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JAPAN BUILDS A SEAPLANE
124 Japan Builds a Seaplane
By Commander
R. A. Hoffman, U. S. Navy
126 The Design of the Great Airships
By William L. Fischer
129 The Naval Speaker
By Lieutenant Commander Don Walsh, U. S. Navy
131 The Spanish Navy
By Raymond J. Barrett U. S. Foreign Service
133 The Red Sea Brine Holes
By C. Dana Densmore
Professional Notes
Captain Walter S. DeLany, Jr.
U. S. Navy Associate Editor
A recent announcement that the U. S.
Navy will phase out the remainder of its seaplane squadrons in 1968 portends the end of an era. The military and commercial flying boats have suffered constantly declining favor since the end of World War II, despite the imagination and efforts of planners, designers and operators. The seaplane, such as the Navy’s P-5M Marlin, still has inherent quali' ties of versatility and mobility which make it militarily attractive, particularly for the ASW mission.
In World War II, in Korea, and again during the Vietnam buildup, the technically deficient seaplane performed vital service before fixed bases could be established and the more efficient landplane could assume its role.
The Japanese, whose country is particularly well suited for the seaplane, have constructed their first major military airframe desig11 since World War II, a seaplane. The PX-S design team is led by Dr. Shizuo Kikuhara> whose Emily has been called the best flyk'o boat of the War. It is being built by the Shu1 Meiwa Industry Co., Nishinomiyam-shi. The PX-S incorporates unique solutions to trad*' tional seaplane problems; features which vru make it competitive with landplanes and g>v^ it a versatility unmatched by any other AS'' aircraft.
In appearance, the PX-S is a convention^ four-engine flying boat with fixed floats 111 the 100,000 pound class, reminiscent of a U. S. two-engine P-5 Marlin. It is, however* turboprop-powered and capable of 300 knots- It is also equipped with a new spray-sllP pressing bow, self-contained beaching gear’ and a deflected slipstream boundary ln)ta control system designed to give landing al1 take-off speeds of 45 knots.
The bowspray of a conventional flying b°
has been always a drawback. High-velocity spray causes propeller erosion, water injection *nto the engine, and structural damage, especially to the flaps. In rough water, the spray is particularly bothersome to the pilot and must be reduced if an aircraft is to operate from the open sea. Using two-dimensional water tunnel studies of a number of chine designs, Dr. Kikuhara found that a rounded chine causes a high velocity spray Pattern that rises almost vertically very close to the hull. From his studies, he designed a rounded-chine bow that exhausts the high vclocity spray into a groove from which it is ejected aft. The spray suppressor has been extensively tested in the PX-S prototype, a converted SA-16 Albatross.
The initial PX-S design incorporates a self- contained tricycle beaching gear. This means the aircraft no longer needs complete beach- lng facilities, which might include large crews, tractors, winches, and intricate rigging, and the aircraft will be able to taxi in and
°ut of the water under its own power. Special low-pressure tires permit beaching on pebbled 0r sandy beaches and on deteriorated ramps. This beaching gear weighs only about 2.5 per cent of the gross weight. The convenience and Versatility it gives the aircraft makes the "'eight penalty worthwhile.
It is planned that later versions of the aircraft will be fully amphibious, permitting the !lse of air fields when desired. Studies are be- lr*g conducted on a “convertible amphibian” "ersion, on which the main landing gear ^tght be removed when used purely for seaplane operations.
The PX-S is designed to operate in the open ocean at Sea State 5 (8 to 12 feet). To Achieve this, the PX-S uses a combination of effected slipstream and boundary layer con- J°1 to muster landing and take-off speeds of ^ knots at an operating weight of 36 tons. In ffte water, with a 25-knot wind at this weight, the run is only 200 feet; as a landplane, the amPhibian version can clear a 50-foot obstacle in 1,300 feet with a weight of 42 tons.
because over half the lift of the PX-S in the '1 °L (short take-off and landing) mode c°ntes from deflecting the slipstream, the air- ctaft js remarkably free of another conventual seaplane problem: “rebound” or “skip- out of the water in an uncontrolled
state after initial touchdown. At touchdown, reversal of the propellers spoils aerodynamic and deflected slipstream lift. Thus, the low ground speed does not generate enough hydrodynamic lift to rebound the aircraft.
Low landing and take-off speeds are achieved in the PX-S in a relatively unsophisticated manner. Propellers are not cross-shafted and boundary-layer-control (BLC) air is provided by a high volume, low-pressure compressor with resultant low BLC air temperatures. Studies also indicate that the aircraft can gain altitude if an altitude of 30 feet has been reached or safely landed if it is below 30 feet. A tendency towards yaw divergence at low airspeed is counteracted by the same automatic flight control used in other modern aircraft.
The low landing and take-off speed, and the elimination of bowspray and skipping promise a seaplane truly capable of routine operation in the open sea. Therefore, in addition to an electronics suite identical with the U. S. Navy P-3B Deltic aircraft, the PX-S will be equipped with dipping sonar. A sonar seaplane was evaluated at Air Development Squadron One in 1957 using the AQS-6 sonar in a P-5. This sonar was quite successful in active, passive, and LOFAR modes. Both prototypes have been delivered to Japan to aid in the development of the PX-S aircraft’s sonar. For increased flexibility, the sonar will be removable. Therefore, the loss of this weight can be translated into increased range and endurance.
Shin Meiwa Industry Co., Ltd.
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Studies are being made of possible additional employment of the PX-S, for use as a search and rescue vehicle or an assault logistic transport. For the former, the amphibian version promises a 5,000-mile range, with a recovery ability to pick up 55 survivors from an 8-foot sea 1,200 miles from base. This might be very useful also for landing combat teams or supplies in underdeveloped areas.
The PX-S is a unique and promising aircraft. For its primary mission of ASW it is pertinent to refer to a 1966 paper entitled “ASW Patrol Aircraft of the Future” by C. E. Olson and M. A. Romero of the Boeing Company. This paper states, “When the various potential types of aircraft and propulsion systems are considered, the subsonic landplane, powered by turboprop or turbo-fan engines, possibly to be replaced by an amphibian at a higher gross weight, stands out as the most attractive system.” As an amphibian with an open ocean capability, the PX-S might well be the prototype ASW aircraft of the future.
By William L. Fischer, designer and engineer for Luftschiffbau Zeppelin
THE DESIGN OF THE GREAT AIRSHIPS
Before the Navy contract for the airships Akron and Macon was signed in 1928, LZ had built over 100 airships of various types. They held most LTA world records. To understand the causes for the failure of the Navy project, we must understand the reasons for LZ’s outstanding achievements. The
Abbreviations:
LTA—lighter than air GZ—Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation, Akron, Ohio HTA—heavier than air HH—helium and hydrogen LZ—Luftschiffbau Zeppelin, Fried- richshafen, Germany.
key men were Dr. Ludwig Durr, the designer, and Dr. Hugo Eckener, the pilot.
Durr came to LZ as a draftsman in 1901. Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin soon discovered his talent as a designer and engineer and developed him for a director’s position. A mechanic, a balloonist and an airship captain, he can best be compared with C. F- Kettering, the Ohio farmer-boy, who later became head of General Motors Research Corporation.
LZ was the most successful operator of airships in the world and Diirr, who had designed all LZ ships since 1905, was therefore an unsurpassed airship designer.
Dr. Eckener became an airship pilot in 1908 and later the director of LZ’s airship lines. His sensational flight around the world in 1929 won him world fame.
The prime task for a large naval airship was to fly for a long distance over the sea Therefore, the number of ocean crossings accomplished was a realistic measure for its usefulness. No helium ship ever crossed an ocean nonstop. The score is: hydrogen ships beat helium ships by 115:0 and LZ ships beat all others by 111:4.
Helium has one great advantage in LTA work in that it does not burn. Helium has many disadvantages, however. The ship lS not allowed to start fully inflated, because costly helium would blow off when it ascends to flying altitude. Further handicaps are l0'^ gas purity, because new gas is not adde after every flight as in a hydrogen ship, weight and horsepower loss of a water rC covery, and the necessity to fly low due to the weight. Helium cannot compete with hydr° gen because it is too heavy and too expensive' Therefore, there is 9 per cent less lift due t0 weight and some 10 per cent less lift due tD the requirement to prevent blow-off.
These defects were well-known from 1 U. S. airships Shenandoah and the Los AngdfS' but no attempt was made to overcome then1-
The inefficiency of a helium ship was
to ascertain, by comparing the pe: ^
mances of the same ship when filled ^ hydrogen as was the LZ-126 and filled vV1 ^ helium as was the Los Angeles. The hydroge1^ filled version flew 5,000 miles nonstop fr° Friedrichshafen, Germany, to Lakehu^ N. J., while the helium version could not ma
National Archives
lhe 3,800-mile trip from Lakehurst to Carrington, England. After 1928, the great superiority of a hydrogen ship was again shown bY the world flight of the Graf Zeppelin with a volume of only 54 per cent of the Akron.
The dangers of a helium ship were dem- °nstrated when the Shenandoah crashed into a hill, but no realistic analysis of this accident was made. An airship is basically a balloon. Aerostatic control is therefore fundamental. Aerodynamic control is secondary. For aerostatic control, the pilot must have full free- d°m to control the gas and the ballast. If this 's denied to him, his ship is not airworthy. * he pilot cannot foresee how much ballast he niUst release to bring his ship up to the de- Slred altitude. She may easily rise above pres- ^Ufe height (which is not a constant figure in eet above sea level but varies with atmosPheric conditions) and blow off helium. Naval officers did their best to make the ehum ship a success, but the laws of aerobatics cannot be overcome by good will and Personal sacrifice.
1 he Macon was lost, owing to faulty fin de- Slgn. This is beyond doubt, because of the j:°hapse of the upper fin and parts of main rarue 17.5 followed by the rupture of three a jacent cells. The immediate loss of helium ^Ust have been much greater than on the ro?*> because the cells were ruptured at e top. Dropping 32,700 pounds of ballast *d not save the Macon. The loss of the Akron . as due to the same cause. This follows from entical fin design. There was no “line ^Dall.” The fact that Captain Karl Dalldorf, *PPer of the German motorship Phoebus, >ch arrived right after the crash when the
Akron’s hull was still floating on the ocean, was able to launch two lifeboats and pull Commander Wiley and three sailors out of the water—and all this at midnight proves that the weather was not extremely bad. But Congress did not listen to Eckener who had told reporters after the Macon’s crash that faulty design was the cause.
GZ’s technical director, Dr. K. Arnstein, was a bridge builder who had worked as stress analyst under Durr from 1914-24. The Akron was the first airship he designed. Still worse, he detested Durr’s “unscientific design” and started on his own ideas. He built the GZ mainframe as an “unbraced ring.” It was a failure because not enough weight was available for its enormous cross section. The girders had to be made very flimsy. As a result, they could not stand the bulkhead loads; an “elastic bulkhead” had to be improvised. The fin attachment points pulled out of the ring structure. Since a bulkhead must hold a gas cell in place, it cannot be “elastic.” It must not bulge out because this disturbs the ship’s fore-and-aft stability.
Durr designed the fin structure as an integral part of the hull. At station “O” and 17.5 the main frame was reinforced by two rugged diagonals in cruciform. They extended beyond the ring and formed the backbones for the fins. The leading edge of each fin was secured to mainframe 35. This was a sound solution. GZ did not adopt it, but built each fin as an independent structure, as a cantilever wing which was bolted to the hull at only two points (to make it “statically determined”). The leading edge was not connected to mainframe 35.
The GZ-inside-powerplant was more comfortable than a cramped and windswept LZ gondola and it allowed 90° swiveling of the propeller, but the weight and drag of eight Akron engines was greater than that of four Hindenburg gondolas of the same total horsepower.
The 560-h.p. Maybach engine was much too small for an Akron-size ship; 12 more machinists were needed than in the Hindenburg. And four propellers in a line was a mistake. Adjustable pitch propellers (adjustable in the hangar only) could improve the propeller efficiency for only one pre-selected engine combination. This reduced the flexibility in the use of engines.
From the fundamental difference between LTA aviation (big aerostatic lift, modest speed, long flights, long time between overhauls) and HTA aviation (modest aerodynamic lift, very high speed, short flights, frequent overhauls) follows that the engine types cannot be the same. An airship engine may be rather heavy (up to four pounds per horsepower) but must excel in reliability and fuel economy. Specifications for the Allison engine were wrong.
The GZ water recovery had one advantage in that the condenser panels were spread out over a part of the hull and caused little drag But soot and corrosion required frequent cleaning or even replacing of panels. This made the GZ recovery impractical. This reduced the availability of the ship.
Durr again made a more practical design. His water recovery was inside the engine gondola. It was compact like a radiator block and could be cleaned during flight. Furthermore, the low temperature stage was made of
copper, and sulphur-free diesel fuel was used.
The first U. S. aircraft carrier, the Langley, was built in 1922, and Charles A. Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic in 1927. This indicated that rigid airships would soon be outclassed. Nevertheless, their ocean crossings in 1919 (R-34) and 1924 (LZ-126) indicated that they would remain useful as the eyes of the Fleet for a few years more.
After the Shenandoah crashed in September 1925, the Navy should have given up that grand illusion of a 100 per cent helium ship and should have started the development of a 70 per cent helium and 30 per cent hydrogen ship (HH). The first step would have been to put hydrogen ballonets into the Los Angela and fly her to England and back to win the practical support of admirals and congressmen. Undoubtedly, the needed money would have been granted. Then the prototype for 3 large HH ship should have been ordered from LZ. Specifications would have included: 1 million cubic feet, four diesels of 1,500 h.p- 10 the gondolas, space for four scout planes, and LZ water recovery. This means that the Hin' denburg should have been built nine years earlier. It would have been no problem for LZ, which could have developed a new ship and engine much faster than GZ. About 1928) this HH ship with two planes on board coulo have been ready for an around-the-gl°^c flight, to show the flag. In the following yearS> these HH ships could have been of considerable value in scouting over the Pacific.
OCEAN CROSSINGS MADE BY HYDROGEN SHIPS
Ship | North Atlantic | South Atlantic | North Pacific | Year |
R-34 | 2 |
|
| 1919 |
R-100 | 2 |
|
| 1930 |
LZ-126 Los Angeles | 1 |
|
| 1924 |
LZ-127 Graf Zeppelin | 6 | 68 | 1 | 1928-1937 |
LZ-129 Hindenburg | 21 | 14 |
| 1936-1937 |
Total: | 32 | 82 | 1 = | 115 |
The U. S. airships Akron and Mac0’1 were lost, because of faulty design and 1°"' altitude flying. The deeper cause for failure of this Navy project was a lack 0 realism and common sense.
;r°ugh exposition of its role in the execution national policies. To this end the Navy,
°ugh the Chief of Information and other 'nformational activities, has developed a wide sPectrum of information transmission tech- Nues and sources. The proper use of these Oiaterials means an effective telling of the ‘ avy story.
^Tis is not getting done in a most critical 'lrca> in the Navy speaker efforts. If the Navy ^ere to hire a public relations firm to tell it 0Vv best to improve the Navy image, the "swcr probably would be to set up an ag- 'Jussive speaker’s program, manned by Navy en of all grades and ranks representing the ^al scope of Navy activity. The impact and C(-tiveness of the man in uniform, the naval leaker, has not been fully appreciated.
,°vies, colorful slides, TV and radio, along
M.
With
can
THE NAVAL SPEAKER
In the current context of cost effectiveness and program analysis, one is often tempted |-0 assume that if an effort cannot be analyzed ln some precise format then it is probably not Worthwhile. This is not always true. One of lhe most important areas that defies “pricing °ut ’ is public relations. Though there is a Relationship in that effectively telling the Navy’s story assists in determining what role lt shall play in the nation’s defense posture. The Navy must ensure that the story is told onestly and widely; in some areas, however, rni|st entertain a healthy competition with s>ster services. It is this competition that keeps Us trying to do the better job, the more effec- tlVe job. Insurance that the Navy position is
early delineated can only be achieved thi
of thn stocks of color brochures and pamphlets i'uln°t compare to having a “doer” tell about
1SJvrr°feSsi°n'
Vqj any people in the Navy have been in- Ve<J in a great deal of public speaking, but 0Vv many are doing this willingly through
a sense of concern that Navy people are not doing all they should to tell the story to the public? Many senior officers, activity and unit commanders get involved more from a sense of duty related to their particular positions than through a genuine motivation to act. And more often than not, Navy people spend a great deal of time talking to each other and, therefore, tend to be deceived by this favorable reception. Internal “selling” is important, but that is not all there is to this task. This also applies in speaking to Navy- oriented civilian organizations. A lot of time is spent telling them how important the Navy is, and they spend a lot of time affirming this to the Navy. Instead, Navy communications should be in concert with these groups in telling the story to the American public, which has yet to be sold on the importance of sea power. And. as with any good selling program, the Navy has to keep on selling to be effective.
Public speaking is not held in particularly high esteem by many Navy people. Many are not naturally good speakers and, yet, all know that at some point in their careers they will be expected to speak for their organization and to do it well. This is not a talent that is gained through seniority or the addition of gold to the sleeve. It is gained through practice and the improvement of skills. Many forward-looking officers, realizing this vital need, have joined organizations such as the Toastmasters to learn to improve this important communication skill.
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What is needed by the Navy is a solid core of dedicated professionals who are sincere, motivated, and who will take pride in selling their Navy. The development of this motiva-
U. S. Naval Institute Proceedings
PROFESSIONAL READING GUIDE
In the same format as the Proceedings it contains: Notable Naval Books of 1967, from the December 1967 Proceedings; A Guide to Reading on Vietnam, from the August 1967 Proceedings; and an alphabetical composite listing of the monthly Professional Reading pages which have appeared in the Proceedings in 1967.
$1.00 each (No Discount)
United States Naval Institute Annapolis, Maryland 21402
(Please use order form in booklist section)
of large
tion and the maintenance of enthusiasm is the direct responsibility of force, activity, and unit commanders throughout the Navy. If each Navy command had just a few speakers, within a short time the Navy image would gain new luster. It is not suggested that some sort of “duty list” of public speakers would be the answer; this would take the heart out of the effort. The truly motivated man will take his interests with him wherever he goes during his career and will, in turn, recruit other effective Navy speakers.
The following key elements, wisely implemented, can create a first-class speaking program for Navy commands and activities:
(1)Commanders must take a personal interest in the establishment of the command’s speaker program and its continued success.
(2) All officers and career enlisted men should be encouraged to participate. Often it is the younger members of the profession who are the most effective speakers. Youth, enthusiasm, and the zeal of being fresh from Fleet operations are some of the ingredients for a dynamic speaker.
(3)Ensure that subordinates receive generous recognition for their voluntary efforts First, this recognizes good men who are willing to do a little extra for their profession and, secondly, it ensures a supply of motivated volunteer speakers.
(4) Prepare and maintain a command library of speakers’ materials of releasable information on Navy programs. In this way, security clearance and security problems are eliminated. In addition, it provides the speakers with varying degrees of support depending on his public speaking abilities. A novice speaker, who is still a little uncertain, can begin with a movie, followed by questions and answers.
(5)Do a good selling job for the speaking program from the beginning. Many commands have established successful speakers bureaus and publicize a list of speakers and their subjects. Once such a solid program is established, selling it will not be much of 3 problem.
(6)Inform the Chief of Information about the command’s speaking program. Most in3' portant, submit to CHINFO speaker ideas and suggestions. This will enable CHINFO to be more responsive to the program’s needs. The Speech Bureau of CHINFO is now established and working to assist Navy speakers. The)' will need, however, feedback to ensure the best use of their resources.
It is obvious that most Fleet units will n°j be able to participate during their operation3 cycles. Yard periods, upkeep periods, an3 holidays can be put to valuable use by tbe “seagoing sailor” to make public speeches.
There is no evading the fact that this is 3,1 extra demand on the often limited free tiulC of today’s Navy man. However, to a large degree, our Navy is what those in it make >f- The selling of sea power to American citizeflS is one of the important ways that the N3V'l can increase the support for its programs. F°r too long, many in the Navy have taken du stand that public relations is “ungentle manly” and that the Navy’s “obvious v'r tues” would shine forth in support of ever) thing Navy men wished. ^
It is obvious that this is not the case an that the most effective and sensible way meeting the competition is through a and vigorous Navy speaker program.
THE SPANISH NAVY TODAY
The Spanish Navy in recent years has been moving forward with a thorough modernization program. Its units now cooperate ehectively with the U. S., French, Portugese, and other Western navies in antisubmarine, antiaircraft, amphibious, and I'dneswecping exercises. The Spanish Fleet is ln the process of being reorganized from the °ld system of assignment of ships by geographical region to assignment predicated on Unctional employment. Ships are organized lnt° the Escort Command at El Ferrol, in ^Pain’s northwest corner on the Atlantic; the pmphibious Command at Cadiz, on the At- antic just outside the Straits of Gibraltar; and the Training Command, on the Mediterranean Coast. The Spanish Marine Corps as increased in importance, from providing guards for shore establishments and ships’ detachments, to conducting small-scale am- Pmbious operations; at present, the Marine °rps can mount a battalion landing team- Sl2e unit against light resistance.
The latest step in the modernization pro- gra*u was the signing of a contract to pro- jhde aid by the U. S. government and U. S. avy jn the building in Spain of five frigates, hese ships are similar to the U. S. Navy’s j ^'1052 class. They will be about 480 feet in ^ehgth with a 47-foot beam, will displace over d0 tons and will have a speed of 27 knots. In j. uition to a 5-inch gun, antisubmarine war- -|!re torpedoes and rockets, they will carry a c-tar surface-to-air missile system. U. S. 'Operation includes technical aid, ser- Ces and the supply of special equipment , u material. These ships are scheduled for *Very during the period 1970-72. In addi- k°o to the already existing U. S. Navy Ship- Shi liaison Office in Madrid, a Resident Liaison Officer is presently on duty at e El Ferrol naval base.
Also on loan to Spain is a light aircraft carrier, the ex-USS Cabot (AVT-3). She was leased to Spain on 30 August 1967 for five years under Public Law 89-324. She was repaired, altered, and outfitted as a helicopter carrier, renamed Dedalo PH-01, and based at Rota. This work was done at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. The Spanish Navy’s air arm has 16 former U. S. helicopters; 10 of these are trainers and six are rescue-transport types, four of the latter being equipped with dip sonar gear. Four Augusta Bell 47-G turbine helicopters were bought from Italy and six Sikorsky SH-3D twin turbine helicopters were purchased from the United States.
The Spanish Navy also has on loan from the United States 5 destroyers, 12 minesweepers, and a submarine. In addition, 11 destroyer escorts, 9 mine craft, and 9 patrol craft have been modernized and transferred to them under the Military Assistance Program (MAP). Two more destroyers are now being modernized under a separate MAP contract and are scheduled for completion in 1968. The Spanish Navy also recently has received from the United States an attack transport and an attack cargo ship to add to its small group of amphibious vessels, consisting of three medium landing ships and various minor craft.
The Spanish Fleet is composed of 30 major combatant ships: one cruiser, 11 destroyers, 10 escort ships, 4 submarines, and 4 midget submarines; it also contains 23 patrol and 31 mine laying vessels and the attack cargo and transport ships and the landing ships. The personnel strength of the Spanish Navy is about 46,000 officers and men, which includes roughly 10,000 in the Marine Corps and 600 midshipmen at the Naval Academy. Naval Reserve personnel, including the Marine Corps Reserve, totals approximately 250,000. There is no reserve fleet; the only ships not maintained in active status are those undergoing major repairs or modernization.
The administrative control of the Spanish Navy leads from the Chief of State directly to the Minister of the Navy, who is a full cabinet member and normally an admiral. The principal missions of the Spanish Navy are the defense of peninsular Spain, the Balearic and Canary Islands, and the African territories, and, of course, the protection of maritime and coastal shipping activity.
By C. Dana Densmore,
Research Assistant,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
THE RED SEA BRINE HOLES
“And as to the Temperature of the Lower Region, he taketh notice that it is generally Cold, some few places excepted; confirming all by considerable relations, he procured from Sober and Creditable Navigators, and other Persons practised in Diving, both with and without Engines.”[1]
To the north of the city of Bab el Mandeb on the Red Sea, the Gate of Affliction of the Arab seaman, lie a thousand miles of hot, highly saline water fringed with desolate coral reefs, mountains, and desert. For millennia, the civilizations of East and West communicated primarily through this steaming trough, which is still one of the world’s great thoroughfares. Darius of Persia cut the first canal between the Nile and Arsinoe at the head of the Gulf of Suez 500 years before Christ. Queen Hatshepsut had attempted a canal a thousand years earlier. In the 12th century, the Crusader lord of Transjordan named Reynaud de Chatillon built boats in sections on the Mediterranean coast, carried them to the Gulf of Aqaba on camels and set out to disrupt Muslim sea trade as far away as Aden.
By 1948 it had been recognized for 60 years that the Red Sea consisted of remarkably homogenous water from 200 meters to the bottom with a temperature of about 22° centigrade and a salinity around 40.6 per cent. The Swedish research ship Albatross came upon Friday’s footprint, 2,000 meters below the surface, near 21° North Latitude and 38° East Longitude. There, the temperature was 24.5° centigrade, and the salinity up to 44 per cent. The Swedes had not had the time to linger over this anomaly, and for ten years the nagging clue was left uninvestigated.
In 1958 the big ketch Atlantis of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution was bound for the Indian Ocean to rendezvous with Lamont Geological Observatory’s vessel Verna, and during preparation for the cruise, a data search turned up once more the faint track. On her way south, Atlantis made two deep casts in the same area, although probably a few miles to the north and west of Albatross position. Heat haze and refraction frequently inhibit celestial navigation in these waters.
For five more years there was quiet in that curious depression off Jidda almost exactly in the center of the Red Sea, until the International Indian Ocean Expedition gave new' significance to the area. In 1963 Woods Hole s new Atlantis II revisited the spot and was rewarded by a maximum temperature of nearly 26° centigrade and a salinity above 43 per cent. But Atlantis II returned home by way oi the Cape of Good Hope and the scent was lost once more.
The next year another new ship, England s Discovery, of the National Institute of Ocean' ography, was due to return from the India11 Ocean and her people were alerted to the warming trail. On 11 September they anchored a reference buoy and made a sound' ing survey within a 5-mile radius, choosing finally a small depression 200 meters deeper than the surrounding bottom. Using a pinger to enable as close an approach to the bottoi'1 as possible, they made two casts, the result5 of which startled them considerably.
Ordinarily, reversing thermometers aI"e paired, protected and unprotected, the dn' ference between the in-situ temperature an the temperature raised by ambient pressut on the mercury bulb allowing a thermometry depth to be calculated. Discovery's protecte thermometer’s were off scale below 2,0U meters, but their 60° unprotected one el1 ablcd them to derive a bottom teinperatnre by a pressure correction. It was 44° centigrade twice that of the water 50 meters above 1; And the salinity was six or seven times wh would be expected; a nearly saturated brine'
Now the hunt was up, indeed, and l{l Woods Hole, preparing for a winter India’1 Ocean survey at the time of the northWe ^ monsoon, A. R. Miller, who was Chief Seif’1 tist in 1963, set about procuring thermomete that would accurately measure the “funny
■Water.” These were contrived from 60° unprotected ones, housed and sealed in special cases to eliminate the pressure effect. Meanwhile, the German ship Meteor of the Institut fur Meereskunde had passed over the spot and made superb echo soundings of the brine, the density interfaces being layered like a cake.
In February 1965, using satellite navigation, Atlantis II located the brine area and put down four casts in two deeps, each below 2>100 meters. Discovery-Deep water of over 44° centigrade was again found, while in What is now known as Atlantis //-Deep, three 0r four miles to the north, the new thermometers were nearly off the scale at 56°. Strangely enough, the salinity was almost identical to that of the 44° water, but the hotter brine oxidized shortly after reaching the air and became a dark rust color. A sophisticated analysis made ashore later showed the new hfine to have extraordinary concentrations of heavy metals—zinc, copper, iron and manganese 1,000 to 50,000 times higher than their estimated normal levels in sea water. Clearly *he two brines were rather different in spite °f their similarities. They more closely resembled oil-well brines rather than anything Seen in the oceans.
Atlantis II made several core drillings in and near the deeps, cores whose liners were filled with a black, greasy ooze of iron oxides which turned brown as it dried.
By this time geophysicists and geochemists in the laboratories of several countries were heatedly debating the possible sources of the strange brines. One theory considered the possibility of evaporation in the shallows among the reefs making a very hot, dense water that found its devious way to the depths, where it might maintain a thermal barrier against mixing. Another suggested that these brines were the highly evaporated dregs of the Red Sea left from the last ice age, when enough water was locked in the ice cap to cut off all inflow from the ocean. A third proposed ancient connate water released from the rock bed of the sea.
More and more, however, as the analyses became more wide-ranging and more detailed, it appeared that the water was welling from the bottom following the leaching out of the underlying evaporites. These are known to be at least 2,000 meters thick in some parts of the Red Sea rift, and the leaching of minerals plus heating from pressure would contribute to the peculiar properties of the brine. A California geophysicist believes, from isotopic shifts of deuterium and oxygen 18,
that the brines originate at the shallow sill of the Red Sea, 1,000 kilometers to the south and filter down through the sediments and to the north until they are released upward through a fault. According to the “Sailing Directions” for the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (1965), this is an area “in which earthquakes have been felt by ships at sea,” the only one so designated anywhere around Arabia. Although many tests have been made in the Red Sea, no other trace of the “funny- water” has yet been found.
In the fall of 1966, the search became formal, concentrated, and unhurried. The Woods Hole ship Chain (ex-ARS-20), after several months work in the Mediterranean, passed through the Suez Canal and planted herself firmly in the center of the Red Sea; and there, but for a brief excursion into Port Sudan, she remained for 24 days.
After an exhaustive bottom survey, two buoys were set out with orange flags, radar targets, and blinking lights. Thirty-five hydrographic casts were made into the brines. Measurements of heat flow in the sediments showed temperature gradients 10 to 20 times the world average of one degree centigrade in 16 meters. Also conducted were: magnetic and gravity surveys, studies of the chemistry, biology and transparency of the brines, seismic profiles, photographs, dredges, and cores. Twenty-four hours a day the work went on. At night, along with the international red- white-red at the spreader, the Chain showed a brilliant flashing strobe light to ensure a little more peace of mind for all on board.
Surface currents in the central Red Sea are variable and unpredictable, though often setting from west to east or east to west, and it is difficult both to put a cast exactly into a narrow hole over a mile below and keep it there long enough to accomplish an objective. The effect of the brines on instruments is obvious: blackened brass, violent electrolysis, and rapid battery deterioration.
From the bathymetric chart, it is seen that the brine area is roughly chop-shaped with Discovery-Deep water in the southern tail, whose brine is the result of spill-over from the more active Atlantis //-Deep. This brine appears to be cooling from the bottom. In Atlantis //-Deep, the 56° water is overlaid by a 44° layer about 30 meters thick with an intermediate salinity of 150 per cent. Above this a mixing layer of 150 meters before the 22 water is established. Core samples from around Atlantis //-Deep are spectacularly banded with narrow layers of many colors, as through periodic percolations had deposited sediments and receded again. Per* haps the most interesting development is the fact that in 18 months between the visits of Atlantis II and Chain the 56° water had warmed by one-half degree centigrade, which means an enormous amount of heat from below keeps it hot.
Next Time He Won’t Forget
My very first duty as an ensign was to instruct enlisted Reservists on the CIC of our APA. While the ship conducted a towing exercise, 17 pink-cheeked boys listened to me in the cramped, mysterious world of green scopes and crackling radios.
“So,” I concluded, “you can see that no possible danger can approach within 150 miles without our being instantly aware of it!”
At that precise moment we collided with the towed ship, and all were thrown to the deck. While we untangled ourselves, the bored voice of the duty Radarman commented, “Of course, men, the Ensign forgot to say that there’s a 300-yard deductible on that guarantee.”
----------------------------- Contributed by Lieutenant Commander Charles D. McIntosh,
U. S. Naval Reserve
{The Naval Institute will pay $10.00 for each anecdote published in the Proceedings.)
★
This deposition of heavy metals from sea water is of absorbing interest to geologists because here, in the little space of 60 square kilometers, is an observable still-active example of a process thought to have ended 1,1 the Pre-Cambrian era a billion years ago.
Progress
All-purpose boat for Naval Air Stations—The Navy has recently accepted the first of ten new 40-foot aircraft personnel and rescue boats from the Grafton Boat Company. The heavy-duty allpurpose craft is a refinement of the 40-foot utility boat now used by the Navy and Coast Guard. Diesel- powered, she has a speed of over 23 knots. The hull is steel and the superstructure is aluminum.
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Sonar Searcher—The Pisces, built by International Hydrodynamics, will be outfitted with a modified version of the SS1 OO/high resolution search sonar. Normally used on surface craft, the sonar will give the operator a radar-like picture and scan a 320° forward sector, either automatically or manually for a 4° above horizontal to 90° straight down search. Pisces measures 16 by llj feet and has been working at 2,000- foot depths.
Western Marine Electronics
Swedish Submarine—The submarine Sjoormen is the first of five being built in Sweden for their Navy. The Sjoormen is conventionally powered, displaces 1,100 tons, and has a length of just under 175 feet. A highly streamlined shape and a large, slowly rotating propeller makes the craft fast and silent when submerged. She will be armed with a new type of guided torpedo and mines; advanced electronic systems have reduced manning to 23 crewmen.
Swedish Information Service
Helo Radar—Preliminary
flight tests by the Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB have demonstrated a helicopter-borne radar detection system for low flying aircraft. The radar uses the Westinghouse-developed integrated circuit, range gated digital MTI (moving target indicator) already proven successful through surface testing. Here the helicopter makes a landing on a special platform and the rotating radar is locked in fore-and- aft position.
Westinghouse
Bulbous Bow—The Neder Lek, a 12,000-deadweight- ton cargoliner launched by Nippon Kokan in Japan for the Dutch firm of Nederland Line, features a bulbous bow that is 15 feet in diameter and 57 feet long. It is designed to create suction immediately behind the bulb, which reduces bow wave and increases the ship’s speed. Her bow design is finer than generally used. The ship is powered by a Stork medium-speed diesel and has a service speed of 21 knots.
International Public Relations
Hover Ferry—The SRN-4 is the world’s largest Hovercraft and is four times larger than any other. This year she will be placed in service as a cross channel ferry between Dover, England and Boulogne, France, carrying 254 passengers and 30 cars. The 165-ton craft will travel at 70 miles per hour and make the crossing in 35 minutes.
UP1 Photo
Notebook
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U. S. Navy
s Satellite Ends Years of Silence
(Evert Clark in The New York Times, 27 September 1967) A Navy satellite “killed” five years ago by a nuclear explosion came back to life last spring, confounding for two weeks the navigation network that guides Polaris missile submarines.
Scientists at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory near Washington, D. C., said today that the Transit 4-B satellite’s revival was at first a mystery causing some concern. “We have a station down in South Africa which reported unidentifiable signals on 150 megacycles last 23 March,” said Theodore Wyatt, Transit project engineer at the laboratory.
He continued: “It was quite a scramble to gradually get other stations to listen for it because we had no idea what satellite was sending it or what orbit the satellite was in.
“This business of having cripples in orbit that can come on the air at unexpected times can cause serious interference.”
Ships and submarines take precise navigational fixes from a transit’s radio signals as it passes overhead. Transit 4-B, an early experimental model, was launched on 21 November
1961 from Cape Kennedy, Florida. On 9 July 1962, the United States exploded a missile- borne thermonuclear warhead high over the Pacific. This added great amounts of radiation to the natural radiation already trapped in the earth’s magnetic field in the so-called Van Allen Belts.
A few weeks later the Defense Department and the Atomic Energy Commission announced that radio signals from the Transit and two other satellites had been silenced by radiation from the blast. Actually, Transit 4-B had a lingering death. Navy and Johns Hopkins scientists turned off the experimental navigation satellite’s transmitters on 1 August
1962 and considered it silenced forever.
Because Transit was far around the globe
from the Pacific at the time of the nuclear explosion, its failure gave weaponeers the first indication that such blasts could be used to damage an enemy spacecraft or missile from many thousands of miles away.
Scientists believed at the time that extra radiation trapped in the magnetic field had destroyed the molecular lattice in the spacecraft’s silicon solar cells, which turned sunlight into electrical power for its instruments. Now they are not so sure. They can only speculate on why the satellite revived at all Mr. Wyatt said.
“It is conceivable that some semiconductor or other electronic component was damaged to a degree that it represented, let’s say, 3 short circuit,” he said. “It could have eventually failed, leaving an open circuit and relieving the drain on the power system.
“Or is it possible that there is some healing or curative process, which is unknown to us, which eventually let those solar cells become somewhat restored,” he went on.
When scientists realized that only three stations, all in the Southern Hemisphere, were reading the signals, they deduced that the sending satellite was operating only when n was in sunlight.
that Transit 4-B’s six-year-old orbit would carry it over the sunlit areas of earth at the times when the South African, Samoan, an3 Australian stations were picking up the sounds. Once they knew what object to track) 10 stations heard signals from three of the four transmitters aboard.
“But major parts wouldn’t operate,” Wyatt said. “The telemetry was not ever turned on despite dozens of attempts. So the1" may be significant parts of the electronic that were damaged and haven’t made comeback.”
Transit 4-B was finally shut down ag31'1 last 11 May. But it has increased concern o' how to silence satellites that can confuse vitally needed global navigation network.
goal of lengthening the life of satellites gain economy of operation. A destructi charge would be completely useless if c^. tronic failure prevented it from receiving signal from the ground.
W;
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ar II. Cavalier is producing one military Ustang each month and expects to double
Destroying the satellite with a nuclear charge fired from earth would violate international treaties. Shooting at it with conventional explosives using “the buckshot approach” has been suggested, Mr. Wyatt said, ‘‘but all that increases the amount of garbage
in orbit.”
The laboratory is now seeking some electronic solution—perhaps receivers “less susCePtible to unintentional noise,” he said.
°ther U. S. Services
^3 Mustangs Modified for Guerrilla Role
(B. K.. Thomas, Jr. in Aviation Week & Space Technology, 16 October 1967) Counterinsur- ?ency warfare-configured F-51D Mustang Shter aircraft are being produced by Cava- *er Aircraft Corporation for the Defense fpartment. A single-seat version equipped ^'th a pilot ejection system is expected to fly eh>re the year’s end.
The F-51D was designed and built by North nierican Aviation Company during World
rate by January. The company has been |*nber contract since February to “rehabili- *e> remanufacture and modernize a limited nil,nber of the aircraft for military use.” by completely disassembling the airframes the 1,490-h.p., liquid-cooled, 12-cylinder, olls-Royce VI650-7 engines, Cavalier pro- ction procedures essentially provide new ingraft ur>der the military contracts, accord- ^ to Defense Department officials. s . Cspite its dated design, the F-51 is “ideally ^>ted” for a counter-insurgency warfare en- r°ninent, according to Air Force headers spokesmen.
u be military Mustangs being produced Cr current contracts include twelve two- y..c.e Mustangs, supplied through the U. S. )■ ltary Assistance Program after being de- <:rcb to the Air Force for transfer outside <i C. United States. These new Mustangs are 6si ^ 0n” aircraft to military forces already nS the F-51 and are not being assigned to
other foreign forces, Defense Department spokesmen said. Countries which have more recently used F-51s in their active forces include Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and Bolivia.
These 12 aircraft are configured for a pilot and an airborne observer/controller.
Included in the armament installation are light wing hardpoints for carrying various ordnance stores as well as six 50-caliber guns. The guns are mounted internally in the wing, as on earlier F-51 s.
The two inboard wing stations, capable of carrying one 1,000-lb. bomb each, can also carry either 110-gal. or 75-gal. auxiliary fuel tanks for added range or stationkeeping. When tanks are installed, 5-inch high-velocity aircraft rockets can be carried on the remaining six wing stations.
Using 110-gal. drop tanks, on-station time is about five hours. Maximum speed without external stores is 439 knots.
Research and Development
s Army Tries Laser Beam Mapping
{Data, October 1967) The Army Map Service (AMS) is studying the use of laser beams emitted from planes to determine exact elevations of objects on the ground. If current investigations prove that heights can be determined consistently with accuracy by this method, the Laser Terrain Profile Recorder may soon become a practical instrument of the military map maker.
In a recent test flight at 2,000 feet, the laser correctly established the height of a light pole at a road intersection as 30 feet, and fixed the average height of a row of corn in a field at 7 to 8 feet. Of immediate interest to AMS cartographers was the fact that the laser often accurately identified ground elevations in dense tree growths.
s X-Ray Missile Key to China Defense
(John W. Finney in The New York Times, 16 November 1967) The Atomic Energy Commission was reported today to be making sig-
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nificant progress in developing a radically new nuclear X-ray warhead that would be a vital element in the Sentinel ballistic missile defense system being erected against Communist China.
In contrast to past warheads, which were designed to destroy by blast and heat effects, the new type of thermonuclear weapon will give off bursts of X-rays to destroy incoming missile warheads.
In heavily censored testimony, published last 10 May before a Senate disarmament subcommittee, Dr. John S. Foster Jr., the Pentagon’s director of defense research and engineering, confirmed that the United States was developing a missile defense system that would use tremendous bursts of X- rays from thermonuclear explosions to destroy incoming missile warheads.
In atomic energy circles, the still secret warhead has been dubbed the Spectrum bomb—a name signifying that it will give off a complete spectrum of X-rays, from low to high energy.
The development of the warhead is regarded by atomic weapons experts as an advance in weaponry, comparably significant to the development a decade ago of a high- yield, low-weight warhead for an intercontinental missile.
Just as the earlier development made possible an intercontinental missile system, so the Spectrum opens up the possibility of developing an “area defense” against at least a small- scale missile attack.
But officials of the Pentagon and Atomic Energy Commission left the impression that the warhead for the system would be based on weapons technology developed before the
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^ Immediate Delivery limited test ban treaty of 1963 prevented further testing in the atmosphere.
The Spectrum warhead with its explosive yield of about one megaton (equal to a mil* lion tons of TNT) will be carried by the Spartan missile, a three-stage missile capable of intercepting incoming missile warheads above the earth’s atmosphere. The Sentinel system that the Spectrum will serve has been ordered deployed by the Administration against the emerging missile threat from Communist China.
Against a limited attack such as Communist China would be capable of launching, the X-ray concept, in the opinion of the Defense Department, offers promise of providing an effective defense for all of the United States^ But against a sophisticated heavy attack such as the Soviet Union would be capable of launching, the Defense Department believes that a missile defense system would be ineffective. For that reason, the Department i>as decided to deploy a “thin” anti-ballistic mis' sile system aimed at Communist China.
The underlying principle of the Spectrum bomb is that in the vacuum of space, a thermonuclear exposition gives off most of its energy in the form of highly energetic X-rays that can travel hundreds of miles with the speed 0 light (about 186,000 miles a second). If these X-rays impinge on an object, such as a war' head, their energy is translated quickly int° heat. This destroys the object.
The problem for an offensive missile 15 greatly complicated if the warhead must com tend with a whole range of X-rays as ernide by the Spectrum. Protection then calls f°r weapons designer, because of the extra weign ’ to reduce the amount of explosive power hc can pack into the warhead.
So far, a full-scale version of the Spectru1'1 bond) has not been tested. By digging deepe holes, however, atomic weapons scierd*stj believe they can eventually test the plan0 megaton version without releasing any rad*0 active debris and violating the test ban treat)
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53 USN and USAF to Develop Missile
(■Aviation Week & Space Technology, 16 October 1967) Look for USAF’s projected advanced ballistic missile, the WS-120A, to evolve as a commonality development for both Air Force and Navy, with full capability for launching fr°m a silo or at sea. The two services will coordinate their respective technology developments applicable to the weapon system.
53 Funds Asked for CARA Aircraft
(Aviation Week & Space Technology, 16 October 1967) House Armed Services Committee is asking the Defense Department to reprogram F'scal 1968 funds to permit an immediate start on the Air Force Combat Aircrew Re- c°very Aircraft (CARA) program. An un- Usi|al promise to give favorable consideration |° such reprogramming was contained in a Oder sent last week to Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara by Committee Chairman L. Mendel Rivers (D-S.C.).
According to the Air Force, about $20 million will be needed to get the program darted. So far 10 firms have submitted 13 pro- P°sals in response to an urgent Air Force re- T'est, but the project is reported stymied on ae Defense Department level.
^ Several Armed Services Committee mem- ers believe that helicopters alone are not So°d enough to carry out the wide variety of mrcrew rescue operations needed under Vietnamese conditions, and that V/STOL airCraft could have rescued hundreds of U. S. a’rCrew members downed in the North Vietnamese interior.
New Caseless Cartridge Displayed
y. °bert Reinhold in The New York Times, 3 ‘ Member 1967) A major manufacturer of ei’aH firearms demonstrated yesterday an t^tneally fired caseless type of ammunition eat efiminates the complicated firing pin and Action mechanisms used in weapons for °re than a century.
fj *• tvas the latest entry into the broadening _ of caseless cartridges, which is gaining cns'derable interest among military and mtiicrcial arms makers, be manufacturer, Smith and Wesson, t0 '.’ sa'd it expected to produce within three pr^x. otonths a .22-caliber rifle based on the Clple and using cartridges one-third
Notebook 143
cheaper and lighter than conventional ammunition.
This would not be the first such rifle. The Daisy Manufacturing Company, makers of BB guns, recently demonstrated a weapon using caseless cartridges ignited by a jet of hot air. In addition, the Army’s Frankford Arsenal has developed experimental caseless cartridges that weigh 50 per cent less than ordinary ammunition and take up to 37 per cent less space.
A military expert said yesterday, however, that caseless cartridges were still very experimental and that it would be many years before they entered general military use.
The new cartridge is closely related to the first bullet made by Smith and Wesson in the 1850s and widely used by frontier settlers. It was a hollowed-out piece of lead filled with gunpowder and open at the back.
In a conventional pistol or rifle, the trigger trips a hammer, which hits a firing pin with force. This pin, in turn, strikes the primer cap at the rear of the cartridge, igniting the powder and expelling the bullet through the barrel. The spent cartridge case, however, remains in the firing chamber and must be removed by an extraction and ejection mechanism. All these moving parts are subject to malfunction and arms experts have long sought a simpler firing mechanism.
Smith and Wesson’s solution to the problem consists of a projectile molded directly to a cylindrical plug of solid, waterproof propellant charge. No casing of any type shields the charge.
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The ammunition was fired from a spe-
dally adapted submachine gun by Hubert Usel, an Austrian gun expert who devised the technique for Smith and Wesson. The conventional firing pin mechanism had been removed from the weapon and replaced by a special electrical device connected to ordinary dry cell batteries clamped to the stock.
The electrical device consists of two electrodes embedded to a bolt that presses the round into the firing chamber. When the trigger is squeezed, the circuit is closed, passing a tiny electric charge through the propellant. This ignites the explosive, burning it up and forcing the projectile through the barrel.
Gun writers agreed with Smith and Wesson officials that the recoil and sound were much less pronounced than in ordinary comparable weapons. Company officials said the rate of fire, muzzle velocity and accuracy were equivalent to ordinary guns.
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Merchant Marine
U. N. Approves Ship Safety Criteria (Helen Delich Bentley in Baltimore Sun, 31 October 1967) The Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization of the United Nations has approved high safety standards to be included in the construction of new passenger liners, the chairman of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee was advised today.
Rear Admiral H. C. Shepheard USCG (Ret.), who has been serving as the commit' tee’s safety adviser, reported the IMCO meeting result to Representative Garmatz (D-> Md.), committee chairman.
Once all the nations have ratified the IMCO decision, it will become international law, applying to any liners built after the time of ratification.
However, it is generally hoped that the countries and shipowners will begin to in' stitute the high safety measures on any ne"' construction that might be produced in the interim.
Last year, IMCO voted to have highef safety standards apply to old passenger vessel® already engaged in moving passengers he' tween ports. Those standards are in the process of being ratified now, although the nations involved have been urged to beg111 enforcing those standards now.
Pressure for these new IMCO regulation5 for both the old passenger liners and the nevr ones was stimulated in late 1965 by Chairm3*) Garmatz, after the fiery disaster of the » Yarmouth Castle in which 90 persons lost tf>e*r lives.
Garmatz told the State Department th3t either it had to get new international safe1' standards to equal those in the United State5 or Congress would enact special laws to apP1' to all foreign ships calling in American pod5'
The United States is credited with a couP in getting the full IMCO body to appr°' these standards in such a short period of t'ir,ej Often, issues presented to the internati°na body are debated for several years °0( being ready for ratification. Since the la"'5 the United States concerning passenger s safety are the most stringent of any c°ufl^of in the world, they were used as the code the IMCO regulations.