10 



OPERATIONAL EQUIPMENT, 

 NAVIGATION, MANIPULATORS 



Components of manned submersibles 

 which make them dive and move and fea- 

 tures which keep the occupant dry and alive 

 and provide an outside view have been de- 

 scribed. To these must be added equipments 

 and devices necessary to answer such ques- 

 tions as: How are we doing and where are we 

 going? The former question is answered by 

 equipment carried on each dive which gives 

 the operator information regarding the envi- 

 ronment and the vehicle itself. The latter 

 question is answered by navigational sys- 

 tems telling him where to go, where he is and 

 where he's been. The last topic of this chap- 

 ter deals with manipulators or mechanical 

 arms, which provide the vehicle with manual 

 dexterity approximating that of the human 



hand and arm, though often many times 

 stronger. 



OPERATIONAL EQUIPMENT 



The devices an individual submersible car- 

 ries to inform the operator of things external 

 and internal to his craft vary widely from 

 vehicle-to-vehicle. On a few only the vehicle's 

 depth is supplied; on others virtually every 

 parameter imaginable is measured and dis- 

 played. Some devices, such as underwater 

 telephones and lights, are not data gatherers 

 per se, but serve instead to assist the vehicle 

 in operating safely and performing its mis- 

 sion. Others serve to inform the operator of 

 the status of his vehicle's electric power. 



467 



