Rescue of Roger Mallinson and Roger Chapman
Divers assist rescued pilots from Pisces III.
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| Date | September 1, 1973 |
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| Location | Irish Sea |
| Coordinates | 50°09′15″N 11°07′7″W / 50.15417°N 11.11861°W |
| Cause | Flooded submersible |
| Participants | Roger Mallinson and Roger Chapman |
| Outcome | Successful rescue of two pilots |
The rescue of Roger Mallinson and Roger Chapman occurred between 29 August and 1 September, 1973 after their Vickers Oceanics' small submersible Pisces III was trapped on the seabed at a depth of 1,575 ft (480 m), 150 mi (240 km) off Ireland in the Irish Sea. The 76-hour multinational rescue effort resulted in the deepest sub rescue in history.
The Canadian commercial submersible Pisces III measured (20 ft (6 m) long by 7 ft (2 m) wide by 11 ft (3 m) high. It was built by International Hydrodynamics of North Vancouver, British Columbia, and had been launched in 1969. Pisces III originally had tail fins, which were removed when the submersible was purchased by Vickers Oceanics. If the fins had been retained, they would have prevented the entanglement of the towline on the craft's machinery sphere which caused the 1973 accident.
Pisces III had sunk once before, during trials in Vancouver Bay in 1971. Peter Messervy of Vickers Oceanics, who would lead the rescue team after the 1973 accident, was one of the pilots who were rescued by the Canadian Defense Ministry submersible SDL-1.
The Pisces III submersible was crewed by 28-year-old pilot Roger Chapman, a former Royal Navy submariner, and 35-year-old engineer and senior pilot Roger Mallinson. Chapman had been invalided out of the Royal Navy due to less-than-perfect eyesight. Both men were married.
During the early hours of Wednesday, 29 August 1973, Chapman and Mallinson began a routine dive, Dive 325 of the Pisces III. They were working on laying transatlantic telephone cable on the seabed, approximately 150 mi (240 km) south west of Cork in southern Ireland. Their job entailed an eight-hour shift in the six foot diameter submersible which moved along the seabed using water jets to liquefy the mud and laying cable that was then recovered. The submersible would usually take approximately 40 minutes to reach a depth of 1,600 ft (488 m).
For Mallinson, this dive was additionally fatiguing as he had spent over a day previously repairing a broken manipulator on the sub. During the repair he changed the oxygen tank for a full one. During each dive the pilots had to ensure that after every 40 minutes they turned on a lithium hydroxide fan to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and also add additional oxygen. Additionally, they maintained a video commentary record during every dive.
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Wikipedia