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76-453: Known reefs in the area include the Esquirques, two large rocky reefs of volcanic origin surrounded by a sandbank, and Keith's Reef. Since 1988, various archaeological surveys have located a concentration of ancient shipwrecks in the area. The site of these ancient wrecks was discovered by Robert Ballard and later explored by both Ballard and Anna Marguerite McCann . The area is adjacent to

152-497: A Skipjack -class submarine armed with nuclear torpedoes , which sank off the coast of the Azores in 1968 in uncertain circumstances. Alvin obtained photographic and other environmental monitoring data from the remains of Scorpion . Over the years, Alvin has undergone many overhauls to improve its equipment and extend its lifetime. In 2001, among other equipment, motor controllers and computer systems were added. The current Alvin

228-700: A PhD in marine geology and geophysics at the University of Rhode Island . Ballard joined the United States Army in 1965 through the Army's Reserve Officers Training program . He was designated as an intelligence officer and initially received a commission as a second lieutenant in the Army Reserve . When called to active duty in 1967, he asked to fulfill his obligation in the United States Navy . His request

304-584: A land-locked freshwater lake, the Black Sea was flooded with salt water from the Mediterranean Sea during the Holocene . The influx of salt water essentially smothered the freshwater below it because a lack of internal motion and mixing meant that no fresh oxygen reached the deep waters, creating a meromictic body of water. The anoxic environment, which is hostile to many biological organisms that destroy wood in

380-516: A mast rising 11 m into the water column. Radiocarbon dating of wood from the wreck provides a date of 410–520 A.D. It has been named "Sinop D" by the Ballard team. In 2000, the team conducted an expedition that focused on exploration of the seabed about 15–30 km west of Sinop, and an additional deep-water survey east and north of the peninsula. Their project had several goals. They sought to discover whether human habitation sites could be identified on

456-456: A pair of decommissioned U.S. Navy pontoon boats with a support structure added on, was lowering Alvin over the side when two steel cables snapped. There were three crew members aboard Alvin at the time, and the hatch was open. Situated between the pontoons with no deck underneath, Alvin entered the water and rapidly began to sink. The three crew members managed to escape, but Alvin flooded and sank in 1,500 m (4,900 ft) of water in

532-450: A primary trade center in the Black Sea, the wrecks were located west of the trade route predicted by the prevalence of Sinopian ceramics on the Crimean peninsula. On wrecks A-C, mounds of distinctive carrot-shaped shipping jars, called amphorae , were found. They were of a style associated with Sinop and retained much of their original stacking pattern on the sea floor. The jars may have carried

608-598: A sample from the bedrock . Ballard was geologist diver in Alvin during Project FAMOUS , which explored the median rift valley of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in 1974. During the summer of 1975, Ballard participated in a joint French-American expedition called Phere searching for hydrothermal vents over the Mid-Atlantic Ridge , but the expedition did not find any active vents. On the Galapagos spreading center east of

684-541: A second Schilling manipulator arm, a 4K imaging system, several new syntactic foam modules, an upgrade to the hydraulic system, and new thrusters. During 2022, Alvin successfully completed sea trials and was certified for operating down to 6500 meters. As of 2024, Alvin is in active service, operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The research ship RV Atlantis serves as its support ship. Like most deep submergence vehicles, Alvin

760-491: A sled towed by USS Mizar . Alvin was found to be upright and appeared intact except for damage to the stern. It was decided to attempt recovery; although no object of Alvin ' s size had ever been recovered from a depth of 5,000 feet (1,500 m), recovery was "deemed to be within the state of the art". In August 1969, the Aluminaut , a DSV built by Reynolds Metals Company , descended to Alvin but had trouble attaching

836-474: A speed of 2 knots (3.7 km/h), back to Woods Hole. In 1973, Alvin ' s pressure hull was replaced by a newer titanium pressure hull. The new hull extended the submersible's depth rating. With a new, stronger pressure hull Alvin could now reach the floor of the rift valley of this seafloor spreading center. In the summer of 1974 American and French scientists joined in Project FAMOUS to explore

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912-526: A submersible was in the Ben Franklin (PX-15) in 1969 off the coast of Florida during a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution expedition. In the summer of 1970, he began a field mapping project of the Gulf of Maine for his doctoral dissertation . It used an air gun that sent sound waves underwater to determine the underlying structure of the ocean floor and the submersible Alvin , which was used to find and recover

988-485: A variety of archetypal Black Sea products such as olive oil, honey, wine, or fish sauce. The contents are unknown because no artifacts were recovered from these wreck sites in 2000. The wreck provided the team with vast information about the technological changes and trade in the Black Sea during political, social, and economic transition through their study of the ship's construction techniques. Studies show that in Sinop during

1064-467: A video. Many of the relics retrieved by various groups, not including Ballard, from RMS Titanic were owned by Premier Exhibitions which filed for bankruptcy in 2016. In late August 2018, the groups vying for ownership of the 5,500 relics included one by museums in England and Northern Ireland with assistance from filmmaker James Cameron and some financial support from National Geographic . Ballard told

1140-481: A wall of shipping jars standing about 2 m above the seabed. The amphorae highest on the mound had fallen over without displacing those still standing in the rows beneath them, and, likely, the ship settled upright on the seabed gradually being both buried in and filled with sediment as exposed wood was devoured by the larva or the shipworm . Shipwreck B also consisted of a large pile of amphorae but several types are visible, as are multiple timbers protruding from within

1216-571: Is 4,000 feet deeper than that where the Titanic sank. He attempted to determine whether it had been sunk by the British or was scuttled by its crew. Three weeks after the expedition however, personal tragedy struck him when his 21-year-old son, Todd, who had aided him in the search, was killed in a car accident. Ballard later published a book about the quest, The Discovery of the Bismarck (1990) The discovery

1292-464: Is normally transported on board its support vessel. It is launched shortly before a dive, and recovered after the dive, using a suitable launch and recovery system (LARS) mounted on the support vessel. The support vessel is usually the R/V Atlantis , but several others have been used. Alvin uses four 208-pound (94 kg) steel weights (~1.7 cubic feet of steel) to provide negative buoyancy for

1368-612: Is noted for his work in underwater archaeology ( maritime archaeology and archaeology of shipwrecks ) and marine geology . He is best known by the general public for the discoveries of the wrecks of the RMS Titanic in 1985, the battleship Bismarck in 1989, and the aircraft carrier USS  Yorktown in 1998. He discovered the wreck of John F. Kennedy 's PT-109 in 2002 and visited Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana , who saved its crew. Ballard discovered hydrothermal vents , where life goes on powered by nutrient chemicals emitted by

1444-509: Is the only one seconded to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with the others staying with the United States Navy . Alvin ' s first deep sea tests took place off Andros Island , the Bahamas, where it made a successful 12-hour, uncrewed tethered 7,500-foot (2,300 m) test dive. On July 20, 1965 Alvin made its first 6,000-foot (1,800 m) crewed dive for

1520-480: Is the same as the original vessel in name and general design only. All components of the vessel, including the frame and personnel sphere, have been replaced at least once. Alvin is completely disassembled every three to five years for a complete inspection. A new robotic arm was added in 2006. In June 2008 construction started on a stronger, slightly larger personnel sphere which was used to upgrade Alvin , before being used in an entirely new vehicle. The new sphere

1596-572: The Atlantic Ocean at approximately 39°53′30″N 069°15′30″W  /  39.89167°N 69.25833°W  / 39.89167; -69.25833  ( "DSV Alvin " ) , about 88 nautical miles (101 mi; 163 km) south of Nantucket Island . Severe weather prevented the recovery of Alvin throughout late 1968, but it was photographed at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in June 1969 by

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1672-619: The Center for Ocean Exploration and Archaeological Oceanography , a research program at the University of Rhode Island's Graduate School of Oceanography. In 1976, Willard Bascom suggested that the deep, anoxic waters of the Black Sea might have preserved ships from antiquity because typical wood-devouring organisms could not survive there. At a depth of 150 m, it contains insufficient oxygen to support most familiar biological life forms. Originally

1748-554: The East Pacific Rise west of Mexico at 21°N was aided by deep-towed still camera sleds that were able to take pictures of the ocean floor, making it easier to find hydrothermal vent locations. When Alvin inspected one of the sites the deep tow located, the scientists observed black "smoke" billowing out of the vents, something not observed at the Galápagos Rift. Ballard and geophysicist Jean Francheteau went down in Alvin

1824-512: The Galapagos spreading center east of those same islands. During the RISE expedition in 1979 scientists using Alvin discovered high temperature vents (380 °C) popularly known as ‘ black smokers ’ on the crest of the East Pacific Rise at 21° N. These discoveries revealed deep-sea ecosystems that exist without sunlight and are based on chemosynthesis . Alvin was involved in the exploration of

1900-620: The National Geographic Society and Ballard fielded a ship with remote vehicles to the Solomon Islands . They succeeded in finding a torpedo tube and the forward section from the shipwreck of John F. Kennedy 's PT-109 which was rammed in 1943 by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri off Ghizo Island . The visit also brought to light the identity of islanders Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana who had received little recognition for finding

1976-578: The Royal Navy several years after the sinking and had also been damaged by other explorers, making a forensic analysis difficult. He found no evidence of boiler explosion and he speculated the ignition of coal dust inside the ship caused a "massive, uncontrollable [second] explosion". Others have questioned this hypothesis, some suggesting that the ship had been sabotaged by the British. Ballard found no evidence to support this claim. Some experts have indicated that it was, in fact, boiler explosions that caused

2052-497: The Titanic . In 1982, Ballard had approached the Navy about his new deep sea underwater robot craft, the Argo , and his search for the Titanic . The Navy, while not interested in funding Ballard's Titanic search on its own, ultimately concluded that Argo was their best chance to locate their missing submarines, and agreed to finance his expedition on the condition that he first investigated

2128-519: The US Army 's ROTC program, giving him an Army officer's commission in Army Intelligence. His first graduate degree ( MS , 1966) was in geophysics from the University of Hawaiʻi 's Institute of Geophysics where he trained porpoises and whales. Subsequently, he returned to Andreas Rechnitzer's Ocean Systems Group at North American Aviation . Ballard was working towards a PhD in marine geology at

2204-852: The University of Southern California in 1967 when he was called to active duty. Upon his request, he was transferred from the Army into the US Navy as an oceanographer . The Navy assigned him as a liaison between the Office of Naval Research and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts . After leaving active duty and entering the Naval Reserve in 1970, Ballard continued working at Woods Hole persuading organizations and people, mostly scientists, to fund and use Alvin for undersea research. Four years later he received

2280-669: The wreck of Titanic . Research conducted by Alvin has been featured in nearly 2,000 scientific papers. Alvin was designed as a replacement for bathyscaphes and other less maneuverable oceanographic vehicles. Its more nimble design was made possible in part by the development of syntactic foam , which is buoyant and yet strong enough to serve as a structural material at great depths. The vessel weighs 17 tons. It allows for two scientists and one pilot to dive for up to nine hours at 6,500 metres (21,300 ft). The submersible features two robotic arms and can be fitted with mission-specific sampling and experimental gear. The plug hatch of

2356-588: The Black Sea in the 8th millennium BC . Ballard's research has contributed to the debate over the Black Sea deluge theory . In 2004, Ballard was appointed professor of oceanography , and currently serves as Director of the Institute for Archaeological Oceanography, at the University of Rhode Island 's Graduate School of Oceanography. He was the first speaker to give the Charles and Marie Fish Lecture in Oceanography at

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2432-478: The Byzantine era, they had developed long-distance trading as early as 4500 BC. Sea-trading on the Black Sea was most intense during the period of late antiquity, between the 2nd and 7th centuries AD. The examination of the four shipwrecks found by Ballard and his team provide the direct evidence for Black Sea maritime trade so well attested by the distribution of ceramics on land. The video images of Shipwreck A show

2508-490: The Gulf of Mexico, and was certified to return to service. In March and April 2014, Alvin was used to explore the site of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Starting in 2020, the second phase to upgrade Alvin for 6,500 meters (21,300 ft) operation began; the 2014 rebuild with new, larger titanium, personnel hull and rebuilt structural frame being the first phase. In this phase, Alvin received new titanium ballast spheres,

2584-469: The Navy involved developing small, unmanned submersibles that could be tethered to and controlled from a surface ship and were outfitted with lighting, cameras, and manipulator arms. As early as 1973, he saw this as a way of searching for the wreck of the Titanic . In 1977, he led his first expedition, which was unsuccessful. In the summer of 1985, Ballard was aboard the French research ship Le Suroît , which

2660-430: The Navy to obtain certification. On March 17, 1966, Alvin was used to locate a submerged 1.45-megaton hydrogen bomb lost in a United States Air Force midair accident over Palomares , Spain. The bomb, found resting on a steep slope nearly 2,500 ft (760 m) deep, was located by Alvin but the submersible had difficulty raising it up, initially causing it to fall deeper to 2,800 ft (850 m). The bomb

2736-497: The Skerki Banks—particularly the unexplored Tunisian side of it—and look for possible shipwrecks on the seafloor. This article about a specific oceanic location or ocean current is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Robert Ballard Robert Duane Ballard (born June 30, 1942) is an American retired Navy officer and a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island who

2812-558: The Skerki Narrows between Sicily and Cape Bon and was known as "Bomb Alley" to Allied sailors during World War II due to its proximity to Axis air bases and the difficulty of protecting convoys from air attack. On 2 December 1942 it was the site of the Battle of Skerki Bank , where a squadron of Allied cruisers destroyed an Italian convoy. In September 2022, archaeologists from eight countries started collaborating with UNESCO to explore

2888-515: The University of Rhode Island in 2002. DSV Alvin Alvin ( DSV-2 ) is a crewed deep-ocean research submersible owned by the United States Navy and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) of Woods Hole, Massachusetts . The original vehicle was built by General Mills ' Electronics Group in Minneapolis, Minnesota . Named to honor the prime mover and creative inspiration for

2964-448: The ancient submerged landscape, they examined the sea-bed for shipwrecks (where they found Sinop A-D), to test the hypothesis that the anoxic waters below 200 m would protect shipwrecks from the expected biological attacks on organic components, and to seek data about an ancient trade route between Sinop and the Crimea indicated by terrestrial archaeological remains. Although Sinop served as

3040-529: The anoxic waters of the Black Sea would allow extraordinary organic preservation is borne out by the discovery of Sinop D, the 1,500-year-old shipwreck with excellent preservation of features above the sediment layer. According to a report in New Scientist magazine (May 4, 2002, p. 13), the researchers found an underwater delta south of the Bosporus . There was evidence of a strong flow of fresh water out of

3116-573: The creation of new sea floor at this spreading center. The French provided submersibles Archimède and CYANA . A total of forty-four dives were completed that succeeded in defining the crustal accretion zone in the floor of the rift valley. Marine geologists using Alvin in the Pacific Ocean discovered deep-sea hydrothermal vents and associated biologic communities during two expeditions to ocean spreading centers . In 1977 scientists in Alvin discovered low temperature (~20 °C) vents on

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3192-614: The day after the black smokers were first observed. They were able to take an accurate temperature reading of the active vent (the previous dive's thermometer had melted) and recorded a temperature of 350 °C (623 K; 662 °F). They continued searching for more vents along the East Pacific Rise between 1980 and 1982. While Ballard had been interested in the sea since an early age, his work at Woods Hole and his scuba diving experiences off Massachusetts spurred his interest in shipwrecks and their exploration. His work in

3268-453: The descent and impact". Filmmaker Cameron, however, said that his crew's examination of the wreckage indicated that the Bismarck would have sunk eventually even if it had not been scuttled. In 1993, Ballard investigated the wreck of RMS Lusitania off the Irish coast. It had been struck by a torpedo, whose explosion was followed by a second, much larger one. The wreck had been depth charged by

3344-507: The hull. This would then rise to the surface uncontrolled. The current version of the vehicle uses releasable weights and emergency releases on jettisonable equipment. Harold E. Froehlich was one of the principal designers of Alvin . Alvin , first of its ship class of deep submergence vehicle (DSV), was built to dive to 2,440 metres (8,010 ft). Each of the Alvin-class DSVs have different depth capabilities. However, Alvin

3420-465: The islands a 1977 exploration by Alvin found deep-sea hydrothermal vents surrounded by communities of living organisms with energy derived by chemosynthesis . Ballard was a participating diver. While the discovery was of immense biological significance, the expedition's scientists were all geologists, with no biologists, as it was thought certain there would be no life to study, let alone forms unknown to science. The 1979 RISE project expedition on

3496-553: The mound and on it. In addition to the Sinop-style jars, several amphorae similar to examples excavated on the Yassiada Byzantine shipwreck and dating from the 5th to late 6th century AD are present. Two discrete and mostly buried piles of carrot-shaped shipping jars comprise shipwreck C. The team's visit to the site was short and was intended primarily to test survey methodology for deep-water procedures. Shipwreck D provided

3572-627: The news media that he favored this bid since it would ensure that the memorabilia would be permanently displayed in Belfast and in Greenwich . A decision as to the outcome was to be made by a United States district court judge. Ballard undertook an even more daunting task when he and his team searched off the coast of France for the German Battleship Bismarck in 1989, using an ocean-crawling robot. The 15,000 foot deep water in which it sank

3648-642: The ocean floor. After one last dive to assess damage to the Gulf of Mexico 's seafloor after the Deepwater Horizon disaster , Alvin was refitted further, starting January 2011. Alvin began an extensive rebuild, which featured new cameras, lighting, and an enlarged titanium personnel sphere. This three-and-a-half-year effort to upgrade the vessel implemented the core infrastructure to eventually increase its depth capability from 4,500 meters (14,800 ft) to 6,500 meters (21,300 ft). In 2014, an extensively refitted Alvin conducted verification testing in

3724-501: The oxygenated waters, provides an excellent testing site for deep-water archaeological surveys. In a series of expeditions, a team of marine archaeologists led by Ballard identified what appeared to be ancient shorelines, freshwater snail shells, and drowned river valleys in roughly 300 feet (100 m) of water off the Black Sea coast of modern Turkey . Radiocarbon dating of freshwater mollusk remains indicated an age of about 7,000 years. The team discovered three ancient wrecks west of

3800-541: The planks of Sinop D are held together. There are no mortise and tenon fastenings and no sewing. Shipwreck D may be one of the earliest lateen -rigged ships to be studied by archaeologists. The angle of the mast and the lack of fittings on it suggest that a lateen sail is the most likely configuration for such a small vessel. The Institute for Exploration Black Sea expeditions relied on remote sensing with side-scan sonar in shallow and deep water to identify potential archaeological sites examined by ROVs . The hypothesis that

3876-412: The required lines, and side effects from Hurricane Camille were producing worsening weather, causing the team to return to Woods Hole to regroup. The second attempt started on August 27, and Aluminaut was able to secure a line and safety slings on Alvin , and wrapped a prefabricated nylon net around its hull, allowing it to be hauled up by Mizar . Alvin was towed, submerged at 40 feet (12 m), at

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3952-614: The ship to sink so quickly, in a mere 18 minutes. Ballard published a book about the discovery, Exploring the Lusitania: Probing the Mysteries of the Sinking that Changed History , also titled Robert Ballard's Lusitania in some markets, with co-author Spencer Dunmore. In 1992, Ballard and his team visited the sites of many wrecks of World War II in the Pacific . Doing so, he discovered

4028-432: The ship's interior. Although the first dive (taking over two hours) encountered technical problems, subsequent ones were far more successful and produced a detailed photographic record of the wreck's condition. In 1988, Ballard published a book, Discovery Of The Titanic: Exploring The Greatest Of All Lost Ships , ISBN   0-446-51385-7 and he later recounted the specifics of the expedition for National Geographic in

4104-660: The shipwrecked crew after searching for days in their dugout canoe . A TV special and a book were produced, and Ballard spoke at the John F. Kennedy Library in 2005. In the 1990s Ballard founded the Institute for Exploration , which specializes in deep-sea archaeology and geology. It joined forces in 1999 with the Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut . They are a part of the non-profit Sea Research Foundation, Inc. In 2003, Ballard started

4180-439: The team with an unprecedented opportunity to document hull construction during a time of transition. When observing the sonar signature of Shipwreck D, a long, slender upright feature on the seabed, transformed itself into a wooden mast. Elements rarely present on shallower shipwreck sites are beautifully preserved 200 m below the surface. Disappointingly for ship scholars and historians of technology, there are few indications of how

4256-453: The town of Sinop at depths of 100 m. Wreck A and Wreck C probably date to the late Roman period (2nd–4th century A.D.), while Wreck B probably dates to the Byzantine period (5th to 7th century A.D.). To the east of Sinop, the team discovered a remarkably well-preserved wreck at a 320 m depth, in the Black Sea's deep anoxic waters. The vessel's entire hull and cargo are intact, buried in sediments. Its deck structures are also intact, including

4332-425: The two submarines, Ballard and his team discovered they had imploded from the immense pressure at depth. It littered thousands of pieces of debris all over the ocean floor. Following the large trail of debris led them directly to the remnants of both vessels and made them significantly easier to locate than if they were to search for the hulls directly. He already knew that the Titanic imploded from pressure, much like

4408-423: The two submarines, and concluded that it too must have left a scattered debris trail. Using that lesson, they had Argo sweep back and forth across the ocean floor looking for the Titanic's debris trail. They took shifts monitoring the video feed from Argo as it searched the ocean floor two miles below. In the early morning of September 1, 1985, observers noted anomalies on the smooth ocean floor. At first, it

4484-485: The two submarines, assessed the state of their nuclear reactors, and determined if their long submergence had cause any radioactive environmental impact. He was placed on temporary active duty in the Navy, in charge of finding and investigating the wrecks, after which he would be free to use any remaining time and resources to hunt for the Titanic . After their missions for the Navy, Knorr arrived on site on August 22, 1985, and deployed Argo . When they searched for

4560-435: The vehicle, Allyn Vine , Alvin was commissioned on June 5, 1964. The submersible is launched from the deep submergence support vessel RV  Atlantis  (AGOR-25) , which is also owned by the U.S. Navy and operated by WHOI. The submersible has made more than 5,200 dives, carrying two scientists and a pilot, observing the lifeforms that must cope with super-pressures and move about in total darkness, as well as exploring

4636-519: The vents rather than the sunlight that drives most life on Earth; he said "finding hydrothermal vents beats the hell out of finding the Titanic", and his mother commented "It's too bad you found that rusty old boat... they're only going to remember you for finding [it]". Ballard also established the JASON Project , and leads ocean exploration on the research vessel E/V Nautilus . Robert Duane Ballard

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4712-405: The vessel is 0.48 m (1 ft 7 in) in diameter and somewhat thicker than the 2-inch (51 mm) thick titanium sphere pressure hull; it is held in place by the pressure of the water above it. In an emergency, if previous versions of Alvin were stuck underwater with occupants inside, an upper part of the submersible including the titanium sphere could be released using controls inside

4788-514: The wreck of the IJN Kirishima . His book Lost Ships of Guadalcanal locates and photographs many of the vessels sunk at Ironbottom Sound , the strait between Guadalcanal Island and the Floridas in the Solomon Islands . On May 19, 1998, Ballard found the wreck of Yorktown , sunk at the Battle of Midway . Found three miles (5 km) beneath the surface, it was photographed. In 2002,

4864-533: The wreckage of RMS  Titanic in 1986. Launched from her support ship RV  Atlantis II , she carried Dr. Robert Ballard and two companions to the wreckage of the White Star Liner Titanic, which sank in 1912 after striking an iceberg while crossing the North Atlantic Ocean on her maiden voyage. Alvin , accompanied by a small remotely operated vehicle (ROV) named Jason Jr. ,

4940-513: Was a high school student, his father connected him with oceanographers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography , and he participated in several short research expeditions. Ballard enrolled at University of California, Santa Barbara , and joined the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps . Beginning in 1962, Ballard worked part-time with Andreas Rechnitzer 's Ocean Systems Group at North American Aviation , where his father

5016-461: Was able to conduct detailed photographic surveys and inspections of Titanic ' s wreckage. Many of the photographs of the expedition have been published in the magazine of the National Geographic Society , which was a major sponsor of the expedition. The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution team involved in the Titanic expedition also explored the wreck of the USS ; Scorpion  (SSN-589) ,

5092-465: Was also documented for National Geographic in a 1989 James Cameron video Search for the Battleship Bismarck which indicated that the ship had been damaged by torpedoes and shells from British ships. The actual cause of the sinking, however, was sabotage of the underwater valves by the onboard crew, according to Ballard, who said, "we found a hull that appears whole and relatively undamaged by

5168-474: Was approved, and he was transferred to the Navy Reserve on the reserve active duty list. After completing his active-duty obligation in 1970, he was returned to reserve status, where he remained for much of his military career, being called up only for mandatory training and special assignments. He retired from the Navy as a commander in 1995 after reaching the statutory service limit. Ballard's first dive in

5244-524: Was born on June 30, 1942 in Wichita, Kansas . He had an older brother, Richard, and a younger sister, Nancy Ann. When Ballard was two years old, his family moved to southern California , where his father worked as a flight test engineer. He has attributed his early interest in underwater exploration to watching the 1954 film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea , an adaptation of Jules Verne’s 1870 novel . While he

5320-505: Was designed, and then forged from solid titanium ingots in two equal halves at Ladish Forge, Cudahy, Wisconsin . Then the 15.5 tonnes of titanium was machined and assembled, utilizing five view ports (instead of the previous three) and is designed for depths of over 6,000 m (20,000 ft), where Alvin ' s original depth limit was 4,500 m (14,800 ft). This, along with a general upgrade of support systems, instruments and materials. These upgrades allow Alvin to reach 98% of

5396-416: Was eventually raised intact on April 7 by a Navy CURV-I and the experience gained by the Alvin crew's 34 dives with over 220 hours logged led to new improvements to the vehicle's navigations systems. On July 6, 1967, the Alvin was attacked by a swordfish during dive 202. The swordfish became trapped in the Alvin ' s skin. The attack took place at 2,000 feet (610 m) below the surface. The fish

5472-467: Was now assured. He originally planned to keep the location secret to prevent anyone from claiming prizes. He considered the site a cemetery and refused to desecrate it by removing artifacts. On July 12, 1986, Ballard and his team returned on board Atlantis II to make the first detailed study of the wreck. This time, he brought Alvin . It was accompanied by Jason Junior , a small remotely operated vehicle that could fit through small openings to see into

5548-517: Was pockmarks, like small craters from impacts. Eventually, debris was sighted as the rest of the team was awakened. Finally, a boiler was sighted, and soon after that, the hull was found. Ballard's team made a general search of the Titanic's exterior, noting its condition. Most significantly, they confirmed that it had split in two and that the stern was in far worse shape than the bow. They did not have much time to explore, as others were waiting to take Knorr on other scientific pursuits, but his fame

5624-405: Was recovered at the surface and cooked for dinner. During Dive 209, on September 24, 1968 Alvin found an F6F Hellcat , #42782, 125 miles southeast of Nantucket . The aircraft had ditched September 30, 1944 during carrier qualifications, with the pilot surviving. Alvin , aboard the Navy tender ship Lulu , was lost as it was being transported on October 26, 1968. Lulu , a vessel created from

5700-517: Was the chief engineer of North American's Minuteman missile program. At North American, Ballard worked on its failed proposal to build the submersible Alvin for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution . In 1965, Ballard graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara , earning undergraduate degrees in chemistry and geology. While a student in Santa Barbara, California , he joined Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, and also completed

5776-579: Was using the side scan sonar SAR to search for the Titanic 's wreck. When the French ship was recalled, he transferred onto a ship from Woods Hole , the R/V Knorr . Unbeknownst to some, this trip was financed by the U.S. Navy for secret reconnaissance of the wreckage of two Navy nuclear powered attack submarines , the USS Scorpion and the USS Thresher , which sank in the 1960s, and not for

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