Archimède

The bathyscaphe Archimède is a deep diving research submersible of the French Navy. It used 42,000 US gallons (160,000 l) of hexane as the gasoline buoyancy of its float.[1] It was designed by Pierre Willm and Georges Houot.[2] In 1964, Archimède descended into "what was then thought to be the deepest part of the Puerto Rico Trench"[3], which the NY Times reported as 27,500 feet (8,400 m).[4] On 21 December 2018, a dive by Victor Vescovo in the DSV Limiting Factor found the "true bottom"[5] of the Atlantic Ocean to be 27,480 feet (8,380 m)[6], in the first manned descent to the deepest "verified bottom"[7] of the Atlantic Ocean.

Not to be confused with Archimedes (disambiguation).

Archimède in 1961, on launch
History
France
Name: Archimède
Namesake: Archimedes
Commissioned: 27 July 1961
General characteristics
Type: Bathyscaphe
Displacement: 61 tons

Archimède was christened on 27 July 1961, at the French Navy base of Toulon. It was designed to go beyond 30,000 feet (9,100 m),[8] and displaced 61 tons.[9] In October 1961, Archimède passed its first dive tests, diving to 5,000 feet (1,500 m) unmanned.[10] On 27 November 1961, Archimède achieved a speed of 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph), over a distance of 4.5 miles (7.2 km) at a depth of 7,870 feet (2,400 m) in the Mediterranean Sea.[11]

On 23 May 1962, Archimède descended to 15,744 feet (4,799 m) off Honshu, Japan, in the Pacific, at the Japan Deep.[12] On 15 July 1962, Archimède descended to 31,350 feet (9,560 m) into the Kurile-Kamchatcha Trench, making it the second deepest dive ever, at that point in time, second only to the Bathyscaphe Trieste dive on the Challenger Deep.[13] On 12 August 1962, Archimède descended to 30,511 feet (9,300 m) in the Japan Deep south of Tokyo.[14]

Archimède explored the Mid-Atlantic Ridge jointly with the submarine Cyana and submersible DSV Alvin, in Project FAMOUS (French-American Mid-Ocean Undersea Study) in 1974.[15][16][17][18]

Archimède operated until the 1970s.[19] As of 2008, it is on operational reserve, at Toulon.[20] Archimède was honoured with a stamp in Palau.[21]

References
  1. Cloud, Wallace (August 1964). "Jeeps in the Deep". Popular Science. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  2. Aksyonov, Andrei & Chernov, Aleksandr Alekseevich (1979). Exploring the Deep. Collins. p. 118.
  3. StokstadDec. 19, Erik (19 December 2018). "'Five Deeps' mission to explore mysterious ocean trenches". Science Magazine. American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  4. "DEEPEST ATLANTIC TEEMING WITH LIFE; Scientists in the Bathyscaph Surprised by Terracing in Puerto Rico Trench". The New York Times. 21 August 1964. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  5. correspondent, Rupert Neate Wealth (22 December 2018). "Wall Street trader reaches bottom of Atlantic in bid to conquer five oceans". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  6. Daley, Jason (2 January 2019). "Submersible Is First to Reach Bottom of Atlantic Ocean". Smithsonian. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  7. Strege, David (21 December 2018). "Explorer makes historic submersible dive". USA Today. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  8. "French Bathyscaphe". Dayton Beach Morning Journal. Associated Press. 29 July 1961.
  9. "New French Bathyscaphe to Seek Record Ocean Deep". The New York Times. 29 July 1961.
  10. "French Bathyscaphe Tested". The New York Times. 30 October 1961.
  11. "Bathyscaphe Hits 3 Knots". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. 28 November 1961. p. 2.
  12. "French Bathyscaphe Dives To 15,744 Feet". Baltimore Sun. 24 May 1962. p. A2.
  13. "Reports Intensive Life Down At 31,350 Level Of Ocean". Dayton Beach Morning Journal. Associated Press. 16 July 1962. p. 3.
  14. "Bathyscaphe Archimede Descends 30511 Feet". The New York Times. Associated Press. 13 August 1962.
  15. Paine, Lincoln P. (2000). Ships of Discovery and Exploration. Mariner Books. p. 7.
  16. Sullivan, Walter (21 May 1975). "3 Craft to Dive Deep in Mid-Atlantic Valley". The New York Times.
  17. Information, Reed Business (7 June 1973). "A cry 'Eureka!' From the Mid-Atlantic Ridge". New Scientist. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  18. "F.A.M.O.U.S. (French American Mid Ocean Underwater Survey)". Encyclopaedia Universalis (in French). 2010.
  19. Benson, Keith R. & Rehbock, Phillip F., eds. (2002) [1993]. Oceanographic History: The Pacific and Beyond. University of Washington Press. p. 388.
  20. Coic, Joseph (2008). Carnet de bord de vingt ans de campagne oceanographiques (in French). Editions Quae. p. 16.
  21. "Maritime Topics On Stamps : Research Submersibles". seemotive.de. Retrieved 11 September 2010.

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