continued weeping of the sphere joint and the possibility 

 that the strength of the sphere had been substantially re- 

 duced due to corrosion within the joint. Therefore, it was 

 arbitrarily established that the bathyscaph would only dive 

 to two-thirds of its working depth. The dive on this day 

 marked an operation to this specified depth and the deepest 

 dive of this program. 



6 July 1960. A dive was made to 1040 feet for making 

 sound velocity measurements. 



9 July 1960. The final dive of Project NEKTON II was 

 made to a depth of 7500 feet. Project NEKTON II operations 

 were then terminated. The primary reason for termination 

 of this program was the loss of all external lighting on the 

 craft through the shortage of the specially constructed light 

 bulbs that were used for this purpose. Since these special 

 bulbs were made in Europe, it was felt that the long delay in 

 procuring additional bulbs would force eventual termination 

 of the program in any case. The bathyscaph and its equip- 

 ment were then prepared for return to NEL, San Diego. 



13 July 1960. Bathyscaph was drydocked and disassem- 

 bly commenced. 



19 July 1960. All project material was packed ready 

 for shipment. First increment of personnel left Guam for 

 return to NEL. 



2 August 1960. Bathyscaph and all support equipment 

 were loaded aboard USNS PENDLETON for shipment to 

 San Diego, California. 



3 August 1960. Last increment of personnel left Guam. 

 Project NEKTON II terminated. 



2 8 September 1960. USNS PENDLETON arrived at 

 San Diego. TRIESTE and equipment offloaded. 



September 1960 through June 1961. The bathyscaph 

 underwent a comprehensive reconstruction involving re- 

 placement, repair, and modification of various systems, 

 assemblies, and equipments. (Initial step was a thorough 

 physical examination of the craft to determine the feas- 

 ibility of investing funds in a reconstruction program. ) 

 The objective of the reconstruction was to apply the exper- 

 iences of the past two years of Navy operation of the craft so 

 as to equip it better for its scientific mission. Emphasis 



64 



