''Mystic'' class is a class of

Deep-Submergence Rescue Vehicle A deep-submergence rescue vehicle (DSRV) is a type of deep-submergence vehicle used for rescue of downed submarines and clandestine missions. While DSRV is the term most often used by the United States Navy, other nations have different designa ...

s (DSRVs), designed for rescue operations on submerged, disabled

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 ...

s of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

or foreign navies. The two submarines of the class were never used for this purpose, and were replaced by the

Submarine Rescue Diving Recompression System The Submarine Rescue Diving Recompression System (SRDRS) is a remotely operated underwater vehicle and its associated systems intended to replace the Mystic class deep submergence rescue vehicle as a means of rescuing United States Navy submarin ...

Features

DSRVs are designed for quick deployment in the event of a submarine accident. DSRVs are transportable by truck, aircraft, ship, or by specially configured attack submarine. At the accident site, the DSRV works with either a "mother ship" or "mother submarine". The DSRV dives, conducts a

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...

search, and attaches to the disabled submarine's hatch. DSRVs can embark up to 24 persons for transfer to the mother vessel. The DSRV also has an arm to clear hatches on a disabled submarine and a combined gripper and cable cutter. The gripper is able to lift 1,000 pounds (450 kg).

Background

The Deep Submergence System Project was established in June 1965 in the aftermath of the loss of USS ''Thresher'' in 1963. At the time, submarine operating depths greatly exceeded the capabilities of rescue vessels.

Lockheed Missiles and Space Company Lockheed Missiles and Space Company (LMSC) was a unit of the Lockheed Corporation "Missiles, Space, and Electronics Systems Group." LMSC was started by Willis Hawkins who served as its president. After Lockheed merged with Martin-Marietta the u ...

was contracted to produce a deep diving rescue submarine. In an effort to win the design and construction contracts for a DSRV, the company built ''Deep Quest'' prototype. She was launched in June 1967; in March 1970, she was used to find a US Navy

Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier Grumman F4F Wildcat, F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United St ...

which had crashed on 12 January 1944, in the ocean near

Naval Air Station San Diego Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (NBC ...

. The first DSRV was launched in 1970.Sontag, S.; Drew, C.; Drew, A. L. (1998). '' Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage''. Harper. . While it has been alleged that the stated goal of the DSRV project was unrealistic, and that it was a front for research on undersea

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...

, including cable tapping, the DSRVs have a demonstrated rescue capability, and have conducted numerous practice rescue missions. DSRV-1 was launched in San Diego, California, on 24 January 1970. Testing culminated in an operational evaluation that saw a complete, simulated submarine rescue mission. DSRV-1 was named ''Mystic'' during Fleet Acceptance Ceremonies in 1977. The second, and final, vessel in the class, DSRV-2, was subsequently launched and named ''Avalon''.

General characteristics

List of vessels

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References

External links