CURV
CURV-III was the fourth generation of the
History
CURV was developed by Naval Ordnance Test Station, Pasadena, California, US in the early 1960s. It was initially designed to recover test ordnance lost off San Clemente Island at depths as great as 2,000 feet (610 m). CURV was the pioneer for teleoperation.[1] CURV-III is the fourth generation of CURV. After the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, CURV III was transferred to the Navy's Supervisor of Salvage who directed that it be upgraded from 10,000 feet (3,000 m) operations to 20,000 feet (6,100 m).[1] The CURV-21 is the next generation following CURV-III and was built as its direct replacement.[2]
CURV-III was sent to the National Museum of the U.S. Navy in 2012[3] and she is located in the Cold War Gallery.[4]
Features
CURV-III had a functional design capable of operations at 10,000 feet (3,000 m). It had an open metal frame that was 6.5 feet (2.0 m) by 6.5 feet (2.0 m) by 15 feet (4.6 m), weighed approximately 5,400 pounds (2,400 kg), and was slightly buoyant in water. A cable and surface equipment enabled deployment and operation of the vehicle from a surface support ship.[5] The CURV-III carried:
[T]wo Vidicon television cameras, four mercury-vapor headlights, two mercury-vapor spotlights, and a 35-millimeter camera with a 500 frame color film capacity and strobe light ... mounted on two independent pan-and-tilt units, each with 360 degrees of lateral and 180 degrees of vertical movement. The vehicle thus has full viewing and self-inspection capability.[5]
Other support systems included active and passive sonar, altimeter, depthometer, and compass. It had a tool assembly mounted on the bow that included a manipulator claw. Other tools and lifting devices could be mounted for particular tasks.[6]
Notable operations
1966 H-bomb recovery
In the
1973 Pisces III rescue
Pisces III, a Canadian commercial submersible, was used to lay
1976 SS Edmund Fitzgerald survey
CURV-III became known in the Great Lakes region in 1976 when it was used to survey the wreck of the
2023 Missing submersible incident
CURV-21, which can reach 20,000 feet below the surface of water was being used to search for OceanGate submersible named Titan.[14]
References
- ^ a b "Cable-controlled underwater recovery vehicle". Federation of American Scientists. 1999-11-25. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
- ^ "CURV 21 – Remotely operated vehicle". United States Navy. 2010-09-13. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
- ^ "National Navy Museum Receives Deep Sea Submersible". United States Navy. 2012-07-05.
- ^ "Undersea Exploration". Retrieved 2017-11-29.
- ^ a b Larry K. Brady, Arthur J. Schlosser (1982-05-06). "Ten years of operation experience with CURV III". One Petro. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
- ^ a b c Schlosser, Arthur J. (1977-08-01). SALVOPS 73: NAVSEA 0994-LP-012-6050 (PDF). Naval Sea Systems Command. pp. 1–29. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-08. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
- Invention & Technology Magazine, Vol. 20, Issue 2. Archived from the originalon 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
- ^ a b Scott, David (1974). "Way out machines lay new high-traffic cable". Popular Science. 204 (1). Times Mirror Magazines: 82–85. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
- ^ LCCN 62-4818.
- ^ ISBN 1-55821-663-4.
- ^ LCCN 75-19154.
- ISBN 0-932212-18-8.
- ISBN 0-932212-88-3
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-06-22.