A Modern History of the Manned Submersible

Abstract

AbstractThe manned submersibles of the 1960s look very different to the vehicles being built today. Improvements in materials have allowed deeper diving depths, while the rapid advance in electronics and more compact engineering design have helped to reduce launch weights. The rescue submersible has been developed in the last 15 years, but most noticeable is the increased use of acrylic for working depths down to 1,000 m. This article tracks this evolution by looking at just 10 vehicles that formed important stepping stones along this path. Alvin, the Johnson-Sea-Link (JSL), and the Pisces represent the deep-diving science and working submersibles from the 1960s and early 1970s. Alvin has continued to evolve right up to the present day, and 2 of the 10 Pisces boats are still working. The LR5 saw the start of the current military rescue submersibles operating around the world today, although they were never built for that purpose at the start. Oil industry working subs in the 1970s heyday are represented by the ubiquitous Perry PC-12 and PC-18 boats. Now, the same function and more are fulfilled by the deep worker at a fraction of the size.The acrylic hull revolution started in the 1960s with the Naval Experimental Manned Observatory and the JSL boats but has taken until now to be fully realized. This path from the JSL boats is plotted with the Deep Rovers, Alicia AP6, and the current offerings from Triton and, finally, the Deep Fight, an expression of pure enjoyment of the subsea realm made possible by the designer's lifetime experience working with submersibles.