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Georges Houot (29 August 1913 – 7 August 1977) was a French naval officer and commander of a bathyscaphe unit.
In 1951 he was chosen to direct the trials of the ''FNRS III'' bathyscaphe, and in 1953 was given overall command of the bathyscaphes. On 15 February 1954 he made, with the engineer Pierre Willm, a dive off Dakar to a record 4050 metres, a record that stood for six years. Both men were awarded the 
The success of ''FNRS III'' and the increased interest shown by the scientific community in the study of the sea bed led Houot and Willm in 1955 to consider the construction of a new submersible capable of reaching the deepest depths in the ocean (11,000 metres to the bottom of the
Biography
He was born in Paris and educated at the Prytanée militaire military school at La Flèche in the Pays de la Loire region. In 1933 he entered the Naval College near Brest in Brittany where he trained to be a torpedo officer. As an officer he served on the cruiser ''Gloire'' from 1940 to 1941, the destroyer ''Hardi'' in 1942 and the frigates ''Croix-de-Lorraine'' (1945–47) and ''Lac Pavin'' (1947–49). In 1949, Houot succeeded Jacques Cousteau as commander of the underwater research vessel, ''Élie Monnier'', which was used for exploring the sea bed. In spite of suffering from the after-effects of polio he took part in the diving activities of the men under his command and developed an interest in underwater research.
In 1951 he was chosen to direct the trials of the ''FNRS III'' bathyscaphe, and in 1953 was given overall command of the bathyscaphes. On 15 February 1954 he made, with the engineer Pierre Willm, a dive off Dakar to a record 4050 metres, a record that stood for six years. Both men were awarded the Grande Médaille d'Or des Explorations
The Grande Médaille d’Or des Explorations et Voyages de Découverte (Great Gold Medal of Exploration and Journeys of Discovery) has been awarded since 1829 by the Société de Géographie of France for journeys whose outcomes have enhanced geog ...
et Voyages de Découverte by the French Société de Géographie
The Société de Géographie (; ), is the world's oldest geographical society. It was founded in 1821 as the first Geographic Society. Since 1878, its headquarters have been at 184 Boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris. The entrance is marked by two gig ...
and a film made by Jacques Ertaud
Jacques Ertaud (18 November 1924 – 18 November 1995) was a French film director and screenwriter. Along with Marcel Ichac, he co-directed the film '' Stars at Noon'', which entered into the 9th Berlin International Film Festival
The 9 ...
, " 4050 Depth " told the story of that first dive. Between 1953 and 1960, Houot made a total of 93 dives, in the Mediterranean and off Dakar, Portugal and Japan.
The success of ''FNRS III'' and the increased interest shown by the scientific community in the study of the sea bed led Houot and Willm in 1955 to consider the construction of a new submersible capable of reaching the deepest depths in the ocean (11,000 metres to the bottom of the Mariana Trench
The Mariana Trench is an oceanic trench located in the western Pacific Ocean, about east of the Mariana Islands; it is the deepest oceanic trench on Earth. It is crescent-shaped and measures about in length and in width. The maximum known ...
in the Pacific), of being more manoeuvrable and of offering more space for scientists. After approval had been granted and funds raised the craft, named ''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 ...
'', was built at Toulon and launched on 28 July 1961. Houot then took command of ''Archimède'' and the mother ship ''Marcel-le-Bihan'' and from July to August 1962, carried out deep underwater tests in the Kuril
The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the ...
trench off Japan. He successively reached 7100 metres, 9050 metres, 9200 metres and 9500 metres, the maximum depth of the trench. Between 1961 and 1970 Commander Houot carried out 64 dives with the bathyscaphe in the Mediterranean and off Japan, Puerto Rico, Greece, Madeira and the Azores.
In November 1970, Houot retired after 37 years of service , including 17 as head of the bathyscaphe group. He died in 1977.
Honours and awards
Houot was made aCommander of the Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...
and received a number of other awards.
Bibliography
* ''Le Bathyscaphe'', together with Pierre Willm, 1954 * ''La Découverte sous-marine'', 1959 * ''20 ans de Bathyscaphe'', 1972 * ''Le bathyscaphe - à 4500 m. au fond de l'océan'' * ''Bathyscaphe le à 4050 m au fond de l'océan'' * ''2000 Fathoms Down''References
* This article is based on a translation of the equivalent article on French Wikipedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Houot, Georges 1913 births 1977 deaths French Navy officers French explorers