The ''Auguste Piccard'' mesoscaphe, also known simply as the ''Mésoscaphe'', was a crewed underwater

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

designed in 1964 by Jacques Piccard, son of Auguste Piccard. It was the world's first passenger submarine, built for

Expo64 The Swiss national exposition of 1964 (French: ''Exposition nationale suisse de 1964''), usually shortened to Expo 64, was the 5th Swiss National Exhibition, swiss national exhibiton held in Lausanne, more specifically in Vidy and the neighbouring ...

, the 1964 Swiss national exhibition in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

. It was built at the Giovanola fabrication plant in Monthey and the first immersion took place in Le Bouveret on 27 February 1964. It has a total of 45 Plexiglas portholes, with 20 on each side for the 40 passengers. The ''Auguste Piccard'' achieved 1,100 dives in Lake Geneva with 33,000 visitors in 1964 and 1965, to a depth of approximately 150 metres. The ride cost 40 Swiss francs and was the hit of the national exhibition. From 1969 to 1984, it achieved scientific and industrial observation dives in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. The ship is currently on display at the Swiss Museum of Transport in

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

. It was fully restored for the first time between 2005 and 2014, the restoration taking 28,000 hours.

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Auguste Piccard (Px-15) Research submarines of Switzerland 1964 ships Lake Geneva Merchant ships of Switzerland Submarines of Switzerland Ships built in Switzerland Museum ships