12 THE NAVY OCEAN ENGINEERING PROGRAM 



enough importance to be given direct management by a separate Navy 

 organization, the Deep Submergence Systems Project, under the Chief of 

 Naval Material. 



DEEP SUBMERGENCE RESCUE VEHICLE (DSRV) 



The Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV) will carry man to ocean 

 depths greater than 3000 ft, and this capability will be extended to 

 20,000 ft by the Deep Submergence Search Vehicle (DSSV). Although the 

 primary missions of these two vehicles are different, they will both give 

 man the capability of working in the depths of the ocean while protected 

 within a shirt-sleeve environment. 



Both submersibles, because of their operating depths and operational 

 requirements, are pioneering new developments in materials, machinery, 

 underwater sensors, and navigation and control systems. Both the DSRV 

 and the DSSV will be relatively small and highly maneuverable and will 

 establish new capabilities for man to work in the oceans. 



The requirement that the DSRV be carried piggyback on a nuclear- 

 powered submarine and mate with submarines is establishing new pro- 

 cedures for underwater operations. The mating requirement— joining a 

 transfer skirt on the DSRV to the escape hatch of a disabled submarine 

 to transfer its personnel to safety— was the principal factor governing the 

 design of the DSRV subsystems. 



Other requirements that set severe design constraints were rapid re- 

 sponse time and all-weather operability. These constraints required the 

 DSRV to be air transportable and piggyback transportable underwater 

 and then supported at the rescue scene by a submerged nuclear-powered 

 submarine. 



As a result of the air-transport requirement, the DSRV makes use of 

 titanium and aluminum for ribbing and stiffeners. 



The most difficult and challenging problem facing the DSRV involves 

 underwater mating with a disabled submarine. Design requirements specify 

 that the DSRV must be capable of effecting a mate, in the presence of a 

 one knot current, to the deck of the disabled submarine. The first step in 

 mating sequence involves finding the exact location of the escape hatch of 

 the stricken submarine using optical and sonic sensors to penetrate the 

 darkness. The next two steps in the sequence— cutting the disabled sub- 

 marine's buoy cable and "landing" on the hatch seat— require the DSRV to 

 hover within a small area; in effect, to operate as an underwater helicopter. 



