Auguste Piccard (PX-8)
{{redirect|Mésoscaphe|other submersible submarines|Mesoscaphe}}
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{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=PX-8 Mésoscaphe - Stern (15127174453).jpg |Ship caption=Auguste Piccard in the Swiss Museum of Transport (2014) }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=Switzerland |Ship flag= 50px |Ship name=Auguste Piccard |Ship namesake=Auguste Piccard |Ship ordered= |Ship builder= Giovanola Frères SA |Ship laid down= |Ship launched=27 February 1964 (Le Bouveret) |Ship sponsor= |Ship christened= |Ship completed= |Ship acquired= |Ship in service=1964 |Ship out of service= |Ship renamed= |Ship homeport= |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship fate= |Ship status=Swiss Museum of Transport |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship type= Submarine |Ship displacement={{convert|222|t|abbr=on}} |Ship length={{convert|28.50|m|ft|abbr=on}} |Ship beam={{convert|6.80|m|ft|abbr=on}} |Ship height={{convert|7.43|m|ft|abbr=on}} |Ship draught={{convert|3.63|m|ft|abbr=on}} |Ship depth= |Ship hold depth= |Ship propulsion=electric motors, batteries |Ship speed={{convert|6|knot|abbr=on}} |Ship range= |Ship test depth= |Ship crew=4 (and 40 passengers) |Ship endurance= 48 hours |Ship armament=None |Ship armor= |Ship notes= }} |
The Auguste Piccard mesoscaphe, also known simply as the Mésoscaphe, was a crewed underwater submarine designed in 1964 by Jacques Piccard, son of Auguste Piccard. It was the world's first passenger submarine, built for Expo64, the 1964 Swiss national exhibition in Lausanne.[https://www.verkehrshaus.ch/en/members-donations/donations/mesoscaph Mesoscaph «August Piccard»] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307035900/https://www.verkehrshaus.ch/en/members-donations/donations/mesoscaph |date=2016-03-07 }} It was built at the Giovanola fabrication plant in Monthey and the first immersion took place in Le Bouveret on 27 February 1964. It has a total of 45 Plexiglas portholes, with 20 on each side for the 40 passengers.
The Auguste Piccard achieved 1,100 dives in Lake Geneva with 33,000 visitors in 1964 and 1965, to a depth of approximately 150 metres. The ride cost 40 Swiss francs and was the hit of the national exhibition.{{cite news |date=31 October 2014 |title=Historic Piccard submarine restored |url=http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/record-setting_historic-piccard-submarine-restored/41090542 |newspaper=Swissinfo |access-date=2014-11-01}} From 1969 to 1984, it achieved scientific and industrial observation dives in the Gulf of Mexico.{{Cite web |url=http://bertrandpiccard.com/documents/FichePDF_MESOSCAPHE%20PX-8_EN.pdf |title=Technical Data Sheet: Mesoscaphe PX-8 Auguste Piccard |access-date=2014-10-31 |archive-date=2014-10-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031185142/http://bertrandpiccard.com/documents/FichePDF_MESOSCAPHE%20PX-8_EN.pdf |url-status=dead }}
The ship is currently on display at the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne. It was fully restored for the first time between 2005 and 2014, the restoration taking 28,000 hours.
References
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External links
{{commonscat-inline|Mésoscaphe (submarine, 1964)}}
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Category:Research submarines of Switzerland
Category:Merchant ships of Switzerland
Category:Submarines of Switzerland