Bathysphere

Beebe, William; bathysphere

bathysphere, spherical steel vessel for use in undersea observation, provided with portholes and suspended by a cable from a boat. Built by the American zoologist William Beebe and the American engineer Otis Barton, the bathysphere made its first dives in 1930. On June 11, 1930, it reached a depth of 400 metres, or about 1,300 feet, and in 1934 Beebe and Barton reached 900 metres, or about 3,000 feet. Through these dives, the bathysphere proved its qualities but also revealed weaknesses. It was difficult to operate and involved considerable potential risks. A break in the suspension cable would have meant certain death for the observers; surface waves and resulting movement of the boat could have produced such a fatal strain. Because of these disadvantages, the bathysphere was supplanted by the safer, more maneuverable mesoscaphe and bathyscaphe.