The following diagram gives a fascinating perspective on the Mariana Trench and the Challenger Deep. It is profound to note that the Challenger Deep at more than 35,000 feet is deeper than the highest point on earth which is Mt. Everest at just over 29,000 feet.
Anatomy of The Bathyscaph Trieste DEEP-SEA Submersible
The Bathescaph Trieste was a work of engineering art and science. In the late 1930's, Jacques Piccard's father, Auguste Piccard came up with an amazing idea to build an "underwater free balloon" that would allow mankind to explore the deep seas.
Auguste Piccard was a mad-genius who had already built the first balloon that allowed a man to reach the earth's stratosphere, and next he applied this same principle toward the ocean. The Bathyscaph Trieste (as diagramed below) was essentially a balloon which Piccard referred to as a float. The float consisted of a thin metal shell that was filled with gasoline. Gasoline is lighter than water, which would allow the float to ascend or climb in the water, once ballast was released.
The float had ballast tanks (as seen in the diagram above) which allowed for positive buoyancy while the float was floating on the ocean surface. The ballast tanks could be vented which would result in filling them up with sea-water, which would, in-turn, allow the Bathyscaph to dive. The dive or descent rate could be controlled or stopped by the release of solid weights which consisted of metal pellets that were in the shot tubs, that could be easily released.
The two member crew stayed in the observation gondola–as seen above–which was located at the bottom of the float. The observation gondola sphere was made by Krupp Works in Essen, Germany and was designed to be able to sustain a maximum depth rating of 50,000 feet, which significantly exceeded the deepest point on the ocean floor which was the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench–off Guam.
The Krupp observation gondola sphere was a magnificent piece of structural engineering and it had walls that were between 5 and 7 inches thick!!!! The photo above of the Trieste model has part of the gondola cutaway so you can see inside, but the actual gondola (as seen below) did not have this feature. Instead, the team would enter from the top of the Bathyscaph and climb down the entrance tunnel–like on a Submarine.
The photo below shows the Bathyscaph Trieste flying the American flag, since it was owned by the U.S. Navy, along with the Swiss Flag, since Piccard was Swiss as well as the Italian Flag, since it was originally constructed in Trieste, Italy.
Oceanographer & Professor Jacques Piccard
Oceanographer, Jacques Piccard is pictured below and he is sporting his Rolex DEEP-SEA GMT. Yes, I said "DEEP-SEA GMT." Jacques Piccard began his teaching career as a professor of Economics at the University Of Geneva in Switzerland.
Professor Jacques Piccard would ultimately leave his career as an Economics Professor at the University of Geneva in Switzerland to assist his father, August Piccard to build world-class submersibles. Auguste and Jacques Piccard are pictured below.
Jacques Piccard is pictured below during testing of the Bathyscaph Trieste in 1959 near Guam
Oceanographer & U.S. Navy Captain Don Walsh Ph.D
Captain Don Walsh is pictured below on the right side with his Operation Nekton team member U.S. Navy Lieutenant Larry Shumaker who is wearing his hat. Lieutenant Larry Shumaker had previously served with Captain Don Walsh on the U.S. Navy submarine named The U.S.S. Rasher. Don and Larry were great friends and Larry served as Captain Walsh's assistant, and they were classmates at the Annapolis Naval Academy.
U.S. Navy Captain Don Walsh had an amazing career in the U.S. Navy. In 1958 he was a submarine Lieutenant serving on the staff of Submarine Flotilla One in San Diego, California as part of the U.S. Submarine Force. Submarine Flotilla One commanded 24 submarines along with 4 support ships which gave it a large theater of operations as part of the Pacific Fleet.
The Four Guys
Lieutenant Don Walsh was chosen by the Navy to spearhead the Bathyscaph Trieste effort. Captain Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard first met in 1958. In this next photo, from left to right we see (from left to right) Lieutenant Larry Shumaker, Lieutenant Don Walsh, Dr. Andreas Rechnitzer Ph.D, and Oceanographer, and consultant Jacques Piccard.
The Bathyscaph Trieste is pictured below during the test phase in 1959 which would prepare it for its final record-setting dive.
U.S. Navy: Operation Nekton Crew
U.S. Naval Station, Apra Harbor, Guam, U.S.A.
The photo below is of the Operation Nekton crew in Guam in 1960 at the U.S. Naval Station at Apra Harbor, Guam. Guam–of course–is part of the United States, but instead of being a state, it is a territory. Guam is the largest island in Micronesia which was the only American-held region before World War II.
Guam was captured by the Japanese on December 8, 1941 just hours after they bombed Pearl Harbor, and it was occupied by the Japanese for two and a half years until the United States recaptured it on July 21, 1944.
The Rolex DEEP-SEA Special Prototype
Attached Outside The U.S. Navy Bathyscaph Trieste
The photo below is of the actual Rolex DEEP-SEA Special prototype that Jacques Piccard attached to the outside of the Bathyscaph Trieste before it made its record setting dive down into the Mariana Trench and into the Challenger Deep. The Rolex DEEP-SEA Special was essentially a Rolex Submariner with a special prototype case and crystal designed to withstand tremendous pressure.
The special domed crystal essentially worked on the same principle as a geodesic dome or egg, in the sense that it was extremely strong and utilized the laws of physics to withstand more than 8,000 tons of pressure per cubic inch. This is the exact same physics principle the domed sphere shape gondola utilized on the Bathyscaph Trieste itself.
One Of Mankind's Greatest Achievements
The U.S. Navy Bathyscaph Trieste Dives Deeply Into History
Challenger Deep, Mariana Trench
200 Nautical Miles South-West of Guam
Morning of January 23, 1960
Lieutenant Walsh and Piccard had a challenging time getting into the Trieste because despite having clear skies, the Bathyscaph Trieste was sloshing around in huge waves. This made it difficult to get from the USS Wandank (ATA-204) and USS Lewis (DE-540) headquarter ship into the Trieste.
The photo below was taken of the Bathyscaph Triest as she prepares to dive to the deepest known part of earth's ocean on the morning of January 23, 1960 with the USS Lewis (DE-540) behind her.
Into The Mystic
The photo below was taken during the descent when Captain Walsh and Oceanographer, Jacques Piccard were close to reaching the bottom of the Challenger Deep. In an recent interview, I asked Captain Don Walsh if he was ever scared or nervous on the descent, and he said he never was. This came as a bit of a surprise, since during their early descent, at 9000 feet one of the outside plexiglass windows cracked and made a huge noise, shaking the Trieste.
The Bathyscaphe Trieste submersible took 4 hours and 48 minutes to descended to the ocean floor.
At The Top Of The Bottom Of The World
The illustration below is an artists rendition of what the Bathyscaph looked like when it touched down on the ocean floor in the Challenger Deep. Despite having cameras on board, they were not able to take photos at the bottom, because when they landed, a tremendous amount of sediment started swirling around the Bathyscape, which Captain Walsh said was like "being in a bowl of milk."
Inner-Space Conquered
This next photo was taken of the Bathyscaph Trieste gondola during the 20 minute stay on the ocean floor in the Challenger Deep. U.S. Navy Captain Don Walsh is holding the American flag and both Piccard and Walsh have put on sweaters since the temperature has dropped significantly from the balmy tropical seas of Gaum down to a cool 7°C (45°F).
It is profound to consider, at the moment this photos was taken, there was a Rolex DEEP-SEA Special attached to the outside of the Bathyscaph Trieste and it was holding its own, against the more than 16,000 pounds of pressure per cubic inch!!!
Just before they landed on the sea-floor Piccard and Walsh were shocked that as they reached the Challenger Deep sea-floor they were seeing animals swimming around. It was previously believed that no form of vertebrae life could exist under that kind of water pressure.
The ascent back up to the surface took 3 hours and 15 minutes.
After they returned from their record-shattering dive, Jacques Piccard sent Rolex of Geneva a historic telegram that simply said:
"Happy to announce that your watch works as well at 11,000 meters as it does on the surface." –Jacques Piccard
A Presidential Welcome & Congratulations
White House, Washington D.C.
Upon their triumphant achievement of conquering inner-space, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard went to the White House where they were given awards by President Dwight Eisenhower where they received medals.
