Deep-submergence vehicle
A deep-submergence vehicle is a deep-diving manned submarine that is self-propelled. Several navies operate vehicles that can be accurately described as DSVs. DSVs are commonly divided into two types: research DSVs, which are used for exploration and surveying, and DSRVs, which can be used for rescuing the crew of a sunken navy submarine, clandestine missions, or both. DSRVs are equipped with docking chambers to allow personnel ingress and egress via a manhole.
The real-life feasibility of any DSRV-based rescue attempt is hotly debated, because the few available docking chambers of a stricken submarine may be flooded, trapping the sailors still alive in other dry compartments. The only attempt to rescue a stricken submarine with these so far ended in failure as the entire crew who survived the explosion had either suffocated or burned to death before the rescuers could get there. Because of these difficulties, the use of integrated crew escape capsules, detachable conning towers, or both have gained favour in military submarine design during the last two decades. DSRVs that remain in use are primarily relegated to clandestine missions and undersea military equipment maintenance. The rapid development of safe, cost-saving ROV technology has also rendered some DSVs obsolete.
Strictly speaking, bathyscaphes are not submarines because they have minimal mobility and are built like a balloon, using a habitable spherical pressure vessel hung under a liquid hydrocarbon filled float drum. In a DSV/DSRV, the passenger compartment and the ballast tank functionality is incorporated into a single structure to afford more habitable space.
Most DSV/DSRV vehicles are powered by traditional electric battery propulsion and have very limited endurance, while few are/were nuclear-powered, and could sustain much longer missions. Plans have been made to equip DSVs with LOX Stirling engines but none have been realized so far due to cost and maintenance considerations. All DSVs are dependent upon a surface support ship or a mother submarine, that can piggyback or tow them to the scene of operations. Some DSRV vessels are air transportable in very large military cargo planes to speed up deployment in case of emergency rescue missions.
List of deep submergence vehicles
Trieste class bathyscaphe
- FNRS-2the predecessor to Trieste
- FNRS-3contemporary of Trieste I
- DSV-0 Triestethe X-1 Trieste bathyscaphe has reached Challenger Deep, the world's deepest seabed. It was retired in 1966.
- DSV-1 X-2 Trieste IIan updated bathyscaphe design, participated in clandestine missions, it was retired in 1984.
Alvin class submarine
- DSV-2 Alvina deep diving sub, has a depth capability, WHOI.
- DSV-3 TurtleAlvin's identical sibling, retired 1998, USN.
- DSV-4 Sea Cliffanother Alvin class DSV sub, retired 1998, returned to active service on September 30, 2002, Sea Cliff has depth capability, USN.
- DSV-5 Nemoanother Alvin class DSV sub, retired 1998, USN.
NR-1 class DSVN
- NR-1 a decommissioned US Navy nuclear powered research and clandestine DSV submarine, which could roll on the seabed using large balloon wheels.
Aluminaut
- Aluminauta DSV made completely of aluminum by the Reynolds Metals Aluminum Company, for the US Navy, once held the submarine deep diving record. It is no longer operational.
Deepsea Challenger
- Deepsea Challengera DSV made by the Acheron Project Pty Ltd, has reached Challenger Deep, the world's deepest seabed.
Limiting Factor
- DSV Limiting Factor - a submersible commissioned to be built by Caladan Oceanic and designed and built by Triton Submarines of Sebastian, Florida. On December 19th, 2018 it was the first manned submersible to reach the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, or 8,376 meters in the Brownson Deep, thus making it the deepest diving, currently operational submersible. In August 2019, the submersible and its pilot, Victor Vescovo, completed the with its support ship, the DSSV Pressure Drop, becoming the first submersible to visit the bottom of all five of the world's oceans. Earlier that same month, a team of explorers and scientists used Limiting Factor to visit the wreck of the RMS Titanic in the North Atlantic Ocean.
Priz
- Priza DSRV class of five ships built by the USSR and Russia. The titanium-hulled Priz class are capable of diving to. These mini-submarines can ferry up to 20 people for very brief periods of time or operate submerged for two to three days with a regular crew of three to four specialists. In early 2005, the Russian AS-28 Priz vessel was trapped undersea and subsequently freed by a British ROV in a successful international rescue effort.
Mir
- Mira strictly civilian class of two DSVs which were manufactured in Finland for the USSR. These bathyscaphe-derived vessels can carry three people down to depths of. After visiting and filming the RMS Titanic's wreck, two Mir submersibles and their support ship were loaned to a US Pacific trench surveying mission in the late 1990s and made important discoveries concerning sulphuric based life in "black smokers".
Kalitka-class DSVN
- AS-12a Russian counterpart to the American NR-1 clandestine nuclear DSV, is a relatively large, deep-diving nuclear submarine of 2,000 tons submerged displacement that is intended for oceanographic research and clandestine missions. It has a titanium pressure hull consisting of several conjoined spheres and able to withstand tremendous pressure — during the 2012 research mission it routinely dove to, with maximum depth being said to be approximately. Despite the three-month mission time allowed by its nuclear reactor and ample food stores it usually operates in conjunction with a specialized tender, a refurbished Delta III-class submarine BS-136 Orenburg, which has its missile shafts removed and fitted with a special docking cradle on its bottom.
Konsul
- Konsul a new class of Russian military DSVs, currently undergoing final acceptance trials before the official commissioning into the Navy. They are somewhat smaller than the Mirs, accommodating a crew of two instead of three, but are purely domestically produced vessels and have a higher maximum depth due to their titanium pressure hulls: during the tests the original Konsul dove to.
Nautile
- Nautilea DSV owned by Ifremer, the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea. The titanium-hulled Nautile is capable of diving to.
Shinkai
- DSV ShinkaiJAMSTEC operates a DSV-series called Shinkai. The latest DSV is Shinkai 6500 which can submerge to with three crew members. JAMSTEC was operating a ROV called Kaikō, which was able to submerge to, but was lost at sea in May 2003.
Pisces class DSV
Sea Pole class bathyscaphe
Bathyscaphe series designed by the People's Republic of China, and there are three derivatives known to exist by 2010:- Sea Pole class bathyscaphe: 2 built
- Jiaolong class bathyscaphe : Developed from Sea Pole class, 1 built.
- Harmony class bathyscaphe: Developed from Jiaolong class, 1 built.
Shenhai Yongshi DSV
Ictineu 3
- Ictineu 3a three-men manned DSV. The hull is made of inox steel and it has a large semi-spheric acrylic glass viewport. It is designed to reach depths of, thus being the ninth-deepest submersible, and it is capable of diving during 10 hours using li-ion batteries.
other DSV bathyscaphes
- Bathyscaphe ArchimèdeFrench-made bathyscaphe, operated around the time of the Trieste.
- FNRS-4
Deepest explorers
- 11,000 m
- Bathyscaphe Trieste11,000 m
- Deepsea Challenger11,000 m
- Archimède9,500 m
- Jiaolong7,500 m
- DSV Shinkai 65006,500 m
- Konsul6,500 m
- DSV Sea Cliff6,000m
- MIR6,000 m
- Nautile6,000 m
- Figures rounded to nearest 500 metres