Completed in early 1964, conducted dives in the vicinity of the loss site of Thresher – operations commenced by the first Trieste the year before. Her instrumentation could be varied to suit the mission in hand. Controlled from the pressure-resistant sphere on the underside, Trieste II was equipped with cameras, sonars, and sensors for scientific observation at great depths. Trieste II incorporated the Terni, Italian-built sphere used in Trieste with an entirely new bathyscaph float-one more seaworthy and streamlined. DSV-1 Trieste II was designed by the Naval Electronic Laboratory, San Diego, CA, as a successor to Trieste -the Navy's pioneer bathyscaph. The new Trieste II, built at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in September 1965, was a more sophisticated craft capable of clandestine operations in the deep ocean. The intelligence community also established Deep Submergence development requirements.Ī decision was made to build a second bathyscaphe, Trieste II, with the original Trieste assigned to the Deep Submergence Systems Project to test equipment that would be employed on other deep submergence systems. Subsequently other associated development programs were assigned to the Deep Submergence Systems Project office, including the development of the NR-1 nuclear powered research submarine. To rectify this deficiency the Deep Submergence Systems Project, initially assigned to the Special Projects Office responsible for developing the Polaris Fleet Ballistic Missile System, was established to develop deep ocean capabilities. A summary of the Thresher search operation in 1965 highlighting the Navy's inadequacy in deep-sea search, location, and rescue noted that the tragedy "demonstrated only too clearly the degree of ignorance and inability which surrounded the entire business."
The loss of the Thresher was a wake up call for the Navy.
When the submarine Thresher was lost on 10 April 1963, a committee established under Admiral Stephan to assess the implications of the accident concluded that the Navy did not have the operational assets to conduct missions in the deep sea. 1971 – Trieste II Submersible with Manipulator Arm.
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