Nautile

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Deep sea submersible Nautile
Deep sea submersible Nautile

The Nautile is a manned deep-sea submarine owned by the French Marine Research Institute Ifremer . It can be used to a diving depth of 6,000 m, which enables it to explore 97% of the seabed . It has performed approximately 1,500 dives since its commissioning in 1984.

Technical specifications

The Nautile is a miniature submarine in bathyscaphe construction method for three man crew . The 19.5 ton submarine , mostly made of titanium , is 8 m long, 2.7 m wide and 3.8 m high, the inner diameter is 2.1 m. Three portholes with a diameter of 12 cm allow a good all-round view. The submarine has lead batteries with a capacity of 37 kWh (for 230 V) and 6.5 kWh (28 V). It is propelled by a main rotor, the maximum speed is 1.7 knots. The range under water is 7.5 kilometers, the maximum duration of use is five hours. Three auxiliary rotors enable precise positioning under water.

A sonar system enables the environment to be explored. Positioning systems both in the submarine and above the water surface enable precise position determination. A number of sensors constantly record the depth, water temperature, speed, direction of travel and the time. The Nautile is equipped with two photo cameras , two video cameras and seven spotlights . Two robot arms, with a suction cup, a shovel and a gripping device, enable manipulations under water. If desired, the submarine can be equipped with the special ROBIN robot, a connected, remote-controlled video camera or other special equipment instead of the collecting basket. The Nautile can remain underwater for eight hours; there is an emergency system that ensures the survival of the crew for a further 120 hours.

use

The Nautile is operated by the French research vessels Nadir , L'Atalante and Pourquoi Pas? used from. It is used for scientific exploration, by oil companies, by the military, to search for wrecks, for archaeological research missions and by television crews; for example, it was used to recover the wreckage of Itavia Flight 870 in 1987 and to search for the wreckage and flight recorder of Air France Flight 447 in 2009 . The wreck of the Titanic was also explored with their help.

Web links

Commons : Nautile (submarine, 1984)  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ RMS Titanic Timeline ( Memento from July 17, 2003 in the Internet Archive )