8. 



Monitor weather and clear traffic for 

 surfacing, 



Provide means of transport to and 

 from the submersible, 

 Carry scientific/engineering instru- 

 mentation and provide storage area for 

 samples and work area for data reduc- 

 tion. 



Conduct supplementary studies or 

 functions in concert with the submers- 

 ible before, during or after the dive. 

 Provide a safe haven in the event of 

 emergency. 



Fix submersible position in the event 

 of rescue. 

 These functions reveal the reason for the 

 term "submersible system," for without the 

 support ship and launch/retrieval device, 

 there is little a submersible can accomplish 

 practically, economically or safely. Hirano (2) 

 wrote the only published discussion of sup- 

 port ship requirements and commented on 

 the fact that little mention has been made of 

 support ships, in spite of their being so inte- 

 gral to successful submersible operations. 



10. 



11. 



Support platforms display a variety of 

 shapes and characteristics. The majority are 

 conventional surface ships, but catamarans, 

 barges, offshore fixed platforms and fleet- 

 type submarines have been used. A repre- 

 sentative sampling of these craft is shown in 

 Figures 12.5 through 12.8. 



In very few instances have owners or oper- 

 ators of a submersible built support plat- 

 forms specifically for their submersibles. 

 Generally, submersibles were built first and 

 support was obtained during or after con- 

 struction. The only exceptions are DEEP 

 QUEST'S R/V TRANSQUEST: DEEPSTAR 

 2000's RIV SEARCHSTAR and the DSRVs 

 ASR-21 class all being designed to support 

 the specific vehicle. In a great number of 

 cases the builder already had an active inter- 

 est in the ocean and owned a platform which 

 he equipped with a launch/retrieval appara- 

 tus suitable for both the platform and the 

 submersible, e.g.. Perry's SEA HUNTER and 

 SEA DIVER, Cousteau's CALYPSO, General 

 Motor's SWAN. A number of support plat- 

 forms were obtained on lease by the sub- 



USS HAWKBILL (SSN 666) 



Fig 12 5 Submersibles' support craft 



582 



