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Underwater house, Plymouth
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Underwater house, Plymouth
A female physicist multitasking (reading a magazine whilst knitting) in Sealab II, Britains first permanent underwater laboratory, 30 feet below the waves off the coast of Plymouth, Devon. A couple of years after the expedition to Paradise Bay (see Underwater House Malta), David Baume from Enfield College of Technology and his team of sub-aqua enthusiasts made another attempt to construct an underwater home, this time off a breakwater in the middle of Plymouth Sound. Instead of using rubberised fabric, the new structure featured a massive cylindrical steel tank. This was lowered into the harbour and weighed down with several tons of pig iron ingots. These were lowered beneath the tank by means of a fairly primitive pulley system and then had to be manhandled off the trolley and positioned under the house. The water was almost pitch dark, extremely dirty and very cold. It took more than 200 dives to complete the operation and ensure that, when filled with air, the cylinder would stay on the bottom of the harbour rather than rise to the surface and turn turtle, with potentially fatal consequences for those inside. But finally the underwater house was ready for occupancy and fitted with the special air scrubber that David and his team had developed to ensure the air remained fresh. Several members of the team spent considerable periods of time living beneath the waves, turning the workbench into a bunk bed for overnight stays. Date: early 1970s
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Media ID 14347914
© Mary Evans Picture Library/DAVID LEWIS HODGSON
Diving Knitting Laboratory Multi Operations Permanent Physicist Plymouth Scientist Sealab Tasking Underwater Whilst Multitasking
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EDITORS COMMENTS
In this intriguing photograph, a female physicist is seen multitasking in Sealab II, Britain's first permanent underwater laboratory, located 30 feet below the waves off the coast of Plymouth, Devon. The year is the early 1970s, and this underwater abode marks the second attempt by David Baume and his team of sub-aqua enthusiasts from Enfield College of Technology to construct an underwater home. Unlike their previous attempt in Paradise Bay, Malta, which featured a rubberized fabric structure, this new underwater house boasted a massive cylindrical steel tank. The tank was lowered into the harbor and weighed down with several tons of pig iron ingots to keep it anchored. The team used a primitive pulley system to lower the ingots beneath the house, and then manually positioned them under the structure. The conditions inside the water were far from ideal. The water was almost pitch black, extremely dirty, and very cold. It took over 200 dives to complete the operation and ensure that the cylinder would stay on the bottom of the harbor rather than rise to the surface and potentially turn turtle, with fatal consequences for those inside. Despite the challenging conditions, the team persevered and eventually managed to fill the cylinder with air and make the underwater house ready for occupancy. Several members of the team spent considerable periods of time living beneath the waves, turning the workbench into a makeshift bunk bed for overnight stays. The house was also fitted with a special air scrubber developed by David and his team to ensure the air remained fresh. This photograph captures a moment of quiet focus as the physicist reads a magazine and knits, demonstrating the remarkable determination and ingenuity of those who dared to live and work under the sea.
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