The Shinkai (しんかい) is a crewed research submersible that can dive up to a depth of 600 m. It was completed in 1970, and until 1981 it had the greatest depth range of any crewed research vehicle in Japan. The Shinkai is owned and run by the Japan Coast Guard and it is launched from the support vessel Otomemaru (乙女丸).
Two 4.0 m (13.1 ft) diameter, 3.6 cm (1.4 in) thick high-strength low-alloy steel pressure hulls connected by a 1.45 m (4.8 ft) tunnel. Pilots and observers are housed in the forward hull with mechanical and power supplies in aft hull. A 1.7 m (5.6 ft) escape sphere was mounted on the forward hull. Access was through four 500 mm (20 in) hatches with one 600 mm (24 in) emergency escape hatch. Five view ports with 90° viewing angle in the forward sphere, three 120 mm (4.7 in) inside diameter for forward viewing and one 50 mm (2.0 in) inside diameter on each side.[1]
See also
- DSV Shinkai 2000 – Japanese crewed research submersible
- DSV Shinkai 6500 – Japanese crewed research submersible
- Archimède – French Navy bathyscaphe
- FNRS-2 – First bathyscaphe
- FNRS-3 – Bathyscaphe of the French Navy
- Bathyscaphe – Free-diving self-propelled deep-sea submersible
- Deepsea Challenger – Bathyscaphe designed to reach the bottom of Challenger Deep
References
- ^ a b Busby, R. Frank (1976). Manned Submersibles. Washington, D.C.: Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy. pp. 202–203. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
External links
Media related to Shinkai (submarine, 1968) at Wikimedia Commons- HU-06 SHINKAI page
