"Sealab I" pt1-2 1965 US Navy narrated by Jackie Cooper

more at: http://scitech.quickfound.net/

"Navy's exploratory attempt to apply laboratory studies of mans ability to live and work in an artificial atmosphere at a depth of 200 feet for prolonged periods."

Public domain film from the National Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and mild video noise reduction applied.
The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and equalization (the resulting sound, though far from perfect, is far less noisy than the original).
Split with MKVmerge GUI (part of MKVToolNix), the same software can recombine the downloaded parts (in mp4 format): http://www.bunkus.org/videotools/mkvtoolnix/doc/mkvmerge-gui.html

US Navy film MN 10100

part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx_F8sCzzgk

SEALAB II film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_dELsrvYGw

Submarines, Diving, Submersibles, Undersea Habitats... playlist:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1C388CF94E3C0F45

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SEALAB

SEALAB I, II, and III were experimental underwater habitats 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 deep sea diving and 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 m (192 feet of seawater (fsw)) below the sea's surface. It was constructed from two converted floats and held in place with axles from railroad cars. 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.

Before the SEALAB habitat could be emplaced, a number of rifle grenades had to be found and removed from the bottom around Argus Island. The grenades had been fired up into the air with the object of targeting their explosions when they returned to the water. With enough impacts the position of Argus Island could be determined to within a few feet. Unfortunately, many grenades did not fire upon impact with the sea surface and divers had to search them out and remove them. This was a job for divers from the Navy SOFAR Station (Columbia University Geophysical Field Station), and both U.S. Navy and Air Force civilians and enlisted SCUBA divers. A platform which had been built to lower the Remote Underwater Manipulator (RUM) from a garage on Argus Island to the sea floor was also removed. SEALAB I was then placed on the nearly flat bottom on a layer of algal balls and some corals.

SEALAB I was commanded by Captain George F. Bond, also called "Poppa Topside", who was key in developing theories about saturation diving. SEALAB I proved that saturation diving in the open ocean was viable for extended periods. The experiment also offered information about habitat placement, habitat umbilicals, humidity, and helium speech descrambling.

SEALAB I is on display at the Museum of Man in the Sea, in Panama City Beach, Florida, near where it was initially tested offshore before being deployed. It is on outdoor display. Its metal hull is largely intact, though the paint is faded to a brick red. The interior has been largely stripped and graffitied.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Sealab
• Sealab I
• Sealab 1
• oceanography
• diving
• scuba
• scuba diving
• underwater
• underwater habitat
• undersea
• Navy
• US Navy