AUGUST 1985
top The Royal Navy team Involved In the record depth "d|vo" In Canada. Back row (from left) ABOVE
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Ls(D) Christopher Taylor, PO(D) Stephen Allan. AB(D)
Jonathon Buck and Ls(D) Desmond Fuller. Knoollng are
the two roaorvoa, Ls(D) Tod lilanglon and LS(D) Robln Rickard.
Four spend month in tes 2‘ camp/ex A QUARTET of Royal Navy men emerged in late July from a month's the deepest “dive” in a nearsimulated dive to a depth of 360 metres working environment yet undertaken by RN personnel. —
The trial. carried otit in Canada, is also regarded as an important breakthrough in commercial diving terms. few firms having experience at these depths. With Gasmizcr each breath is During the dive, pressure was Aim was to establish fully drawn back to the surface. increased over five days until it the safety of a wide variety of equipment for use in the Navy's new seabed operations vessel HMS Challenger and by the Norwegian oil company Norsk Hydro. But principally it was to check the operation of the Gasmizer breathing equipment which has been selected for eventual use in the Challenger.
.\:ivy\ Diving, Cdr.
A message from the
Superintendent
of
Alan Padwick. to the four men during the dive said “Your tenacity and hard work has already established that the equipment you are testing l.\ performing extremely well. This dive has re—established the Royal Navy among the world leaders in deep diving. It helps to ensure that HMS Challenger will have an effective diving
capability."
times thzit of atmospheric pressure. Later decomPYCVSIOH took place over 14 days Voice distortion made it almost impossible for the men to talk to each other, but a computer deciphered the sounds for those “on the surface." was
36
Helium gas example
of :i system designed to recover the helium gas which forms part of the breathing mixture of the divers. This is essential for economic and logistic reasons fll extreme depths not only does each minute of oxy-helium breathing cost up to £3, but it the system is not used. and every breath is exhaled into the sea. the Challenger would be unable to store enough gas for more than a few days operation before needing replenishment.
Gasmizer is
an
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cleaned of carbon dioxide. replenished with fresh oxygen, and pumped back down to the
diver. Another important trial was llelitim exon diver heating tracts heat from the diver's body at a high rate. especially at great depths. The diver's body and the gas he breathes must be artificially heated, otherwise he would quickly die. Several diver heating systems were tried during the dive. While the divers were in the water-filled working iirezt. their body heat. heartbeat, skin temperature and general behaviour and appearance were
monitored. The special chamber complex used for the dive at the Defence and Civil Institute of Environmental Medicine in Toronto is formed by a series of pressure vessels. which the divers enter 0 Turn to back page
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WITH 1: target dtite of April 1 I987 now set for start of commercial m;tn.‘tgemenl tn the dockyzirds at Devonport rind Rt‘1\_\'lll, these yards and n;i\.il l7.«1si.'\ no-.i lAlCL’ :1 period of cliiiitgc to meet the (l£‘iltll|llL' I);-tenci: .\C.fL'lii!fi' Mr
Michael llL‘\L'lllllL‘ confitnied in Jul‘, that the Umeiiiittettt llihl dz-uiilctl to iiitplenient the (Ultl— iii-ciual m.iii.igentt-nt npti-in outlinul \('\L‘lHl “\llllll‘i‘s ago Hie N.i\_\ ll:-.irtl lk cuititnitted to the \lL‘\\ thiit l’.lCllL'2ll tnztri .IL'l'"lt‘lll clmiiges .l.'t‘ neulctl to inipiiive V-Iltl i-llicit'iic\ iillkl that ll|l\ will he lIt'\'. mt! rims: tiiiitklji .it'hie\t-it by ll‘llflV\lllL> I Turn to back page
TWO llna plcturoa ot two tlno anlpa which member: of the public will be able to no at close quarters durlng Portamouth and Plymouth Navy Daya over the Bank Hollday wookond August 24 to 28 Above la Devonport-based HMS Beaver. photographed by LA(Phot) Chrta North as aha aallod trom Gibraltar wlth hor Lynx holleoptor In close attendance. Algoclraa dlaappoara on the horizon.
AaNavyNowawaa golng toprouthaaouvorwu due to vlalt Llvorpool for an invasion at little Beavers. About 1.700 of these pre-Cub age youngsters were due
to go aboard.
the left la HMS Ari Royal on her acceptance voyage from the Tyne to her home port of Portsmouth. Moro pleturoa end stories about the now Ark appear In the centre pages. Navy Doya provlow Page 12.
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on
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