The Protei-5 (Протей-5) is a small
Russian one-man
diver propulsion vehicle often used by
Russian commando frogmen. It is
battery
Battery most often refers to:
* Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power
* Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact
Battery may also refer to:
Energy source
*Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
electric powered, using six non-sealed
lead–acid batteries.
Diver Dave's Site
, going by information received, said that its batteries were silver–zinc batteries
A silver zinc battery is a secondary cell that utilizes silver(I,III) oxide and zinc.
Overview
Silver zinc cells share most of the characteristics of the silver-oxide battery, and in addition, is able to deliver one of the highest specific en ...
, but on examination they proved to be lead–acid batteries. It clips on under the diver with a clip over each shoulder and one up between his legs. Its casing is aluminium. It was intended to be clipped onto the outside of a 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 ...
; near the operation site the frogmen would airlock out underwater and unhitch their Protei 5's and ride them to the operation site. It seems to have been intended to be ridden fast and far rather than for complicated maneuvering.
The Russian for this sort of "diver-carrying vehicle" is буксировщик ''buksirovshchik'' = "tugger".
The rod sticking out of the front end was meant to carry a lamp.
The lever on the left bow is the motor's on/off switch. There is no speed control.
The frogman steers with the diving fins on his feet.
Overall size: 66 centimetres (2 feet 2 inches) wide, 69 centimetres (2 feet 3 inches) high, 1.75 (5 feet 9 inches) long.
Size of hull: 66 centimetres (2 feet 2 inches) wide, 38 centimetres (1 feet 3 inches) high, 1.45 m (4 feet 9 inches) long.
A frogman with an IDA71
The Soviet, later Russian IDA71 military and naval rebreather is an oxygen rebreather intended for use by naval and military divers including Russian commando frogmen. As supplied it is in a plain backpack harness with no buoyancy aid. The casin ...
rebreather riding a Protei-7 could pass through a hole {{convert, 0.9, m, ft square.
Only two Protei-5 are known to exist outside of the ex- USSR:
* One is currently in upstate New York, USA.
* One is fully operational in New Jersey, USA; it was made in 1970 and its motor is noisy. This example was imported along with some 15
IDA-59
IDA-71
The Soviet, later Russian IDA71 military and naval rebreather is an oxygen rebreather intended for use by naval and military divers including Russian commando frogmen. As supplied it is in a plain backpack harness with no buoyancy aid. The casin ...
, an
AKA-60
rebreathers, all ex-Soviet military combat swimmers' systems.
Similar designs have been made in Russia, including a model called Proton.
The name "Protei" is a Russian version of the classical Latin / Greek mythological
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...
name Proteus.
References
External links
article "Riding on Proton" by Afonchenko
(in Russian, with 6 images, about diving with a similar craft called a Proton)
Search for Youtube videos about the Protei-5
**Some Protei 5's got into American hands and were filmed used by a civilian; t
at least one of them
a civilian user (who also repainted it) added a long front pair of handlebars, which is not part of them as made in the USSR.
Diver propulsion equipment
Military equipment of the Soviet Union
Soviet inventions