Dynaverse.net
Off Topic => Ten Forward => Topic started by: Sirgod on July 17, 2004, 11:59:49 am
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I caught the Tail end of this last night on the History Channel or science Channel. Interesting look at history IMHO.
http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/FRANKLIN/HTML/ben_franklin.html
At 8:56 P.M. (EDT) July 14, 1969, Grumman Aerospace Corporation's research submarine Ben Franklin slipped beneath the surface of the Atlantic off the coast of Palm Beach, Florida.
Its mission: to investigate the secrets of the Gulf Stream as it drifted northward at depths of 600-2,000 feet; to learn the effects on man of a long-duration, closed-environment stressful voyage; to demonstrate the engineering-operational concepts of longterm submersible operation; and to conduct other scientific oceanographic studies.
This longest privately-sponsored undersea experiment of its kind ended more than 30-days and 1,444 nautical miles later, when the Franklin and its crew of six surfaced some 300 miles south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, at 7:58 A.M. August 14, 1969.
Both craft and crew were A-OK.
As they say, the rest is history.....a history that largely remains untold.
General Specifications:
Displacement 130 tons
Length 48 feet, 9 inches
Beam (over motor guards) 21 feet, 6 inches
Height 20 feet
Operational Depth 2000 feet
Collapse Depth 4000 feet
Submerged Speed (maximum) 4 knots
Life Support 6 persons for 6 weeks
Payload 5 tons
Total Power 756 Kwh
Viewports 29
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I'm going to have to read up on this more.
stephen
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Cool article thanks Steven. :) I never heard a thing about it. >:(
I guess American Idol reruns and other mindless tripe, are more important. :P :lame:
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I remember reading about this when I was a kid...thanks for posting! :)
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Sure thing Guys, It was on Discovery Science channel 105 here in OKC. Very interesting Project. I hear the Sub has been restored, and Is at a Nautical Museum in Canada.
Stephen