Enhgt into Inner Space
179
with a ‘ying tanker’ during refuelling. Aircraft debris, including
three out of four unarmed bombs carried by the B-52, was showered
on and around the coastal village of Palomares while the fourth
deployed a parachute and drifted over and into the sea. Before this
bomb was brought to the surface 82 days later, more than 3,000 U.S.
Navy personnel, 25 Navy ships, 4 research ships, 4 underwater
vehicles and many civilian research or contractor personnel had
become involved in what amounted to the largest concentrated
underwater search in history.
The submersibles Aluminnut and Alvin and the telechiric Curv
(cable controlled underwater recovery vehicle) gured prominently
in the recovery of the bomb, which nally came to rest in 2,850 feet
of water six miles off the coast of Spain. The operation was not an
unqualied success. Alvin several times found tracks left by the
bomb on the sea—oor but was forced to re—surface with its batteries
exhausted before reaching the bomb. The problem was solved when
Alvin eventually tracked down the bomb by sending Aluminaut to
‘baby—sit’ while the smaller submersible returned to the surface.
During the rst attempt to raise the bomb, the line which Alvin had
managed to attach to it snapped, causing the bomb to be lost for
another agonizing nine days. Curv nally retrieved the bomb with
some difculty. The telechiric became entangled with the parachute
shrouds trailing from the bomb while attaching a third line, forcing
an
earlier—than—intended decision to hoist both the weapon and
Cnrv. The manned submersibles also had their moments: Alvin was
nearly snagged on the parachute and Aluminnut was momentarily
seized by the mud. All in all, the ‘H—bomb affair’ could hardly be
called a triumph for underwater vehicles, but it was a diicult
mission successfully completed.
Man or machine?
‘
Real competition between man and machine has yet to develop on
the under—water scene, but there is no doubt that the hostility of the
environment favours the machine. At the rst hint of human frailty,
the telechiric and manned submersibles are called in. When the oil
companies, for example, moved into deeper offshore waters, they
found that the divers using compressed air came up from 200 feet
feeling extremely ‘fuzzy’. Faced with the prospect of curtailing
expansion into a lucrative area, they sought an alternative to the
diver. Guide wires were used to mount equipment, including the
179
with a ‘ying tanker’ during refuelling. Aircraft debris, including
three out of four unarmed bombs carried by the B-52, was showered
on and around the coastal village of Palomares while the fourth
deployed a parachute and drifted over and into the sea. Before this
bomb was brought to the surface 82 days later, more than 3,000 U.S.
Navy personnel, 25 Navy ships, 4 research ships, 4 underwater
vehicles and many civilian research or contractor personnel had
become involved in what amounted to the largest concentrated
underwater search in history.
The submersibles Aluminnut and Alvin and the telechiric Curv
(cable controlled underwater recovery vehicle) gured prominently
in the recovery of the bomb, which nally came to rest in 2,850 feet
of water six miles off the coast of Spain. The operation was not an
unqualied success. Alvin several times found tracks left by the
bomb on the sea—oor but was forced to re—surface with its batteries
exhausted before reaching the bomb. The problem was solved when
Alvin eventually tracked down the bomb by sending Aluminaut to
‘baby—sit’ while the smaller submersible returned to the surface.
During the rst attempt to raise the bomb, the line which Alvin had
managed to attach to it snapped, causing the bomb to be lost for
another agonizing nine days. Curv nally retrieved the bomb with
some difculty. The telechiric became entangled with the parachute
shrouds trailing from the bomb while attaching a third line, forcing
an
earlier—than—intended decision to hoist both the weapon and
Cnrv. The manned submersibles also had their moments: Alvin was
nearly snagged on the parachute and Aluminnut was momentarily
seized by the mud. All in all, the ‘H—bomb affair’ could hardly be
called a triumph for underwater vehicles, but it was a diicult
mission successfully completed.
Man or machine?
‘
Real competition between man and machine has yet to develop on
the under—water scene, but there is no doubt that the hostility of the
environment favours the machine. At the rst hint of human frailty,
the telechiric and manned submersibles are called in. When the oil
companies, for example, moved into deeper offshore waters, they
found that the divers using compressed air came up from 200 feet
feeling extremely ‘fuzzy’. Faced with the prospect of curtailing
expansion into a lucrative area, they sought an alternative to the
diver. Guide wires were used to mount equipment, including the