The ''FNRS-3'' or ''FNRS III'' is a bathyscaphe 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 National ...

'' during its sea trials in 1948, the Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (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 :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...

, 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.

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

See also

References

External links