SEALAB (United States Navy) 1479762 225587510 2008-07-14T13:01:25Z SmackBot 433328 Date the maintenance tags or general fixes [[Image:Sealab 1.jpg|right|thumb|200px|SEALAB I]] '''SEALAB I, II''', and '''III''' were experimental [[underwater habitat]]s developed by the [[United States Navy]] to prove the viability of [[saturation diving]] and humans living in isolation for extended periods of time. The knowledge gained from the SEALAB expeditions helped advance the science of [[underwater diving|deep sea diving]] and [[deep sea rescue|rescue]], and contributed to the understanding of the psychological and physiological strains humans can endure. ==SEALAB I== SEALAB I was lowered off the coast of [[Bermuda]] in [[1964]] to a depth of 58 [[Metre|m]] (192 feet of seawater (fsw)) below the sea's surface. It was constructed from two converted floats and held in place with [[axle]]s from [[railroad car]]s. The experiment involved four divers (LCDR Robert Thompson, MC; Gunners Mate First Class Lester Anderson, Chief Quartermaster Robert A. Barth, and Chief Hospital Corpsman Sanders Manning), who were to stay submerged for three weeks. The experiment was halted after 11 days due to an approaching [[tropical storm]]. SEALAB I was commanded by Captain George F. Bond, also called "Poppa Topside", who was key in developing theories about [[saturation diving]]. [[Image:Sealab2.jpg|left|thumb|200px|SEALAB II]] ==SEALAB II== SEALAB II was launched in [[1965]], and unlike SEALAB I included hot showers and [[refrigeration]]. It was placed in the [[La Jolla Canyon]] off the coast of [[California]], at a depth of 62 m. On [[August 28]], 1965, the first of three teams of divers moved into what became known as the “Tilton Hilton” (Tiltin' Hilton, because of the slope of the landing site). [[Image:Tuffy.jpg|right|thumb|180px|Tuffy the porpoise delivered supplies to SEALAB II]] Each team spent 15 days in the habitat, but aquanaut/[[astronaut]] [[Scott Carpenter]] remained below for a record 30 days. In addition to physiological testing (described in the book by Radloff & Helmreich), the divers tested new tools, methods of salvage, and an electrically heated drysuit.<ref>{{cite book |author=Radloff, R and Helmreich, R |title=Groups Under Stress: Psychological Research in Sealab II |publisher=Appleton-Century-Crofts |year=1968 |isbn=0891971912 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Clarke TA, Flechsig AO, Grigg RW |title=Ecological studies during Project Sealab II. A sand-bottom community at depth of 61 meters and the fauna attracted to "Sealab II" are investigated |journal=Science (journal) |volume=157 |issue=795 |pages=1381–9 |year=1967 |month=September |pmid=4382569 |doi= |url=http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=4382569 |accessdate=2008-07-08}}</ref> They were aided by a [[porpoise]] named Tuffy from the [[U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program]], who ferried supplies from the surface. [https://www.keyportmuseum.cnrnw.navy.mil/html/sealab_ii.htm] A sidenote from SEALAB II was a congratulatory [[telephone]] call that was arranged for Carpenter and [[President of the United States|President]] [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. Carpenter was calling from a [[decompression]] chamber with [[helium]] gas replacing [[nitrogen]], so Carpenter sounded unintelligible to operators. [http://www.npr.org/programs/lnfsound/stories/991015.stories.html] The tape of the call circulated for years among Navy divers before it was aired on [[National Public Radio|NPR]] in 1999. ==SEALAB III== SEALAB III used a refurbished SEALAB II habitat, but was placed in water three times as deep. Five teams of nine [[underwater diving|divers]] were scheduled to spend 12 days each in the habitat, testing new salvage techniques and conducting [[oceanography|oceanographic]] and [[fishery]] studies.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Kuling JW, Summitt JK |title=Saturation Dives, with Excursions, for the Development of a Decompression Schedule for Use during SEALAB III. |journal=US Naval Experimental Diving Unit Technical Report |volume=NEDU-RR-9-70 |date=1970 |url=http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/3444 |accessdate=2008-07-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Crowley RW, Summitt JK |title=Report of Experimental Dives for SEALAB III Surface Support Decompression Schedules. |journal=US Naval Experimental Diving Unit Technical Report |volume=NEDU-RR-15-70 |date=1970 |url=http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/3441 |accessdate=2008-07-08}}</ref> Preparations for such a deep dive were extensive. In addition to many [[biomedical]] studies, work-up dives were conducted at the U.S. Navy Experimental Diving Unit at the [[Washington D.C.]] Navy Yard. These “dives” were not done in the open sea, but in a special [[hyperbaric chamber]] that could recreate the pressures at depths as great as 1,025 fsw (312 m). [[Image:SEALAB III.jpg|right|thumb|200px|SEALAB III]] According to [[John Craven USN|John Craven]] the US Navy's head of the [[Deep Submergence Systems Project]] of which Sealab was a part, Sealab III "was plagued with strange failures at the very start of operations". On [[February 15]], [[1969]], SEALAB III was lowered to 610 fsw (185 m), off [[San Clemente Island]], California. The habitat soon began to leak and 6 divers were sent to repair it, but they were unsuccessful. Tragically, during the second attempt [[aquanaut]] [[Berry Cannon]] died. It was later found that his breathing apparatus was missing [[baralime]], the chemical necessary to remove [[carbon dioxide]]. According to Craven, while the other 5 divers were undergoing the week-long decompression repeated attempts were made to sabotage their air supply by someone on board the command barge. Eventually, a guard was posted on the decompression chamber and the men were recovered safely. The culprit was never caught. The SEALAB program came to a halt and although the habitat was retrieved, it was eventually scrapped. Aspects of the research continued {{Fact|date=July 2008}} in classified military programs {{Fact|date=July 2008}}, but no new habitats were built. ==References== {{Reflist}} *This page incorporates text in the [[public domain]] from the [http://www.onr.navy.mil/ Office of Naval Research]. *Craven, John Piña. ''The Silent War''. Simon and Schuster. ISBN-684-87213-7. ==External links== *US Naval Undersea Museum [https://www.keyportmuseum.cnrnw.navy.mil/html/sealab_ii.htm SEALAB II Display] [[Category:United States Navy]] [[Category:Underwater habitats]] [[es:Sealab]] [[gl:Sealab]] [[he:Sealab]]