View source for Engineering:Mystic-class deep-submergence rescue vehicle

{{short description|Class of US Navy submersible for rescue operations on submerged, disabled submarines}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin
}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = File:USN DSRV Mystic3.jpg
| Ship caption = U.S. Navy Deep-Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV) ''Mystic''
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
| Builders = Lockheed Missiles and Space Company
| Operators = {{navy|United States}}
| Cost = $164.9 million [1972 prices] (program cost),<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iA3zHyjh-wcC&pg=PA854|title=Department of Defense Appropriations for 1972: Hearings Before the Subcommittee ... Ninety-second Congress, First Session ...|date=1971|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|pages=854|language=en|chapter=Part 5: Procurement Lockheed Aircraft Corporation}}</ref> (${{format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|164.9e6|1972}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}} dollars{{Inflation-fn|US-GDP}})
| Built range = 1970
| In commission range = 1971–2008
| Total ships completed = 2
| Total ships cancelled = 10
| Total ships retired = 2
| Ship test depth = {{convert|5000|ft|m|abbr=on}}
}}
|}

[[Image:DSRV 1.jpg|thumb|Arrival of the DSRV ''Avalon'' at Brest airport aboard a Lockheed C-5 Galaxy strategic airlifter]]

'''''Mystic'' class''' is a class of [[Engineering:Deep-submergence rescue vehicle|Deep-Submergence Rescue Vehicle]]s (DSRVs), designed for rescue operations on submerged, disabled [[Engineering:Submarine|submarine]]s of the United States Navy or foreign navies. The two submarines of the class were never used for this purpose, and were replaced by the Submarine Rescue Diving Recompression System.

==Features==
DSRVs are designed for quick deployment in the event of a submarine accident. DSRVs are transportable by truck, aircraft, ship, or by specially configured attack submarine. At the accident site, the DSRV works with either a "mother ship" or "mother submarine". The DSRV dives, conducts a sonar search, and attaches to the disabled submarine's hatch. DSRVs can embark up to 24 persons for transfer to the mother vessel.

The DSRV also has an arm to clear hatches on a disabled submarine and a combined gripper and cable cutter. The gripper is able to lift 1,000 pounds (450&nbsp;kg).

==Background==
[[Image:DSRV-Mystic.jpg|thumb|300px|The U.S. Navy's ''Mystic'' secured to a [[Engineering:Los Angeles-class submarine|Los Angeles class attack submarine]]]]
The Deep Submergence System Project was established in June 1965 in the aftermath of the loss of  USS ''Thresher'' in 1963.

At the time, submarine operating depths greatly exceeded the capabilities of rescue vessels. Lockheed Missiles and Space Company was contracted to produce a deep diving rescue submarine. In an effort to win the design and construction contracts for a DSRV, the company built ''Deep Quest'' prototype. She was launched in June 1967;<ref>{{cite web|title=Artifact spotlight : Deep Quest|archive-date=25 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325165020/http://www.navalunderseamuseum.org/media/6c06204b6731dd48ffff833effffe906.pdf|url=http://www.navalunderseamuseum.org/media/6c06204b6731dd48ffff833effffe906.pdf|publisher=Naval Undersea Museum}}</ref> in March 1970, she was used to find a US Navy Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat which had crashed on 12 January 1944, in the ocean near Naval Air Station San Diego.

The first DSRV was launched in 1970.<ref name="blindmansbluff">Sontag, S.; Drew, C.; Drew, A. L. (1998). ''Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage''. Harper. {{ISBN|0-06-103004-X}}.</ref> While it has been alleged that the stated goal of the DSRV project was unrealistic, and that it was a front for research on undersea [[Social:Espionage|espionage]], including cable tapping,<ref name="blindmansbluff"/> the DSRVs have a demonstrated rescue capability, and have conducted numerous practice rescue missions.

DSRV-1 was launched in San Diego, California, on 24 January 1970.  Testing culminated in an operational evaluation that saw a complete, simulated submarine rescue mission.  DSRV-1 was named ''Mystic'' during Fleet Acceptance Ceremonies in 1977.

The second, and final, vessel in the class, DSRV-2, was subsequently launched and named ''Avalon''.

==General characteristics==
{|
|''Builder'':||Lockheed Missiles and Space Co., Sunnyvale, California
|-
|''Power Plant'':||Electric motors, silver/zinc batteries, one shaft, 15 shaft horsepower (11&nbsp;kW), four thrusters, 7.5 horsepower (6&nbsp;kW).
|-
|''Length'':||49&nbsp;ft (15 m)
|-
|''Beam'':||8&nbsp;ft (2.4 m)
|-
|''Displacement'':||38 tons (39 metric tons)
|-
|''Speed''||4 knots (7&nbsp;km/h)
|-
|''Maximum depth'':||5,000&nbsp;ft (1500 m)
|-
|''Sonar'':||Search and navigation
|-
|rowspan="2" valign="top"|''Ships'':
|Mystic (DSRV 1)
|-
|Avalon (DSRV 2)
|-
|''Crew'':||Two pilots, two rescue personnel and the capacity for 24 passengers
|}

== List of vessels ==

==See also==
* [[Engineering:List of submarine classes in service|List of submarine classes in service]]
* [[Engineering:Bathyscaphe|Bathyscaphe]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4100&tid=500&ct=4 USN Fact File]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBFYIW-EARM&t=83s Deep-Submergence Rescue Vehicle - US Navy 1973]


{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Mystic''-class deep-submergence rescue vehicle}}

[[Category:Submarine classes]]

{{Sourceattribution|Mystic-class deep-submergence rescue vehicle}}