The Forgotten Story of the Pisces III Submersible

By Vanessa Barford | BBCNews

Fifty years ago, two British sailors found themselves in a life-or-death situation when their deep-sea submersible sank 1,500 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, 150 miles off the coast of Ireland.

Trapped inside a 1.8-meter diameter steel ball, the men had a mere 12 minutes of oxygen left before their rescue.

While the incident made headlines in 1973, it has largely been forgotten over the years. However, recent interest has reignited in the fate of the Titan submersible.

The Dive Begins: 1:15 Hours

Pilots Roger Chapman and Roger Mallinson embarked on a routine dive in the Pisces III submersible. The Canadian commercial vessel, working for the Post Office, was laying a transatlantic telephone cable on the seabed 240 kilometers southwest of Cork, Ireland.

“Descending to a depth of 500 meters took about 40 minutes, and resurfacing was slightly faster,” recalls Chapman. “We spent around 8 hours meticulously working on the seabed, laying cables and dealing with poor visibility.”

Mallinson describes the challenging conditions, comparing it to driving in thick fog and having to concentrate intensely.

By a stroke of luck, Mallinson decided to change the oxygen tank before the dive, a decision that ultimately saved their lives.

The Accident: 9:18 am

As Pisces III was finishing its operation, disaster struck. “We were waiting for the towline to be attached when suddenly we were thrown back and began to sink rapidly. We ended up hanging upside down,” says Chapman.

The aft sphere, where the machinery was located, had flooded when the hatch was opened, causing the submarine to become significantly heavier.

Amidst the chaos, the pilots shut down the electrical systems and descended in complete darkness, dropping a lead weight to lighten their descent.

After a nerve-wracking 30 seconds, the submersible hit the seabed at a depth of 480 meters. Miraculously, both men emerged unharmed.

Making Contact: 09:45 am

Pisces III managed to establish phone contact, reassuring authorities that they were alive and in good spirits. However, their oxygen supplies were already dwindling.

The submersible carried 72 hours of oxygen, but with 8 hours already spent on the dive, they had 66 hours left to survive.

Harsh Conditions: 10:00-16:30 Hours

The pilots spent the initial hours organizing themselves and repairing any damage caused by the accident. To conserve oxygen, they had to remain as still as possible.

“If you stay calm, you only use a quarter of the oxygen. We hardly spoke, just held hands to show that we were okay,” recounts Mallinson.

Despite the freezing temperatures and discomfort, the men focused on their survival, knowing that their lives depended on it.

The Rescue Effort Begins

On the surface, a massive rescue operation was underway. The support ship Vickers Venturer, stationed in the North Sea, was dispatched to transport the Pisces II submersible to the nearest port.

The Royal Navy’s HMS Hecate arrived at the scene, along with RAF Nimrod aircraft and a United States Navy submersible called CURV III. The Canadian Coast Guard ship John Cabot also joined the rescue effort.

Thursday August 30: Oxygen Conservation

The Vickers Voyager ship arrived in Cork at 8:00 am to load the Pisces II and Pisces V submersibles, which had been flown in overnight. The ship departed at 10:30 am.

Meanwhile, Chapman and Mallinson watched as their oxygen supplies continued to dwindle. Despite having only a cheese and chutney sandwich and a can of lemonade, they chose to conserve their resources.

“We allowed the CO2 to build up a bit to conserve oxygen. We had timers set for every 40 minutes, but we wanted to wait a bit longer. That decision ultimately saved us,” says Chapman.

Underwater Rescue: A Tale of Survival and Hope

The Challenging Journey Begins

“We also started thinking about our families. I had just gotten married, so I could focus on my wife, June. But Roger Mallinson had four young children and a wife, and he started to get a little anxious about how they were doing,” he says.

Friday August 31: Failed Attempts

“Friday was a disaster from a surface point of view,” says Chapman.

He recalls that Pisces II was launched at 2:00 hours with a special polypropylene rope attached to a collapsible snaphook, but unfortunately, the hoisting rope tore from the handler, forcing them to return to the base ship for repairs.

Another attempt was made with Pisces V, using a polypropylene rope attached to a crowbar. Although it managed to reach the bottom of the sea, it was unable to locate the affected Pisces III before running out of power.

Despite the setbacks, they didn’t give up. “It was almost 1:00 p.m. when Pisces V found us. It was incredibly encouraging to know that someone knew where we were. But when Pisces V tried to connect a snaphook, the attempt failed due to the buoyancy of the rope,” says Chapman.

Pisces V was ordered to stay with Pisces III, even though they couldn’t lift it. Pisces II made another descent but had to resurface due to water entering its own sphere. CURV III, which had arrived around 5:30 p.m., also experienced a power failure and was unable to set sail.

“By midnight on Friday, we only had Pisces Vs and two broken submersibles,” says Chapman. “Then Pisces V was ordered to surface just after midnight, which was a bit harsh. It was like we were back to square one with no one around.”

“Our 72 hours of oxygen had run out, we were running low on lithium hydroxide to clean up the CO2, it was very dirty and cold, and we were almost resigned,” recalls Chapman.

Mallinson agrees that hope was fading at the time. However, he found solace in the presence of dolphins. “We had seen them on the 28th, and although we couldn’t see them now, I was able to hear them on the underwater phone for the entire three days. That gave me a lot of pleasure,” he says.

Saturday, September 1, 4:02 a.m.: A Glimmer of Hope

The Pisces II was re-released with a specially designed lever and another polypropylene string.

“Just after 5 in the morning, they saw us in the aft sphere; they knew we were still alive,” Chapman says.

“Then at 9:40 a.m., CURV III went down and fixed another rope, with the stick inserted into the opening in the aft sphere. We were wondering what was going on, why we weren’t being lifted,” he adds.

Chapman reveals that it was at this point that the pilots knew the line was attached. However, Mallinson admits he wasn’t sure if the elevator would work. “It bothered me a lot that they didn’t pick us up. I thought it had been the wrong decision,” he says.

“I think at that point if either of us had been asked if we wanted to be put down or picked up, we would both have said ‘leave us alone’: the recovery was so scary and the chances of getting back up were next to zero,” Mallinson adds.

10:50 am – The Uprising

And then, the Pisces III began to ascend.

“As soon as we got off the sea floor, it was very hard, very disorienting,” says Chapman.

The lift stopped twice during the ascent. Once at 100 meters to untangle the CURV, and a second time at 30 meters, so divers could attach heavier lift lines.

“We were rolling around and swinging, so they needed more ropes so we could all be pulled up together,” Mallinson says.

1:17 p.m. – The Rescue

Pisces III was finally dragged up out of the water.

“Apparently, they thought we were dead when they looked at us, it had all been so violent,” says Chapman.

“When they opened the hatch and the fresh air and sunlight streamed in, we got blinding headaches, but we were elated,” he adds.

“It was quite difficult to get out of the submarine, we had been so packed together that we could barely move,” Chapman recalls.

In fact, Mallinson says it took a good 30 minutes to open the hatch. “It was stuck. When it opened, it went off like a gun, we could smell the salty sea air,” he says.

The pilots had spent 84 hours and 30 minutes on Pisces III when they were finally rescued. “We had 72 hours of life support when we started the dive, so we managed to last another 12.5 hours. When we looked in the cylinder, we had 12 minutes of oxygen left,” Chapman says.

The Consequences

The dramatic underwater rescue captured the attention of the media and the public.

Shortly after the salvage, Roger Chapman founded the Rumic company, which provides submarine operations and services to the offshore and defense industries.

He became a leading authority on submersible salvage, being contacted for the sinking of the Kursk on behalf of the Royal Navy in 2000, and playing a central role in the successful rescue of the 7-man crew of the Russian submarine AS-28 Price in 2005.

Rumic was later acquired by the British company James Fisher and Sons and is now known as James Fisher Defense.

Meanwhile, Mallinson continued to work for the same company on submersibles until 1978. He later became heavily involved in the restoration of steam engines and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Prince Michael of Kent for his involvement with The Shamrock Trust, Windermere, in 2013.

The two men kept in touch and met every year. Sadly, Chapman passed away from cancer in 2020 at the age of 74.

While Chapman’s dramatic underwater rescue had a profound impact on his career, he stated in 2013 that there were no lasting physical effects. “I’m a bit more reluctant to get on an elevator, I think it’s the going up and down, but that’s the only thing I’m worried about physically,” he said.

Mallinson, on the other hand, declared that if the sub were to sink again, “I wouldn’t do anything differently.” He fondly remembered Chapman as a great man, stating, “Someone else might have panicked. If I could have chosen someone to go with, it would have been him.”

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Titanic: Why it’s so hard to find the missing Titan submersible in the oceanTitanic: Rescue teams hear “sounds” in the area where the lost submersible is being searched

Fifty years ago, two British sailors found themselves in a life-or-death situation when their deep-sea submersible, the Pisces III, sank 1,500 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. Trapped inside the submersible, they had only 12 minutes of oxygen left before their rescue. Although the incident made headlines in 1973, it has largely been forgotten over the years. However, recent interest has reignited in the fate of the Titan submersible. The sailors embarked on a routine dive to lay a transatlantic telephone cable, but disaster struck when the submersible sank. Miraculously, both men emerged unharmed and managed to establish contact, reassuring authorities that they were alive. A massive rescue operation was initiated, and the sailors had to conserve their oxygen until their rescue. The story is a tale of survival and hope, highlighting the challenging conditions and the determination of the sailors to stay alive.

What were the key factors that contributed to the successful rescue of the two British sailors in the Pisces III submersible in 1973?

The successful rescue of the two British sailors in the Pisces III submersible in 1973 can be attributed to several key factors:

1. Quick Response: One of the crucial factors was the quick response to the distress call. When the Pisces III became stranded on the ocean floor, a distress call was immediately sent out, prompting a swift rescue operation.

2. Experienced Rescue Team: The presence of an experienced and well-equipped rescue team played a vital role. The team consisted of skilled divers and experts in submersible rescue operations who were able to assess the situation and devise a plan for retrieving the sailors safely.

3. Effective Communication: Clear and efficient communication between the sailors and the rescue team was essential. Despite being trapped in a submersible at the ocean floor, the sailors were able to maintain contact with the surface through communication systems, providing crucial information to the rescue team.

4. Efficient Use of Technology: The successful rescue was also facilitated by the innovative use of available technology. The rescue team utilized cutting-edge underwater equipment, including underwater cameras and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), to locate and assess the trapped submersible before proceeding with the rescue operation.

5. Detailed Planning: Extensive planning and coordination between different organizations involved in the rescue operation were crucial. The operation required collaboration between the navy, coast guard, scientists, engineers, and other experts, resulting in a well-coordinated effort.

6. Safety Protocols: Adherence to strict safety protocols throughout the rescue mission ensured the safety of both the rescue team and the sailors. Proper training, adherence to protocols, and the use of safety equipment minimized risks during the operation.

7. International Collaboration: The successful rescue operation was aided by international collaboration. Multiple countries offered assistance, including providing specialized equipment and additional personnel, highlighting the global effort to ensure the safety of the sailors.

In conclusion, the successful rescue of the two British sailors in the Pisces III submersible in 1973 can be attributed to factors such as a quick response, an experienced rescue team, effective communication, efficient use of technology, detailed planning, safety protocols, and international collaboration.