1 main 11 kW electric, 680—3,200 rpm, reversible for horizontal
2 port/starboard 2.2 kW electric, reversible, 360° rotating for vertical
Speed
1.5 knots (2.8 km/h; 1.7 mph) 10 hours
3.5 knots (6.5 km/h; 4.0 mph) 3 hours
Endurance
192 man hours maximum life support
Test depth
600 m (2,000 ft)
1,500 m (4,900 ft) (Collapse depth)
Complement
2 Pilots
2 Observers
Notes
Underwater telephone (UQC), radio, gyrocompass, speed indicator, depth gauge, echosounder, seismic profiling, obstacle avoidance sonar, transponder, stereo camera, TV, salinometer, water and bottom samplers, water temperature and light sensors, current meter, magnetic, gravity and sound speed measurements, and radiometer. One manipulator arm.
Rear view of Shinkai
The Shinkai (しんかい) is a manned research submersible that can dive up to a depth of 600 m. It was completed in 1970, and until 1981 it had the greatest depth range of any manned research vehicle in Japan. The Shinkai is owned and run by the Japan Coast Guard and it is launched from the support vessel Otomemaru (乙女丸).
Two 4.0 m (13.1 ft) diameter, 3.6 cm (1.4 in) thick high-strength low-alloy steel pressure hulls connected by a 1.45 m (4.8 ft) tunnel. Pilots and observers are housed in the forward hull with mechanical and power supplies in aft hull. A 1.7 m (5.6 ft) escape sphere was mounted on the forward hull. Access was through four 500 mm (20 in) hatches with one 600 mm (24 in) emergency escape hatch. Five view ports with 90° viewing angle in the forward sphere, three 120 mm (4.7 in) inside diameter for forward viewing and one 50 mm (2.0 in) inside diameter on each side.[1]
Japan
Media related to Shinkai (submarine, 1968) at Wikimedia Commons
