SEALAB II

The endbell from SEALAB II and III outside the
Naval Undersea Museum, Keyport

Close-up of the SEALAB endbell

SEALAB II was designed, built, and outfitted at Hunter’s Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco. The Navy lowered it to the sea floor off La Jolla, California, in the fall of 1965.  It was designed to house ten men at a depth of 200 feet for 30 days.  The habitat was 50’ long and 12’ in diameter, and included four separate areas:  entry, laboratory, galley, and living spaces. Entry while on the ocean floor was from below the habitat, with divers emerging into the pressurized habitat through an open moon pool.

               Whereas SEALAB I tested and proved the concept of saturation diving, SEALAB II provided evidence that useful work could be done.  The Navy conducted physiological and psychological studies to determine man’s effectiveness underwater for an extended period.  The divers evaluated the structural engineering of the habitat. They worked on a mock-up of a submarine hull and tested undersea tools; they raised an old navy jet fighter to the surface using syntactic foam; they set up a weather station, mined ore samples, experimented with plants, and studied ocean floor geology.  They also experimented with a trained porpoise named Tuffy to do courier work between the habitat and the surface.

               Construction of SEALAB II’s cylinder endbell used technology ahead of its time.  The large dish-shaped cap was formed from a sheet of one-inch thick flat steel placed over a die. One hundred pounds of C-4 plastic explosive were distributed on the side of the blank opposite the die. The whole package—die, blank, and charge, weighing 60 tons total—was lowered 30 feet beneath the surface of San Francisco Bay where the explosive was detonated. In approximately .004 seconds the end bell was formed. Explosive metal shaping on this scale had never been attempted before.

The pictures below are from Walt Mazzone's archives and official US Navy photographs

SEALAB II being submerged

Samantha the Sea Lion begs for her supper after being called to the small boat by Mike Greenwood, psychologist with SEALAB II. 
1 Oct 1965. 

Dr. Robert Sonnenburg, (left) talks over the coming day's schedule with Team Leader Chief Torpedoman Robert Sheats.
5 Oct 1965. 

Shorty Lyons, left, and Chief  Shipfitter Mike Meisky, right, smile after Chief Sheats entertains them with his harmonica during an underwater hootenanny. 
8 Oct 1965.

Aquanaut Bob Sheats is shown at the 300 foot level of  Scripps Canyon
7 Oct 1965.
Official US Navy photograph. 

Billie L. Coffman, TM1, USN, in open sea hatch of SEALAB II preparing to leave for underwater sortie.
4 Sep 1965

Aquanaut George Dowling, center, and Bill Tolbert, left, listen as Wally Jenkins describes an incident during an underwater sortie.
24 Sep 1965.
Official Photograph, US Navy.

Barley plants, on left, spring up in an experiment to determine if plant life can grow in a helium atmosphere.  Marigold plants on the right are not germinating as planned.
22 Sep 1965.

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