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| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | FNRS-3 |
| Ordered | 1950 |
| Completed | 1953 |
| In service | 1953 |
| Status | Preserved at theToulon naval base |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Deep-submergence vehicle |
| Length | 15 m (49 ft) |
| Beam | 3.2 m (10 ft) |
| Draft | 6 m (20 ft) |
| Installed power | 1kW electric motor |
| Speed | 0.5 knots (0.93 km/h; 0.58 mph) |
| Endurance | 24h |
| Test depth | 4,000 m (13,000 ft) |
| Complement | 2 |
TheFNRS-3 orFNRS III is abathyscaphe of theFrench Navy. It is currently preserved atToulon. She set world depth records, competing against a more refined version of her design, theTrieste. The French Navy replaced her with the bathyscapheArchimède, in the 1960s.[1]
After damage to theFNRS-2 during its sea trials in 1948, the BelgianFonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS) ran out of funding, and the submersible was sold to the French Navy, in 1950. She was subsequently substantially rebuilt and improved at Toulon naval base, and renamedFNRS-3.[2] She was relaunched in 1953, under the command ofGeorges Houot, a French naval officer.[3]
On 15 February 1954, she made a 4,050 metres (13,290 ft) dive 160 miles offDakar, Senegal, in the Atlantic Ocean, beating the 1953 record ofAuguste Piccard, set by theTrieste, by 900 meters.[2][4][5] Piccard's record had been set by reaching the floor of the Mediterranean off Naples, a depth of 10,392 feet (3,167 m).[4][6] The new record set byFNRS-3 was not exceeded until a workup dive byTrieste in 1959, working up to the record shatteringChallenger Deep dive.[1][4]
Media related toFNRS II-III at Wikimedia Commons43°06′13″N5°55′33″E / 43.103609°N 5.925765°E /43.103609; 5.925765
