United States Navy NEMO Dives to 500Foot in Bahamas, Freeport, Grand Bahamas

Description

INTERNATIONAL OF DEPARTMENT NEWSFILM RELEASE OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (PUBLIC AFFAIRS) INITED WASHINGTON, D.C. - 20301 STATES OF PLEASE NOTE DATE IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 22, 1970 OXford 76161 Number 102-70 Footage: 125' 16mm Color Master Room 2E 773 Time: 3:29 U. S. NAVY'S NEMO DIVES TO 500 FEET IN BAHAMAS (Official U. S. Navy Film Released by the Department of Defense) The U. S. Navy scored an important "first" recently when the Naval Experimental Manned Observatory (NEMO) made an epic descent to 500 feet at Freeport, Grand Bahama Island. More than 100 dives of varying depths and duration were performed in the Bahamas' clear waters during the course of the builders' test schedule. The NEMO system consists of a 66 inch clear acrylic hull fabricated of 12 spherical pentagonal sections, a steel entry hatch at the top, another at the bottom through which power, life support and communications lines enter the sphere from their module below. All ballasting, anchoring and other sub-support systems are housed in the capsule below. The sphere itself is 2.5 inches thick and has been tested to depths in excess of 4,000 feet in a pressure vessel. The system, capable of station keeping by using its self-contained winch, will transport two men, a pilot and observer, in shirt-sleeve comfort in a simulated sea-level atmosphere. The pressure-resistant sphere will provide panoramic visibility of the hydrospace environment, an achievement considered a break- through for scientists and engineers involved in underwater research, construction and salvage operations. NEMO will be shipped to Port Hueneme, California, for further testing in the Pacific prior to acceptance by the Navy. The site of the testing which will take place next month is about eight miles south of Santa Barbara, California, where the seafloor has been carefully surveyed and NEMO is expected to reach an unobstructed depth of 600 feet. SEQUENCES FOOTAGE VIDEO 14 (a) NEMO on boat as boat moves out to diving area in Bahamas 13 (b) Pilot and observer getting into NEMO on board the ship - MORE -

Collection

Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer

Series

Filmed News Releases