The ''Auguste Piccard'' mesoscaphe, also known simply as the ''Mésoscaphe'', was a manned underwater
submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
designed in 1964 by
Jacques Piccard
Jacques Piccard (28 July 19221 November 2008) was a Swiss oceanographer and engineer, known for having developed underwater submarines for studying ocean currents. In the Challenger Deep, he and Lt. Don Walsh of the United States Navy were the ...
, son of
Auguste Piccard
Auguste Antoine Piccard (28 January 1884 – 24 March 1962) was a Switzerland, Swiss physicist, inventor and explorer known for his record-breaking Gas balloon, hydrogen balloon flights, with which he studied the Earth's upper atmosphere. Picca ...
. It was the world's first passenger submarine, built for
Expo64
The Swiss national exposition of 1964 (French: ''Exposition nationale suisse de 1964''), usually shortened to Expo 64, was a world's fair held in Lausanne, more specifically in Vidy and the neighbouring Vallée de la Jeunesse, between 30 April and ...
, the 1964 Swiss national exhibition in
Lausanne
, neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...
. It was built at the
Giovanola
Giovanola Frères SA was a prominent steel manufacturing company based in Monthey, Switzerland. It was known for building electrical power stations, water storage tanks, pipelines, boilers, highway bridges, submarines, ski lifts and many other st ...
fabrication plant in
Monthey
Monthey (; frp, Montê) is the capital of the district of Monthey in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.
History
The castle in the town center was built in 950 on a hill, the first houses of Monthey surrounded it. Monthey is first mention ...
and the first immersion took place in
Le Bouveret
Le Bouveret () is a village in the commune of Port-Valais in the Swiss canton of Valais. Situated at the southernmost end of Lake Geneva and close to the French border, Le Bouveret is very much tourism-oriented with several amusement attractions ...
on 27 February 1964. It has a total of 45 Plexiglas portholes, with 20 on each side for the 40 passengers.
The ''Auguste Piccard'' achieved 1,100 dives in
Lake Geneva
, image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg
, caption = Satellite image
, image_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = Switzerland, France
, coords =
, lake_type = Glacial lak ...
with 33,000 visitors in 1964 and 1965, to a depth of approximately 150 metres. The ride cost CHF 40 and was the hit of the national exhibition. From 1969 to 1984, it achieved scientific and industrial observation dives in the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
.
Technical Data Sheet: Mesoscaphe PX-8 Auguste Piccard
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The ship is currently on display at the Swiss Museum of Transport
The Swiss Museum of Transport or Verkehrshaus der Schweiz (literally "Transportation House of Switzerland") in Lucerne opened in July 1959 and exhibits all forms of transport including trains, automobiles, ships and aircraft as well as communicati ...
in Lucerne
Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...
. It was fully restored for the first time between 2005 and 2014, the restoration taking 28,000 hours.
References
Dead links here
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Auguste Piccard (Px-15)
Research submarines of Switzerland
1964 ships
Lake Geneva
Merchant ships of Switzerland
Submarines of Switzerland
Ships built in Switzerland
Museum ships