Courtesy of The Los Angeles Times January 24, 1960 via Newspapers.com
Bathyscaph Sets Astonishing Depth Mark in Pacific Dive
Trieste Touches Earth’s Deepest Known Point; Scientists Report Life Seven Miles Down
WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 — In one of the most remarkable scientific feats of the age, a U.S. Navy bathyscaph yesterday descended to what is believed to be the deepest point on the face of the earth—more than seven miles beneath the Pacific Ocean—and returned safely with its two‑man crew.
The Navy announced that the bathyscaph Trieste, carrying Swiss scientist Jacques Piccard and Navy Lt. Don Walsh, touched bottom at 37,800 feet, in the black depths of the Marianas Trench southwest of Guam. It is the deepest dive ever made by man, surpassing a record set only days earlier in the same forbidding chasm.
Colder Than Expected — But Alive Down There
The Navy reported that the pair spent roughly 30 minutes on the ocean floor, where temperatures were “very cold” and visibility limited until stirred‑up silt settled. Yet even at that crushing depth—where pressure exceeds eight tons per square inch—Piccard and Walsh reported seeing living, moving creatures on the bottom.
“They could see living and moving objects at 37,800 feet,” the Navy statement said, noting the bottom was “very soft,” sending up clouds of “dust” when the craft settled.
The descent required 4 hours and 48 minutes, the ascent 3 hours and 17 minutes. The crew maintained radio contact for only part of the journey, losing voice communication halfway down and regaining it upon reaching the bottom.
Their only nourishment during the ordeal: one chocolate bar per hour.
A Triumph of Engineering
The Trieste, designed by Piccard and his father Auguste, operates much like an underwater blimp. A long hull filled with gasoline provides buoyancy, while a forged‑steel sphere slung beneath houses the crew. The craft withstood pressures no submarine has ever faced.
Upon surfacing, Lt. Walsh released a plastic container bearing an American flag to mark the historic spot.
Scientific and Military Stakes
The Marianas Trench has long been charted as the deepest known scar on the planet, but never before has man reached its floor. The achievement carries enormous scientific value—offering clues to deep‑sea life, ocean temperatures, currents, and the forces that shape global climate.
But the Navy made clear the mission also has military significance. As submarines push to greater depths, knowledge of the ocean’s cold, dark underworld becomes vital for both offensive and defensive strategy.
A Race Beneath the Waves
Some American scientists have warned that the Soviet Union has been gaining ground in oceanographic research, commissioning new survey vessels and expanding its deep‑sea programs. Yesterday’s dive, however, surpassed anything the Russians have claimed.
For now, the deepest point on earth belongs not to the mountains but to the sea—and two men have seen it with their own eyes.
Courtesy of The Los Angeles Times January 24, 1960 via Newspapers.com