The ''FNRS-2'' was the first

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 ...

. It was created by

Auguste Piccard Auguste Antoine Piccard (28 January 1884 – 24 March 1962) was a Swiss physicist, inventor and explorer known for his record-breaking hydrogen balloon flights, with which he studied the Earth's upper atmosphere. Piccard was also known for h ...

. Work started in 1937 but was interrupted by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The deep-diving submarine was finished in 1948. The bathyscaphe was named after the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

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 scien ...

(FNRS), the funding organization for the venture. FNRS also funded the ''

FNRS-1 The FNRS-1 was a balloon, built by Auguste Piccard, that set a world altitude record. It was named after the Belgian Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique, which funded the balloon. References and notes Sources * * * See also * Na ...

'' which was a balloon that set a world altitude record, also built by Piccard. The ''FNRS-2'' set world diving records, besting those of the

bathysphere The Bathysphere (Greek: , , "deep" and , , "sphere") was a unique spherical deep-sea submersible which was unpowered and lowered into the ocean on a cable, and was used to conduct a series of dives off the coast of Bermuda from 1930 to 1934. The ...

s, as no unwieldy cable was required for diving. It was in turn bested by a more refined version of itself, the bathyscaphe ''Trieste''. ''FNRS-2'' was built from 1946 to 1948. It was damaged during sea trials in 1948, off the

Cape Verde Islands , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

.''

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 t ...

'', 2010 Online, 9 September 2010 (accessed 9 September 2010) ''FNRS-2'' was sold to the French Navy when FNRS funding ran low, in 1948. The French rebuilt and rebaptised it ''

FNRS-3 The ''FNRS-3'' or ''FNRS III'' is a bathyscaphe of the French Navy. It is currently preserved at Toulon. She set world depth records, competing against a more refined version of her design, the ''Trieste''. The French Navy eventually replaced ...

''. It was eventually replaced by the '' FNRS-4''. In February 1954 the ''FNRS-3'' reached a depth of in the Atlantic, 160 miles off

Dakar 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 2 ...

, beating Piccard's 1953 record by 900 meters.

Sea trials

''FNRS-2'' went for sea trials accompanied by the 3500 t Belgian ship ''Scaldis'', as its tender. However, ''Scaldis'' crane was not strong enough to lift ''FNRS-2'' while its float was filled, and this proved to be the detail that would end ''FNRS-2'' career. An unmanned test dive to was successfully completed, but owing to technical problems, the support crew were unable to empty its float of the gasoline that was used for buoyancy. ''Scaldis'' attempted to tow ''FNRS-2'' back to port, but it was battered by ocean waves and sprang a gasoline leak. After the leak was detected, the gasoline was dumped into the sea and ''FNRS-2'' was raised. However, there was no reserve of gasoline for replacement, nor funding to fix the float.

References

Bibliography

* ''Le Bathyscaphe'', en collaboration avec Pierre Willm, Éditions de Paris, 1954 * ''La Découverte sous-marine'', Éditions Bourrellier, 1959 * ''20 ans de Bathyscaphe'', Éditions Arthaud, 1972 * ''Le bathyscaphe - à 4500 m. au fond de l'océan'' * ''Bathyscaphe le à 4050 m au fond de l'océan'' * ''2000 Fathoms Down''

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fnrs-2 Deep-submergence vehicles Submarines of Belgium Trieste-class deep-submergence vehicle