Curv III
CABLE-CONTROLLED UNDERWATER RECOVERY VEHICLE
The vehicle pictured at bottom was the first successful remotely operated undersea vehicle. The Cable-controlled Undersea Recovery Vehicle (CURV) was developed in the early 1960's by the former Pasadena Annex of the Naval Ordnance Test Station, one of SSC San Diego's parent laboratories. CURV was designed to recover test ordnance lost off San Clemente Island at depths as great as 2000 feet, but became famous in 1966 with the recovery of an H-bomb off Spain in 2800 feet of water. This sucesss spawned later generations of vehicles designated CURV II, CURV II-B, CURV II-C and CURV III. CURV, now referred to as CURV I, pioneered the concept of undersea teleoperators.
At that time, a task force was formed, including representatives from the Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board, the U.S. Navy Supervisor of Salvage, the Naval Undersea Center, and Seaward, Inc. of Falls Church, Virginia, an engineering consultant firm under contract to the U.S. Navy Supervisor of Salvage to make a visual survey of the wreckage using the USN CURV III System under contract to the USCG. The CURV III is an unmanned, deep-diving vehicle controlled from the surface and capable of television and still photography. This vehicle made 12 dives with a total of 56 hours 5 minutes bottom time and recorded 43,255 feet of videotape and 985 still color photographs.
Typ. 4.67 hours on bottom dive times
Hours before the dive to the Fitz
May 1976 - Official Pictures
New information uncovered by viewing video tape of the pliot house and radio handset.
"Curv III tape a camera view of the radio handset cord being held up at the top of the pliot house."
After the first dive, the handset cord was seen out side the pliot house.
Wreckage identified as that of the FITZGERALD was located in position 46 59.91 N’, 85 06.6’ W in 530 feet of water in eastern Lake Superior just north of the International Boundary in Canadian waters. This position correlates with the last position of the FITZGERALD as reported by the ANDERSON.
The wreckage lies approximately 17 miles northwest of Whitefish Point, Michigan. The wreckage consists of an upright bow section, an inverted stern section, and debris from a missing 200-foot midship portion. The bow section is 276 feet long, inclined 15 degrees to port from the upright, extends from the stem to a location between hatches Nos. 8 and 9, and is buried in mud up to the 28-foot draft mark.
Canadian Chart 2310, "Lake Superior, Caribou Island to Michipicoten Island," which shows the area from slightly north of Michipicoten Island to slightly south of Caribou Island at a scale of 1:97,280 is published by the Canadian Hydrographic Service.
After this accident, the Coast Guard requested the Canadian Hydrographic Service to conduct a hydrographic survey of the area north of Caribou Island to confirm the charted soundings and to update the charted data. Current charts are based on a survey conducted by the Canadian Hydrographic Service in 1916 and 1919.
Columbia Transportation Division, the operator of the FITZGERALD, conducted an independent hydrographic survey of the shoal area north of Caribou Island. Water depths were determined by sonic devices, lead line, and direct measurement by divers. The results of this survey show water depths that vary slightly from the Canadian survey. These differences can be attributed to the rocks and boulders on the bottom and the various tracklines on which soundings were recorded.
Only three navigational charts covering the area between Michipicoten Island and Whitefish Bay are available. These charts are:
a. Lake Survey Chart No. 9, "Lake Superior," which shows all of Lake Superior at a scale of 1:600,000 published by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
b. Canadian Chart 2310, "Lake Superior, Caribou Island to Michipicoten Island," which shows the area from slightly north of Michipicoten Island to slightly south of Caribou Island at a scale of 1:97,280 is published by the Canadian Hydrographic Service.
c. Lake Survey Chart No. 92, "Lake Superior, St. Mary’s River to Au Sable Point," which shows the southeastern portion of Lake Superior from Sault Ste. Marie to just south of Caribou Island and west to Au Sable Point Light at a scale of 1:120,000 also is published by NOAA
Converting Latitude/Longitude Coordinates
Chart
Fractions of degrees are broken down into minutes and seconds. Each minute represents 1/60th of a degree and each second represents 1/60th of a minute (or 1/3600th of a degree). Below are the steps of converting from an angle in degrees-minutes-seconds to decimal degrees and back to degrees-minutes-seconds.
About 1530, the FITZGERALD, then in a position northeast of Caribou Island, called the ANDERSON and reported, "I have a fence rail down, have lost a couple of vents, and have a list." The FITZGERALD further advised that she would ‘‘check-down’’ to allow the ANDERSON to close the distance between the vessels. The ANDERSON asked the FITZGERALD if the pumps were going and the reply was, "Yes, both of them."
About 1915 EST on November 10, 1975, the Great Lakes bulk cargo vessel SS EDMUND FITZGERALD, fully loaded with a cargo of taconite pellets, sank in eastern Lake Superior in position 46 59.91 N, 85 06.61 W, approximately 17 miles from the entrance to Whitefish Bay, MI. The ship was en route from Superior, WI, to Detroit, MI, and had been proceeding at a reduced speed in a severe storm.
"The position of FITZGERALD relative to that of ANDERSON cannot be reconstructed. Information available is based on the recollections of the Master and Watch Officers on ANDERSON, since the relative position of FITZGERALD was observed intermittently on the radar, but not recorded. Testimony on these observations is inconsistent.
Replot the relative positions of the S S Edmund Fitzgerald and the Anderson
Wreckage identified as that of the FITZGERALD was located in position 46 59.91' N, 85 06.61’ W in 530 feet of water in eastern Lake Superior just north of the International Boundary in Canadian waters. This position correlates with the last position of the FITZGERALD as reported by the ANDERSON.