Back From the Deep

On October 16, 1968, two steel cables supporting Alvin snapped during deployment for Dive 308, 120 miles south of Cape Cod. The sub plunged about 15 feet (4.5 meters), then bobbed to the surface long enough for pilot Ed Bland, scientific observer Paul Stimson, and pilot-in-training Roger Weaver to scramble to safety. The sub then sank to the bottom where it rested in 5,000 feet (1,515 meters) of water until recovery the following year. Here the sub lifted aboard a barge after its recovery.(Photo courtesy of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Archives)