Trieste (Bathyscaphe)

ocean exploration · record breaker · deep sea

Deepest dive ever. In 1960, the Trieste carried two men to the bottom of Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, about 35,814 feet down. No crewed vessel had ever gone that deep before.

Father and son team. The bathyscaphe was designed by Swiss scientist Auguste Piccard, and his son Jacques Piccard actually piloted it on the famous dive. They were both ocean explorers.

Swiss design, Italian built. Although a Swiss scientist designed the Trieste, it was actually built in Italy at a shipyard called Navalmeccanica and launched in 1953.

Tiny crew capsule. Only two people could fit inside the Trieste to go down to the ocean's deepest places. It was like a special underwater elevator that could handle the crushing pressure.

Museum showpiece now. After being taken out of service in 1966, the Trieste has been on display at the National Museum of the United States Navy in Washington, D.C. since the 1980s.