DSRV-2 Avalon

For other ships of the same name, see USS Avalon.

DSRV-2 Avalon
Avalon (DSRV-2) aboard support ship.
Career (United States)
Name:	Official: DSRV-2 Unofficial: Avalon
Builder:	Lockheed Missiles and Space Company, Sunnyvale, California
Launched:	1971
Out of service:	2000
General characteristics
Class & type:	DSRV-1- (Mystic-) class deep submergence rescue vehicle
Displacement:	30.5 tons surfaced, 37 tons submerged
Length:	49 ft (15 m)
Beam:	8 ft (2.4 m); Width 11 ft (3.4 m)
Installed power:	15 shaft horsepower (0.2 kilowatt)
Propulsion:	Electric motors, silver-zinc batteries, one shaft, four thrusters
Speed:	4 knots
Endurance:	30 hours submerged at 3 knots (5.6 km/h)
Test depth:	5,000 feet (1,524 meters)
Capacity:	24 passengers
Complement:	Four (two pilots and two rescue personnel)

DSRV-2 Avalon is a Mystic class Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle that is rated to dive up to 5000 feet (1500 m). The submarine was acquired in response to the loss of the USS Thresher so that the Navy would have a way to rescue submarine crews trapped far beneath the ocean surface.

Avalon was launched in 1971. The submarine, intended to be air transportable, was 50 feet (15 m) long, 8 feet (2.4 m) in diameter, and weighed 37 tons. The sub was capable of descending to 5,000 feet (1,500 m) below the surface and could carry 24 passengers at a time in addition to its crew. The sub was stationed at North Island Naval Station in San Diego and was never required to conduct an actual rescue operation. Avalon was decommissioned in 2000. The submarine may be donated to the Naval Undersea Museum.

Gallery

See also

• Mystic class deep submergence rescue vehicle
• DSRV-1 Mystic

References

• This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.
• Liewer, Steve, "Goodbye To Mystic Minisub, Hello To Falcon", San Diego Union-Tribune, March 6, 2009.