nel and beyond are extremely important and 
should be emphasized. 
The concept of depth has not been neglected in 
the postwar era. The advent of HY-80 steel has 
made possible the deeper employment of military 
submarines. In addition, other materials have been 
utilized for special Navy and civilian submarines, 
generally smaller in size than the military type. 
While much progress has been made in this field, 
new construction materials and fabrication tech- 
niques must be emphasized as they will be needed 
to satisfy future requirements. 
The U.S.S. Albacore has made many contribu- 
tions to submarine technology. The nuclear- 
powered oceanographic submersible, the NR-1, has 
great promise as an instrument both for oceanic 
investigation to serve national needs and for 
experimenting with possible future military needs. 
The recently commissioned U.S.S. Dolphin will 
investigate the tactical advantage of deeper depths 
and is a triumph for imaginative planners. The 
Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle, soon to be 
completed, will provide a capability for personnel 
rescue from any military submersible either in 
being or planned. The Alvin, a Navy-sponsored 
development, was a key recovery vehicle in the 
Palomares (Spain) operation where an aircraft- 
carried nuclear weapon was located and recovered 
in 2,600 feet of water. 
The importance of deep oceans has not di- 
minished since the House Committee on Science 
and Astronautics in July 1960 reported: 
This phenomenon [deep sound channel] may 
serve to introduce to contention by those inter- 
ested in the sea that the most urgent reason for 
penetrating the full depths is military. The sea 
conceals its contents. This gives the submarine its 
enormous advantage of concealment and the con- 
comitant property of surprise. Even with exceed- 
ingly sensitive devices to measure the sub’s disturb- 
ance of the earth’s magnetic field, detection from 
the surface becomes more and more difficult as 
the craft dives deeper. It may take a deep-diving 
sub to catch a deep-diving sub /emphasis added]. 
Military strategists may thus consider how much 
more difficult the problem of detection would be 
if the entire sea were a military arena, that 
submarines were extremely quiet requiring the use 
of active sonar for discovery and searching were 
necessary throughout the entire volume of the 
VI-90 
ocean, not simply at the limited depth near the 
surface in which submarines now operate. They 
may also choose to consider the far more challeng- 
ing problem of being able to identify a submarine 
or even bottom crawler that has secreted itself 
amongst the hills and valleys of an irregular 
bottom or is simply sitting on a seamount. Just as 
higher altitude performance for aircraft has paid 
off whether it be for combat or for surveillance, 
the extended depth capability of the submarine 
suggests the same potential benefits. 
Submarine-based strategic missiles are vital to 
USS. deterrent, capability. It has been postulated 
that in the future substantially more USS. strategic 
missiles may be sea-based, not only because of 
reduced vulnerability but also because of the 
special advantage of separating military targets 
from large populations. 
Leadership in understanding the oceans be- 
comes more important when it is realized that 
America’s key strategic deterrent is contingent on 
concealment, mobility, dispersion, and very long 
patrol time. Greater depth capability would pro- 
vide a much vaster operating volume and in some 
areas, a bottom sitting capability, thereby attain- 
ing improved concealment. 
b. Future Needs Man’s projected sea activities 
will demand even more accent on new ideas and 
concepts for underwater effort. Where man goes, 
his problems go, and this extrapolates into possible 
new areas for conflict. The fledgling deep sea 
industry will grow in importance and demand 
sophisticated protection systems. 
The seas suggest that they are the ideal locale 
for locating strategic deterrence systems. Away 
from populations centers, the missile-carrying sub- 
marine is provided with a cloak of concealment 
which defies countering systems. Indeed, the 
Polaris submarine is a triumph of modern science 
and technology and provides an option of an 
assured response. The modern attack submarine is 
a key factor in anti-submarine warfare and un- 
doubtedly will play an ever-increasing role in this 
regard. 
The Navy should accelerate its efforts to attain 
a limited ability in the oceans’ third dimension and 
operate effectively to 20,000 feet within two 
decades. To facilitate going deeper, studies should 
be accelerated to determine the feasibility and 
