Topic: PX-15 Interesting.

[Sirgod]

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

[Ravok]

Cool article thanks Steven. I never heard a thing about it.
I guess American Idol reruns and other mindless tripe, are more important.

[kmelew]

I remember reading about this when I was a kid...thanks for posting! 

[Sirgod]

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