01x11 - Those Incredible Diving Machines

[bunniefuu]

We tell of incredible man-made
monsters of the deep,

embarked on the last great
pioneering adventure on Earth.

Man has speculated on what lies hidden
deep beneath the surface of the sea.

Now he need no longer speculate
as he enters once more

the mysterious dark world that
spawned him 300 million years ago.

In an awesome new fleet of deep
sea exploration submersibles

he finds himself gaining at last

admission to the depths
of the world's last frontier.

Off Cabo San Lucas,
at the tip of Baja California,

the first of the Calypso's
two mini subs is launched.

It is equipped with an interior
camera and a tape recorder

so that its pilot,
American diver Ron Church,

can film and record himself

in a twin dive 1,600 feet down a
canyon wall with Captain Cousteau.

The ocean is a vast world,
not only unexplored, but neglected.

To reap its benefits,

as well as to save it from ignorant
destruction by pollution,

we must try to gain
more knowledge of it.

And in our new diving machines,
we are meeting that challenge.

A surface diver releases the mini sub

from the cables that
bind it to the Calypso

and Cousteau is free to
rendezvous with Church

for their deep descent into the sea.

For some reason, there is always
a concentration of fish life

near the edge of the canyon
above the drop-off line,

where I was to meet up with Ron.

To film the deep journey,

in addition to the interior camera
and two cameras outside,

Cousteau's sub carries a
fixed camera on its back.

As the subs maneuver into position,
Cousteau behind Church,

it's the last time they can be
photographed by a third party,

a diver above, who as they descend
into the deep must be left behind.

Ron, Ron, Ron, I see you.

You are 10 meters
in front of me, over.

Roger, I will go to
the left down slope.



soon they will be out of the shallows
where plant life still abounds

and down into a lightless land,

less familiar to man than the
hidden side of the moon.

Ron, I am following you and
filming you, you take the lead.



The darkening journey down
is met with sudden surprise

in landscape now nearly barren,

an oasis for migrating deep sea fish.



On the threshold of the least
known region of the sea

and the mysteries which have
long intrigued man's imagination.

In 1903, the French film
pioneer Georges Méliès

conjured up this somewhat romantic
portrayal of the wonders of the deep.

The sea's treasures are boundless

and as always to those
who dare penetrate her,

the sea yields incredible new riches

and consummation
of the romantic dream.

The reality of 1600
feet beneath the sea.

In this world of endless night,

sight is of little importance

and some of the creatures
have become blind,

but they have developed an
extra sensitivity to touch.

In the mini-sub at this depth,

for me it's like a slow motion dream.

Going down a cliff is like descending
slowly a long endless staircase

without touching the stairs.

Sand falls flow almost constantly
down to the bottom of the canyon.

The falls are created by tons of sand
manufactured near the surface.

We feel alien down here

but exhilarated for we have embarked
on the exploration of a new environment

which for many centuries men have
struggled to penetrate and understand.

In the fourth century BC,

Alexander the Great is said to
have been lowered into the sea

in a barrel of glass.

The painting is 16th century,

dawn of the age of
invention and diving

and Leonardo da Vinci's
untested design for scuba

with the airbag worn on the chest.

In 1620, the first workable
sub was launched,

made watertight with leather
and propelled by oars.

At four miles an hour,
it sailed under the Thames.

Constructed from
wooden barrel staves,

the first military sub,
Bushnell's Turtle,

a one-man submersible employed
with little success by the Americans

in the Revolutionary w*r.

For underwater exploration,
all through the 18th century,

devices were sought that
would enable man to walk

and breathe freely
on the ocean floor.

The Triton featured a
candle in a container

with air pumped in to keep it alight.

Klingert's diving gear,

which encased the diver in
a cylinder from head to hips,

pointed the way to future designers.

Hard hat diving with air
pumped from the surface

was invented in 1837
by Augustus Zeba.

Although long in use,

divers could work only
in restricted areas

and air hoses and safety lines
could entangle or break.

In 1942, a design that would
revolutionize underwater exploration,

the aqualung.

Developed by Captain Cousteau,
then with the French Navy,

and engineer Emile Gagnard,

the aqualung with its tanks of
compressed air worn on the back,

would dramatically free divers
from air hoses and safety lines.

We first tested the aqualung
in the summer of 1942

on the French Mediterranean coast

with my friends Frédéric
Dumas and Philippe Taillé.

At that time, we had no idea how
it would change all our lives.

Later on, we would add new
sophisticated equipment,

but the important thing was
that now the diver was free

and safety was in freedom.

Men were now able to
move weightlessly in the sea

with a range never possible before.

We could swim across miles of
territory no man had known,

free and level, with our flesh
feeling what the fish scales know.

The entrance to the sea
and its mysteries was open,

but only to depths of 200 feet.

Beyond still lay the dark abysses and
secrets guarded for millions of years.

As Georges Méliès at
the turn of this century

had fantasized about a visit
to the mysteries of the deep,

so had he visualized a similarly
incredible rocket journey to the moon.

And once again,
fantasy became prophecy.

Apollo 11's manned mission to the
moon, subject for controversy.

Some scientists had felt it would
have been cheaper and less risky

to send unmanned vehicles
to probe the lunar surface.

While John Glenn said, instruments
can measure only what we know,

only man has the unique ability to
perceive and relate to unknowns

and make judgments on them.

Neil Armstrong was
to prove Glenn's point.

In his words, the auto-
targeting was taking us

right into a football field-sized
crater with big boulders and rocks.

It required us to fly manually past the
danger to a smoother landing point.

You're a go to continue power descent.

You're a go to continue power descent.

Good radar data.

We're now in the approach phase.

Everything looking good.

You're a go for landing.
Over.

Roger, anything.
Go for landing.

Deep beneath the sea,
there lies a vast virgin territory,

every bit as challenging
as outer space.

In depths too deep for divers,

blind probes by instruments lowered
from the surface are common.

As in unmanned space exploration,

research work like that accomplished by
the USC Marine Research Ship Valero 4

is essential but has its limitations.

It is my belief

that no blind instrument can
replace the eye and the intelligence

in direct confrontation with
the whole subject to be studied.

Bringing up random samples
from the bottom is too imprecise.

It's like Martians trying to
discover about life on Earth

by probing indiscriminately
through the clouds

and upon bringing up a puppy dog

throwing significant conclusions
about the population of the Earth.

Direct observation of the
ocean depths was necessary

and in 1948 Cousteau
assisted August Picard

in the testing of the
first bathyscaphe,

a vehicle designed to carry men
to the deepest part of the sea.

A close relative to the early
stratospheric balloon

also introduced by Picard,

the bathyscaphe design included
a gasoline float for buoyancy

and a pressure resisting
gondola for passengers.

Safely free from any
tethers to the surface,

the bathyscaphe would pass
its ultimate test in 1960,

its third model carrying Picard
Saint-Jacques and Don Walsh


the Mariana Trench,

the deepest known spot in the sea.

What we needed was a submersible

of greater maneuverability
than the bathyscaphe,

a ship that would allow us to go deeper
and stay longer than with the aqualung,

but giving us the aqualung's freedom.

With André Laban as chief engineer,

we built the diving saucer,

the first submersible of its kind.

Exceedingly compact,
it had to be light enough

to be considered just one more
oceanographic instrument

at our disposal aboard the Calypso.

In 1959, in Marseille,

in the presence of the
Secretary of the French Navy,

the saucer was christened.

It was an exciting moment.

So much work and planning
had brought us to this day.

We named the ship Denise

after the wife of Jean Mollard,
our project engineer.

Care had to be taken that
our prize not be damaged,

even by a bottle of champagne,

so a towel was ordered.

For her maiden voyage,
Denise would be impeccable.

To adjust her buoyancy,

everything Denise would carry was
carefully weighed before launching.

It was in the Caribbean of Guadeloupe
that the saucer was to be tested.

Pilot Albert Falco enters
the miniaturized sub.

The hydrojet-propelled
two-man submersible,

with its capacity to dive to more
than a thousand feet with safety,

would usher in a new era
in underwater exploration.

In their pressure-resistant shell,

Falco and engineer Mollard lie prone,

peering through their twin portholes,

in anticipation of a world
denied them as divers before.

Like some strange
crustacean of the deep,

the first diving saucer
easily tilts and turns,

to reveal to its passengers,
for the first time,

the silent majesty of the
deep undersea world.

When Denise surfaced,
Falco staged an unexpected celebration.

From the sub's jet nozzles squirted
two geysers twenty-five feet high.

Now the way was open for research
in the deep waters of the sea,

which no man could
explore freely before.

Today an awesome new
fleet of diving machines

has been launched in the
wake of the saucer Denise.

Built largely by private industry
for a wide range of uses,

with names like Star Two,
Pisces, Nekton,

Daube, Ben Franklin and Deep Quest.

They are the pioneering work
and research boats of inner space.

The fifty-one foot long Aluminaut,

designed to operate at depths
of fifteen thousand feet,

is the world's deepest
diving submarine,

literally a deep sea research laboratory
carrying a three-man crew.

In 1966 the Aluminaut,
with a navy mini-sub Alvin,

helped recover the lost H-b*mb
off the coast of Spain.

Now the Aluminaut's grappling
arms will recover a mock-up plane.

The Omega is an underwater robot,

equipped with a television camera,

and umbilically connected
to the surface

from where it's remotely controlled.

Above, operators are directing
its performance under the sea,

while watching a TV screen.

Omega's instructions are to
burn through an anchor chain,

and she is obedient
because she's not blind,

her television camera being an
extension of her operator's eyes.

Beaver is a manned submersible
that can lock out divers.

It's designed primarily to
perform tasks outside its hull.

Chief pilot Joe Thompson
readies Beaver for a lockout test.

The ship is anchored
over the diving area,

while the divers transfer to Beaver's
aft compartment for lockout.

To see that nothing goes awry,

Thompson watches at a
viewport as the divers depart.

Long umbilical airlines will
keep them tied to the ship.

The vehicle is moored.

Otherwise, the diminished weight
would cause the ship to ascend,

dragging the divers along.

Beaver's rare capacity
for diver lockout

will afford it a wide
variety of work under seas.

Close range oceanographic research,

scientific data gathering and sampling,

as well as construction, assembly,
and maintenance activities

deep beneath the sea.

The work test completed successfully.

The divers return to the ship.

These are the pioneering
days for submersibles.

Everything is new,
and there are many firsts.

What the era of the Wright
brothers was to aviation,

today's submersible is to
underwater exploration.

Beaver has another capacity,
prophetic for the future.

The ability to mate with a
subsurface structure or habitat

for the dry transfer of personnel
at normal atmosphere.

Now for the first time in history,

we will see a vehicle,
unassisted from outside,

attaching itself to
an undersea station,

an operation as difficult
as docking in space.

The mating skirt's been sealed
to the top of the structure.

Something Georges Méliès or even
Jules Verne could not foresee.

For a new diving experience,

Joe Thompson on a busman's
holiday from Beaver

visits the Calypso anchored
off Cabo San Lucas.

Good to see you again.

- Hey, you made it.
- Yes, I did.

Very good trip.

Hello, Henry.

Good to see you.

- Hi, Ron.
- Hi, Joe. How's it going?

Very good, thank you.

You're going to find it a lot different
flying these little small submarines

than those big ones
we're used to, right?

I imagine so.
I imagine so.

I just want Beaver to do a mini-sub.

Calypso's two mini-subs are the
descendants of the original saucer,

smaller, lighter and
faster than Denise.

They descend twice as deep.

For filming on the spot,

tape recorders in both interior
and exterior cameras

are parts of the essential equipment,

about which Joe Thompson now learns.

Two beautiful spotlights...

for the deep water cinematography.

Then we have a flood here,

and the camera case comes here,
protected against the sharks.

I see.

Now the hydraulic nozzles
for the jets rotate.

And we have a little further,

the batteries on each side,

the battery tanks which are
compensated with oil for pressure.

Now for the interior.

Merci.

Joe, you're familiar with the inside,

with the drawings, but let's see.

Here, you have the sonar telephone,

and then the large electric panel
with all the switches and the fuse.

So Joe, under the electric panel,
you have the beep tracking device.

- I see.
- Right?

With Thompson fully briefed,

Andre Laban will accompany
him in a training dive.

Laban in mini sub one,
Thompson in mini sub two.

It's nine in the morning,

and everything's ready
for Joe's first dive.

So you're okay?

- Yes.
- Ah, good.

I see you on the bottom.

Okay, Andre.

- Bye.
- Bye-bye.

It's very crowded.

Oui.

As he prepares for his launching,

Joe adjusts the camera in
the sub's close quarters.

Our new one-man subs are even
more miniaturized than Denise.

They're much lighter to handle
in launching and recovery.

And with two of them,
if one gets in trouble,

hopefully it can be
helped by the other.

When he has descended to about 100 feet,
Laban will drop his descent weight.

Riding aboard Thompson's
sub is the training instructor,

who will supervise
this shallow water dive.

At the bottom, Joe will be required
to check his filming lights,

to rotate his jet nozzles,

and then by pumping
mercury fore and aft,

to tilt up and down
in a mercury salute.

Finally, he is to spin his vehicle
counterclockwise and travel.

And another American diver has at least
temporarily joined the French team.

Could one sub really rescue the other?

That was the question.

The mini-subs had been designed
primarily for that reason,

and it was time they
were put to the test.

The canyon of Cabo is deep and narrow,

with steep vertical cliffs
and overhangs and caves.

It would provide us with a properly
difficult rescue operation,

and Joe Thompson was
anxious to take part.

...that we have never
made an actual test

of rescuing one vehicle with another.

The interesting part
seems to be here.

That's where it is the steepest.

It would be a good drill to do it,
let's say, tomorrow.

In deep water?

In deep water, yes.

This looks very testy.

Why not?

Thompson's job is to hide in a cave
and simulate a power failure.

It will be Calypso's role to
track him and rescue him.

In this actual operation,

the only underwater cameras
are in and on the sub.

Calypso, Calypso, mini-sub one.

I am going down to 60 meters.
Over.



One meter is a little
more than three feet,

so Joe is at about 200
feet and going down.

Calypso, Calypso.

I am 130 meters deep
on the canyon wall.

Do you copy?

You are in the canyon.

Depth, 130 meters.

???

Calypso, calling mini-sub one.

Calypso calling mini-sub one.

Over.

Joe, do you hear me?

"Do you hear me, Joe, over?"

Calypso, Calypso, depth 430 meters.



Calypso, I am in a cave.

Now Joe shuts off his power.

The sub's emergency capacity
to ascend rendered useless

under the ceiling of a cave.

I am in a cave with a power failure.

Cousteau orders out the launches that
equipped with directional hydrophones

will track Joe's beeps and plot
approximately where his sub is located.

Then in that area,
the rescuing sub will be launched.

Andre Laban receives the instruction
to descend and rescue Thompson.

It is 7 p.m.,
two hours after Joe's descent.

Andre was not going down
for sunken treasure,

not for a downed plane,
nor a hydrogen b*mb.

But it is terribly important
for two-subs's philosophy

that his rescue mission work.

Cousteau waits for Laban to report.

Fifteen minutes have
passed since his descent.

Andre reports he is 1300 feet down.

He's at Joe's level.

Andre maneuvers to
locate Joe's sonar beeps.

The greatest strength of the
signal will indicate Joe's direction.

And then from his gyro compass,

Andre will get a bearing
and report it to Cousteau.

Now Andre reports he
zeroed in on Joe's signal

and will start to search
in that direction.

From Calypso's information,

Cousteau calculates that
Andre is approximately



The tracks of Joe's sub.

Andre reports he sees
the sub in the cave

and will now approach
it and try to pull it out.

Andre must maneuver
close enough for contact

without damaging his own sub
on the cave's ceiling and walls.

Now in the unsteadying waters,

he must catch hold of the other sub's
jet nozzle with his grasping claw.

It means the success or
failure of the whole enterprise.

The connection's been made,

but the claw can still slip

as Laban tries to delicately pull
the 4000 pound sub from the cave.

Suddenly Joe's sub jerks
forward and it's released.

He's free.

Now back up to the Calypso,

offering irrefutable physical proof
that the rescue system works.

At 9 p.m., four hours
after his descent,

Joe Thompson returns.

Each time Denise was late to surface,
I had waited in agony.

Now I need never know
that kind of concern again.

And now returning in
Minisub 2, Andre Laban.

On the island of Catalina,
it's a festive occasion,

as Captain Cousteau welcomes an
extraordinary assembly of subs,

gathered together for the
first time for what he calls

a deep submersible jamboree.

In this new technological field,

the pioneers had been
working independently.

Now we had come together
to share our experiences,

to exchange our views and
compare our techniques.

There is still much to be learned,

but today's submersible may
be as significant to the study

of the ocean as the
rocket is to outer space.

Plans proceed for an unprecedented
combined deep dive,

in which seven submersibles
will take part.

Star 2, Deep Quest, Nekton,
Beaver, and Daube,

as well as the Calypso's two Minisubs.

Now tomorrow morning,

tomorrow morning,

conference at seven,

launching at eight.

Calypso minisubs are launched,
and the jamboree is underway.

Deep Quest, with a capacity
to dive 8,000 feet.

Daube with no portholes but
optics and closed circuit TV.

Beaver, the fish-like Star 2,

and Nekton,
the little yellow submarine,

smallest and most maneuverable.

All assemble and get ready
for the order to dive.

All subs. All subs.
Attention.

Five, four, three, two, one.

Submarine specialists were
horrified at the very thought

of these subs going down
together in such close proximity.

But thanks to the communication by
sonar telephone, risks were minimal,

and the subs often worked with
as little as a foot between them,

without a single collision or the
slightest damage to any sub.

Nekton, where are you,
Nekton, from Calypso?

Calypso, Calypso.

Nekton is right behind Star 2, over.

On the way down,
the submersibles briefly disperse,

and one of the Calypso's mini-subs
discovers an old shipwreck

that is unknown to the
usual divers of Catalina,

because it's beyond their reach.

Probably once made of wood, now only
the ship's steel structures remain.

Star 2 and the other subs

suddenly find themselves surrounded
by a gathering of squid.

The squid are on their way
to their mating grounds

in the shallow waters higher up.

The subs are moving upward too.

Led by mini-sub 2, they are to enter
the kelp forest above and come to rest.

We are emerging from the era
of the sea's romantic mystery

into a new time of research
and exploration.

Soon, most of the mysteries of
the sea will be revealed to us,

and we will see that the ocean is but an
immense extension of man's own world,

a province of our own environment.

We will have to farm it, mine it,
and harness its energies,

but we must remember to protect
its integrity and its harmony

as we make this great voyage of
discovery into a once mysterious

but still beautiful world.

All subs from Calypso.
All subs from Calypso.

Mini-sub 2, Mini-sub 2,

is going around you to
inspect your formation.

Mini-sub 2 is going to move around
you to inspect your formation.

Please do not move.
Please do not move.

Over.

Never before in the history of man

has the need to know
and understand the sea

been more urgent than it is today.

In the words of John F. Kennedy,

knowledge of the oceans is
more than a matter of curiosity.

Our very survival may hinge on it.

The ocean's plant life provides us with
a large part of the oxygen we breathe,

and if in a poisoned
sea plant life ceased,

it would mean disaster
for all mankind.

We must learn to protect and to love
the sea, for the sea sustains life.

That is our greatest
resource and treasure.

These new research subs,

these incredible diving machines,

will help us better understand
the true wonder of the deep.

They are the vanguard of
a fantastic technology

on which the future of
civilization may depend.

In a forthcoming episode of the
Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau,

you will accompany the men of
Calypso on his yet unseen adventures

in their three-year worldwide
explorations beneath the seven seas.

And you will share the
personal memories

and innermost thoughts
of Captain Cousteau

as he reflects on why
men down through time

have answered the call of the
deep on the water planet.