The ''FNRS-3'' or ''FNRS III'' is a
bathyscaphe
A bathyscaphe ( or ) is a free-diving self-propelled deep-sea submersible, consisting of a crew cabin similar to a bathysphere, but suspended below a float rather than from a surface cable, as in the classic bathysphere design.
The float is fi ...
of the
French Navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
. It is currently preserved at
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
. She set world depth records, competing against a more refined version of her design, the
''Trieste''. The French Navy eventually replaced her with the bathyscaphe ''
FNRS-4'', in the 1960s.
[Paine, Lincoln P. (1997). ''Ships of the World''. Houghton Mifflin. p. 188.]
After damage to the ''
FNRS-2
The ''FNRS-2'' was the first bathyscaphe. It was created by Auguste Piccard. Work started in 1937 but was interrupted by World War II. The deep-diving submarine was finished in 1948. The bathyscaphe was named after the Belgian Fonds Nationa ...
'' during its sea trials in 1948, the
Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique
The National Fund for Scientific Research (NFSR) (Dutch: ''Nationaal Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek'' (NFWO), French: ''Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique'' (FNRS)) was once a government institution in Belgium for supporting scient ...
(FNRS) ran out of funding, and the submersible was sold to the French Navy, in 1950. She was subsequently substantially rebuilt and improved at Toulon naval base, and renamed ''FNRS-3''.
['']Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
'', 2010 Online, 9 September 2010 (accessed 9 September 2010) She was relaunched in 1953, under the command of
Georges Houot
Georges Houot (29 August 1913 – 7 August 1977) was a French naval officer and commander of a bathyscaphe unit.
Biography
He was born in Paris and educated at the Prytanée militaire military school at La Flèche in the Pays de la Loire region. ...
, a French naval officer.
On 15 February 1954, she made a dive 160 miles off
Dakar, Senegal
Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 20 ...
, in the Atlantic Ocean, beating Piccard's 1953 record, set by the ''Trieste'', by 900 meters.
(The floor of the Mediterranean off Naples, ) This record was not exceeded until a workup dive by ''Trieste'' in 1959, working up to the record shattering Challenger Deep
The Challenger Deep is the deepest-known point of the seabed of Earth, with a depth of by direct measurement from deep-diving submersibles, remotely operated underwater vehicles and benthic landers, and (sometimes) slightly more by sonar bathym ...
dive.[Paine, Lincoln P. (2000). ''Ships of Discovery and Exploration''. Mariner Books. p. 64.]
See also
* ''Trieste
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...
''
* '' Trieste II''
* ''Archimède
The bathyscaphe ''Archimède'' is a deep diving research submersible of the French Navy. It used of hexane as the gasoline buoyancy of its float. It was designed by Pierre Willm and Georges Houot. In 1964, ''Archimède'' descended into "wh ...
''
References
External links
*
"13,000 Feet Under the Sea in the French Bathyscaphe"
''Popular Mechanics
''Popular Mechanics'' (sometimes PM or PopMech) is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do-it-yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation and transportation o ...
''. May 1954. pp. 110–111.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fnrs-3
Deep-submergence vehicles
Submarines of the French Navy
Ships built in France
Trieste-class deep-submergence vehicle
Museum ships in France