Page 23: of Marine Technology Magazine (June 2012)

HistoryHURL evolved from the ?man-in-the- sea? program of the 1970s. At that time, much interest was focused on under- water habitats with a view to build un- derwater dwellings and  oating cities. HURL started with a deep-sea habitat the ?AEGIR? and the coastal submers- ible ?Star II?, a donation from General Dynamics. It was capable of dives to 1200 feet. In 1981, HURL became part of NOAA?s newly formed undersea re- search program. Our dive program was initiated on July 14, 1981 when the  rst dive was made into Oak Crater in Eniwetak Atoll. This project included scientists from the Defense Nuclear Agency, Lawrence Livermore Labs, and the Air Force Weapons Agency to con- duct studies in this crater made by the  rst hydrogen bomb ever tested. HURL conducted three months of diving opera- tions at Eniwetak Atoll with additional scientists from the Bishop Museum, the University of Hawai?i, Mid Paci c Re- search Lab, the West Indies Lab, Uni- versity of California, the Smithsonian, and others. The Eniwetak expedition launched HURL as a science diving pro- gram. The submersible Star II was re- placed with the PISCES V brought from the oil industry at the time the oil in-dustry was converting to ROV?s. HURL assets were expanded to included the Pisces IV, another deep diving submers- ibles capable of carrying three scientists or engineers. The Pisces subs have the strength of being able to work together on the bottom in 2000m of water (one and a quarter miles down). The Uni- versity of Hawaii has just purchased a 6000m depth rated ROV to augment the capability of the submersibles. A 225- foot support vessel designed by HURL for Paci c-wide submersible support carries the submersibles.Midget SubIn 2002, HURL found the wreck of the Japanese midget submarine that led the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. This was a signi cant  nd as the wreck is in excellent shape on the bottom a few miles off the mouth of Pearl Har- bor. The midget sub was hit by a single shell  red from the destroyer USS Ward at 6:45 am in the early morning before the aerial attack began around 8 am. The shell did not explode but punched a hole in the submarine?s pressure hull causing it to sink intact and sit upright on the bottom. The USS Ward, crewed by na- val cadets, radioed in its impressive kill but this crucial information was ignored by Naval command. Later, during the ensuing court-martial surrounding the catastrophic command failures at Pearl Harbor, it was implied that the USS Ward had not in fact sunk a Japanese midget submarine trying to in ltrate TheEvansCapacitorCompany 72BoydAvenue?EastProvidence,RI02914USA?401.435.3555?Fax401.435.3558 [email protected]?Techspecsandpr icingatwww.evanscap.com/deepwater_products.html EvansHybrid ®CapacitorsProveninaerospace,readyforthedeep,EvansHybrid ®Capacitorsarecompact,powerfulandreliable. Testedto10,000psiandimpervioustosaltwater,theyhavemore than10timestheenergydensityofaluminumcapacitors, providingupto2joules/cc. Consideredindispensableinthemostadvancedaircraft, theyarealsomissioncritical2milesdeep. EvansHybrid ®Capacitorsfilterpower,firepulses,correctpowerfactors andallowsubmersiblestoridethroughcriticalpowerinterruptions. 100MILESHIGH0R2MILESDEEP POWERWHENYOUNEEDIT Marine Technology Reporter 23www.seadiscovery.com MTR #5 (18-33).indd 23MTR #5 (18-33).indd 235/31/2012 9:54:39 AM5/31/2012 9:54:39 AM