Speleonaut
{{short description|Diver propulsion vehicle designed for cave exploration by a disabled diver}}
| {{Infobox ship begin |display title=ital}}
{{Infobox ship image | Ship image= | Ship caption= }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header= | Ship country=Germany | Ship flag= | Ship name=Speleonaut | Ship namesake= | Ship ordered= | Ship builder=Konrad Gehringer | Ship laid down= | Ship launched=1996 | Ship acquired= | Ship commissioned= | Ship decommissioned= | Ship in service= | Ship out of service= | Ship struck= | Ship reinstated= | Ship fate= | Ship status=Active }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header= | Header caption= | Ship class=Research submarine | Ship displacement= | Ship length= | Ship beam={{Convert|0.72|m}} | Ship draught= | Ship draft= | Ship propulsion=9 engines | Ship speed= | Ship range= | Ship endurance= | Ship test depth={{Convert|105|m}} | Ship complement=1 pilot | Ship sensors= | Ship EW= | Ship armament= | Ship notes= }} |
Speleonaut (named from the Greek words for "cave" and "sailor") is the submersible used by the cave diver Jochen Hasenmayer. After the 1989 decompression accident that left his legs paralyzed, Hasenmayer designed the Speleonaut with his friend Konrad Gehringer in order to continue exploring the Blauhöhle cave system, which begins at the base of the Blautopf spring in the Swabian Jura mountain range. The Speleonaut is {{Convert|72|cm}} wide and has nine engines, making it easy to maneuver in all directions. It is the first submarine designed specifically for the exploration of caves.{{cite news|url=http://www.zeit.de/1996/10/Der_Mann_im_Blautopf/komplettansicht|title=Der Mann im Blautopf|trans-title=The man in the Blautopf|last=Schnabel|first=Ulrich|journal=Die Zeit|issue=10|date=1 March 1996|language=German|accessdate=26 July 2013}} According to Hasenmayer, the Speleonaut has been tested in Lake Constance to a depth of {{Convert|105|m}} and has a design limit of {{Convert|180|m}}.{{Citation needed|date=July 2013}}
The Speleonaut was first used at the Blautopf in 1996.{{cite journal|url=http://www.focus.de/wissen/natur/geologie-auf-den-grund-gegangen_aid_158661.html|title=Geologie: Auf Den Grund Gegangen|trans-title=Geology: Gone to Ground|last=Hasenmayer|first=Jochen|authorlink=Jochen Hasenmayer|journal=Focus|issue=13|date=25 March 1996|language=German|accessdate=26 July 2013}}{{cite web|url=http://cave.lawo.de/jbohnert/history.htm|title=A short History of Cave Diving in Germany|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323193910/http://cave.lawo.de/jbohnert/history.htm|archivedate=23 March 2012|accessdate=26 July 2013}} In 2001 Hasenmayer reached the Mörikedom ("Mörike cathedral") chamber of the Blauhöhle, which he had discovered in 1985, in the Speleonaut. In 2004 he reached a point beyond the Mörikedom {{Convert|1800|m}} into the mountain. In the same year he discovered two more large chambers in the Blauhöhle: the Mittelschiff (or "nave") and the Äonendom.{{cite web|url=http://www.dradio.de/dlf/sendungen/wib/1674984/|last=Raabe|first=Kristin|title=Tiefenrausch - Manuskript zur Sendung|date=12 February 2012|publisher=Deutschlandradio|language=German|accessdate=26 July 2013}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{cite web|url=http://www.spiegel.de/sptv/themenabend/a-250794.html|title=Höhlentauchen: Manie oder Herausforderung?|trans-title=Cave Diving: Mania or Challenge?|year=2003|publisher=Spiegel Online|language=German|accessdate=26 July 2013}}
- {{cite journal|url=http://rehatreff.de/archiv/doc_download/5-jochen-hasenmayer-rehatreff-22007|last=Pohl|first=Werner|title=Die wahren Abenteuer finden nicht in den Beinen statt, sondern im Kopf|trans-title="True adventures will not be found in the legs, but in the head"|journal=RehaTreff|issue=2|language=German|publisher=AWS Medienverlag|location=Ettlingen|year=2007|pages=27–30|format=PDF|accessdate=26 July 2013}}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}