Trieste (bathyscaphe)

Trieste shortly after her purchase by the US Navy in 1958
History
Italy
NameTrieste
BuilderAcciaierie Terni/Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico
Launched1 August 1953[1]
FateSold to the United States Navy, 1958
United States
NameTrieste
Acquired1958
Decommissioned1966
ReclassifiedDSV-0, 1 June 1971
StatusPreserved as an exhibit in the U.S. Navy Museum
General characteristics
TypeBathyscaphe
Displacement50 long tons (51 Mg)
Length59 ft 6 in (18.14 m)
Beam11 ft 6 in (3.51 m)
Draft18 ft 6 in (5.64 m)
ComplementTwo

Trieste is a Swiss-designed, Italian-built deep-diving research bathyscaphe. In 1960, it became the first crewed vessel to reach the bottom of Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, the deepest point in Earth's seabed.[2] The mission was the final goal for Project Nekton, a series of dives conducted by the United States Navy in the Pacific Ocean near Guam. The vessel was piloted by Swiss oceanographer Jacques Piccard and US Navy lieutenant Don Walsh. They reached a depth of about 10,916 metres (35,814 ft).

The bathyscaphe was designed by Swiss scientist Auguste Piccard, the father of pilot Jacques Piccard. It was built in Italy and first launched in 1953. The vessel was first owned and operated by the French Navy until it was purchased by the US Navy in 1958. It was taken out of service in 1966. Since the 1980s, it has been on exhibit in the National Museum of the United States Navy in Washington, D.C.

  1. ^ Piccard 1956, p. 107.
  2. ^ "First Trip to the Deepest Part of the Ocean The Bathyscaphe Trieste carried two hydronauts to the Challenger Deep in 1960". Geology.com. 2005-2015 Geology.com. Retrieved 27 April 2015.