DSV Sea Cliff
Encyclopedia
DSV-4 is a 25-ton, manned deep-ocean research submersible owned by the United States Navy
. It is sister to DSV-3 Turtle, Alvin (DSV-2), and also an Alvin class Deep Submergence Vehicle
. The Sea Cliff was retired from active service in 1998. Per the Naval Vessel Register http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrservicecraft/details/DSV4.htm, DSV-4 was returned to active service on September 30, 2002. It is known only by its hull number, not by name.
The DSV-4 originally had a maximum dive depth of 6500 feet (2000 m), like all Alvin-class DSVs at first. It was redesigned to dive to 20,000 feet, and refitted in 1984. With the refit of DSV-4, DSV-1 (ex-Trieste II) was retired from service. It has a hatch 24 inches in diameter, and held in place mechanically with hatch dogs and while submerged by the pressure of the water above it (it is tapered, narrower inward). The Alvin-class DSVs were designed to replace older DSVs, such as the less maneuverable Trieste-class bathyscaphe
s. The DSV-4 can dive 5,000 feet further than the famed Alvin, however the super Alvin class replacement for DSV-2 is designed to dive to 22,000 feet.
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. It is sister to DSV-3 Turtle, Alvin (DSV-2), and also an Alvin class Deep Submergence Vehicle
Deep Submergence Vehicle
A Deep Sea Submergence Vehicle is a deep diving manned submarine that is self-propelled. The term DSV is generally one used by the United States Navy, though several navies operate vehicles that can be accurately described as DSVs...
. The Sea Cliff was retired from active service in 1998. Per the Naval Vessel Register http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrservicecraft/details/DSV4.htm, DSV-4 was returned to active service on September 30, 2002. It is known only by its hull number, not by name.
The DSV-4 originally had a maximum dive depth of 6500 feet (2000 m), like all Alvin-class DSVs at first. It was redesigned to dive to 20,000 feet, and refitted in 1984. With the refit of DSV-4, DSV-1 (ex-Trieste II) was retired from service. It has a hatch 24 inches in diameter, and held in place mechanically with hatch dogs and while submerged by the pressure of the water above it (it is tapered, narrower inward). The Alvin-class DSVs were designed to replace older DSVs, such as the less maneuverable Trieste-class bathyscaphe
Bathyscaphe
A bathyscaphe is a free-diving self-propelled deep-sea submersible, consisting of a crew cabin similar to a bathysphere, but suspended below a float rather than from a surface cable, as in the classic bathysphere design....
s. The DSV-4 can dive 5,000 feet further than the famed Alvin, however the super Alvin class replacement for DSV-2 is designed to dive to 22,000 feet.
See also
- Deep Submergence VehicleDeep Submergence VehicleA Deep Sea Submergence Vehicle is a deep diving manned submarine that is self-propelled. The term DSV is generally one used by the United States Navy, though several navies operate vehicles that can be accurately described as DSVs...
- Deep Submergence Rescue VehicleDeep Submergence Rescue VehicleA Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle is a type of Deep Submergence Vehicle used for rescue of downed submarines and clandestine missions. While DSRV is the term most often used by the United States Navy other nations have different designations for their vehicles.- Chinese models :The People's...
- Bathyscaphe TriesteBathyscaphe TriesteThe Trieste is a Swiss-designed, Italian-built deep-diving research bathyscaphe with a crew of two, which reached a record maximum depth of about , in the deepest known part of the Earth's oceans, the Challenger Deep, in the Mariana Trench near Guam, on January 23, 1960, crewed by Jacques Piccard ...
(DSV-0) - Bathyscaphe Trieste IIBathyscaphe Trieste IITrieste II ' was the successor to Trieste — the United States Navy's first bathyscaphe purchased from its Swiss designers. The original Trieste design was heavily modified by the Naval Electronics Laboratory in San Diego, California and built at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard...
(DSV-1)
Alvin class DSV
- Alvin (DSV-2)
- Turtle (DSV-3)
- Sea Cliff (DSV-4)
- Nemo (DSV-5)
External links
- ex-SEA CLIFF in the Naval Vessel RegisterNaval Vessel RegisterThe Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
- Deep Submergence Vehicles article at the Federation of American ScientistsFederation of American ScientistsThe Federation of American Scientists is a nonpartisan, 501 organization intent on using science and scientific analysis to attempt make the world more secure. FAS was founded in 1945 by scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project to develop the first atomic bombs...
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