Stephen McGinty29 July 2021

The World's Deepest Submarine Rescue - Stephen McGinty - #351

0Frameworks

11Insights

Insights & moments

The myth-busts, hot takes, explainers, and tools worth keeping.

Myth Buster· 1

Myth Buster53:00

No, the Queen Did Not Send a Message—It Was the QE2

A widely believed story claims Queen Elizabeth sent a message to the trapped crew. In reality, it was the ocean liner QE2 passing nearby that sent a message of support, which was misinterpreted as coming from the monarch.

The crew believed the Queen had sent them a message of encouragement.
In truth, the QE2 had offered assistance and sent a goodwill message.
The confusion sustained morale during their ordeal.
The real story is still touching, even if the royal connection was mistaken.

“It wasn't the queen at all—it was the QE2... but the message that they got helped sustain them was that it was the queen herself…”
Stephen McGinty · 53:30

#queen-elizabeth#qe2#myth#rescue

Explainer· 3

Explainer00:00

Setting the Scene: A Phone Box at the Bottom of the Atlantic

Stephen McGinty sets the stage for the 1973 Pisces III submarine rescue by vividly describing the claustrophobic conditions and immense pressure the crew faced. He compares the mini-sub to a phone box sitting next to the Empire State Building, suddenly submerged under miles of ocean.

Pisces III was roughly the size of a large phone box, five to six feet in diameter.
The crew was 1,600 feet below the surface, in complete darkness after a catastrophic failure.
McGinty uses the analogy of the Atlantic flooding over a phone box next to the Empire State Building to illustrate depth and isolation.
Rescue was at least two days away, forcing the men to conserve oxygen and remain calm.

“Try and imagine that you're in a phone box next to the empire state building and then the atlantic ocean sweeps in then all the…”
Stephen McGinty · 00:00

#submarine#rescue#depth#survival

Explainer01:30

Why Was Pisces III on the Ocean Floor?

The Pisces III mini-sub was deployed to bury a transatlantic communications cable in a trench to protect it from fishing trawlers. This mission was part of a larger effort to secure the new CAN-TAT cable, which allowed 1,750 simultaneous transatlantic calls.

The submarine's job was to dig a trench and bury the CAN-TAT cable off the coast of Cork, Ireland.
Fishing nets and trawlers posed a real threat to exposed cables on the seabed.
The CAN-TAT cable was cutting-edge technology in 1973, enabling thousands of phone calls between North America and the UK.
The mission was routine but critical for protecting vital communications infrastructure.

#submarine#cable#technology#mission

Explainer11:00

The Real Danger Wasn't Oxygen—It Was Carbon Dioxide

While the crew had limited oxygen, the real threat was carbon dioxide buildup. Their survival depended on a scrubber system that removed CO2 from the air, powered by batteries that could fail or ignite in the high-pressure environment.

The immediate danger wasn't lack of oxygen but CO2 accumulation from exhalation.
A battery-powered scrubber was essential to clean the air and maintain breathable conditions.
A short circuit could spark a fire in the oxygen-rich chamber, making electrical safety critical.
The crew had to stay calm to reduce respiration and extend scrubber life.

#survival#oxygen#carbon-dioxide#submarine

Story· 6

Story03:30

The Eccentric Canadian Who Invented the Pisces Sub

Al Trice, a pioneering Canadian diver and inventor, developed the Pisces class of mini-submarines after recognizing the dangers of deep-sea diving. His work laid the foundation for commercial deep-sea exploration and rescue operations.

Al Trice was a deep-sea salvage diver who pioneered bounce dives to 350 feet in the 1960s.
He sought a safer, practical alternative to dangerous deep dives by creating a small, commercial submarine.
Trice and his team developed the Pisces craft, which were later acquired by Vickers Oceanics.
He was in London during the rescue and played a key role in the operation.

“Al Trice back in the 1960s was from Vancouver and he was one of the pioneers of salvage diving... he said, 'There has to be…”
Stephen McGinty · 03:30

#inventor#submarine#diving#rescue

Story19:30

Dolphins Interrupted the Rescue Communications

During the rescue attempt, the crew used an underwater telephone to communicate with the surface. However, the signals were often drowned out by the squeaks of dolphins in the area, creating a surreal and frustrating communication barrier.

The crew relied on an underwater telephone with heavy static and interference.
Dolphins in the area frequently disrupted transmissions with their high-pitched calls.
Roger Mallinson found the dolphins comforting despite the communication issues.
The noise added to the challenge of coordinating the rescue from the surface.

“There was a lot of poor poises and dolphins in the area and the dolphins would squeak... you would lose messages to the dolphins.”
Stephen McGinty · 19:30

#communication#dolphins#rescue#submarine

Story29:00

The Canadians Almost Had Them—Then the Hook Slipped

A Canadian rescue team using a Pisces submarine located the trapped crew and attempted to attach a lift line. The hook briefly locked into place but then spun loose, drifting away like a balloon in a breeze, forcing a desperate chase.

The Canadian team found Pisces III using sonar after hours of searching.
They managed to hook a lift line, but it slipped out due to a one-in-a-thousand misfortune.
The rope drifted slowly, forcing a slow-motion chase in the deep sea.
The failure underscored the extreme difficulty of deep-sea rescue operations.

“It just falls out, it spins round effectively and drops out of sight... it's like a pensioner's race because the rope is just drifting very…”
Stephen McGinty · 30:00

#rescue#failure#canada#submarine

Story32:30

The 'Dirty Dozen' Rescue Team Flown Into a Storm

When the rescue stalled, engineer Ted Carter assembled a fresh team of five engineers and divers. They were flown in a small plane to Cork and then helicoptered into a storm to reach the rescue ship, lowering onto the deck in dangerous conditions.

Ted Carter organized a new rescue team after previous attempts failed.
The team flew to Cork and was helicoptered 150 miles into a storm to reach the Voyager.
None of the men had been on a helicopter before, and the landing was perilous.
The pilot's skill in lowering them one by one during violent waves was later commended.

“They fly out in the storm... when they looked out they all they could see was white—they thought it was snow but it was the…”
Stephen McGinty · 34:00

#rescue#team#storm#heroism

Story41:00

The Diver Who Landed on a Bucking Submarine

With the sub thrashing near the surface, diver Bob Hanley was sent down to attach a final lift line. He compared the task to landing on a bucking bronco, timing his dive to straddle the moving sub and secure the line under extreme conditions.

Bob Hanley had to attach a final lift line to a submarine violently moving in stormy waves.
He described the task as 'landing on a bucking bronco' due to the motion.
He used a U-bolt and carabiner-style bolt to secure the line under water.
His success ensured the final lift to the surface could proceed.

“He has to time his dive so that he can land on it and effectively straddle it like you would a bucking bronco.”
Stephen McGinty · 41:30

#diver#rescue#heroism#storm

Story50:00

The Lifelong Bond Forged in the Deep

Roger Chapman and Roger Mallinson maintained a powerful bond after the rescue. Every year on the anniversary, Mallinson called Chapman at the exact moment of their rescue, and they met for lunch, honoring their shared trauma and survival.

The two men remained close for decades after the incident.
Mallinson called Chapman every year at the exact time of their rescue.
They met annually for lunch to commemorate the event.
The bond lasted until Chapman’s death in January of the previous year.

“On the day of the rescue, Mallinson would phone him at the exact moment they were rescued... they would meet for lunch on that day…”
Stephen McGinty · 50:30

#friendship#bond#survival#rescue

Tool· 1

Tool52:00

The Toggle: A Rescue Device Built in Hours

The critical rescue device—a toggle shaped like an upside-down umbrella—was designed on paper with T-squares and built in a fabrication shop within hours, a testament to analog-era ingenuity under pressure.

The toggle was designed on paper using traditional drafting tools.
It was manufactured in just a few hours after urgent intervention from leadership.
It opened inside the sub’s hatch like a T-bar to secure the lift line.
This simple, robust device succeeded where high-tech systems failed.

“The device the toggle that rescued them was designed on paper with t-squares and manufactured in a few hours.”
Stephen McGinty · 52:20

#engineering#rescue#tool#innovation