 

 only a handful following similar approaches. 

 Within this chapter the means employed to 



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