was not to be overlooked. Finally, we had to be able, on occasion, to 

 employ a heavier petrol, which for the same lifting force would have a 

 greater volume. For all these reasons it was better to have a good 

 margin at our disposal than to have a float that was too small, even by 

 250 gallons. 



Now, having all the factors in our calculation well in hand, we saw 

 that 18,920 gallons of petrol sufficed to carry the bathyscaphe. We 

 began then by introducing 3740 gallons of water into the float : that, 

 with the 18,920 gallons of petrol, just filled it. 



If we had filled the tanks entirely with petrol, it would have been 

 necessary to take on board, as well as the ballast reckoned on, 4 or 5 

 tons of emergency ballast. It is true that thus we could have given more 

 stability to the bathyscaphe ; but, in fact, there was no need for this. 



On nth August 1953 the Trieste could at last be submerged. It was 

 not, properly speaking, a dive. The bathyscaphe remained fast to its 

 moorings and, the depth of the water being only 5 fathoms, the tip 

 of its flagpole remained in sight. This test enabled us to check certain 

 parts and to have exact data on the loading. On the 13 th August, as a 

 new test, we had ourselves towed out a little farther towards the middle 

 of the harbour where the depth reaches a little over 9 fathoms. There, 

 too, the experiment proved satisfactory. 



During these tests, including those conducted during the dive at 

 Capri, we had the pleasure of seeing with us once more Engineer 

 Loser, whom the management of the Trieste dockyards had kindly 

 lent, so that he might once more give us his valuable assistance. 



On the 14th the Tenace heavy-duty tugboat belonging to the 

 Italian Navy took the Trieste in tow and towed it out to sea to a point 

 where the depth is 22 fathoms. We had chosen this depth so that, in 

 case of need, the divers could keep in contact with us. I have such 

 pleasant memories of this first dive that I should like to tell of it in 

 more detail. 



The weather was splendid, the sea calm : a rowing boat took me to 

 the Trieste^ which my son Jacques had not left during the brief tow. 

 We opened the upper hatch of the entrance shaft, and went down the 

 ladder which leads to what we call the antechamber. We were barely 

 \(i\ ft. from the surface: through the big pane of plexiglas the water 

 appeared marvellously clear. The light was quite blue, as in the 

 celebrated grotto of Capri. We slid through the manhole and closed 

 the heavy door behind us : Jacques picked up the telephone receiver, 



[ i°8] 



