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| The crew on the deck on the Ben Franklin | | |
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| Erwin Aebersold | | |
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Dr Jacques Piccard, Scientific Leader of Mission, Bureau Piccard
Born in Belgium in 1922 he was the son of the famous scientist and explorer, Auguste Piccard. He worked with his father in the design of the first bathyscaphs and the Trieste. Jacques Piccard piloted Trieste on 65 dives including the record breaking dive down 35,800 feet in the Marianas Trench (the deepest part of the ocean). Together with his father they built the first mesoscaph (middle depth submersible) for the Swill Exposition in 1963. This mesocaph carried more than 30,000 passengers into Lake Geneva. In 1966 he became an exclusive consultant with the Grumman Corporation. Piccard conceived the idea designing a submersible to study the Gulf Stream in 1965 and signed a contract with Grumman to begin building it in 1966. During the Gulf Stream Drift Mission Dr. Piccard was responsible for the coordination of all the scientific experiments as well as piloting the submersible.
Donald J. Kazimir, Captain, Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation
Kazimir was a native of New Your. He received a degree in Industrial Engineering and served in the US Navy, including duty on board submarines. He joined Grumman Corporation in 1967. He was responsible for the vehicle operations, crew comfort and safety and was the chief pilot. He was the youngest of all the crew at the age of 35.
Erwin Aebersold, Pilot, Bureau Piccard
Aebersold was trained as an engineer. He was a long time member of the Bureau Piccard staff. He was responsible for the design of the pilot station in the earlier mesocaph, Auguste Piccard. He served as chief engineer and shop master during the European construction phase of Ben Franklin. He was second to the Captain (Donald Kazimir) in piloting and all other vehicle operations.
Roswell F. Busby (Frank), Scientist, US Naval Oceanographic Office
Frank Busby was a native of New York. He joined the US Naval Oceanographic Office in 1960 where he could apply his Oceanography degree. He was the Branch Head of the Deep Ocean Survey Vehicles Project, responsible for determining the design characteristics, oceanographic sensors and operational techniques for a 20,000 foot depth deep ocean survey vehicle (is this before or after Drift mission??). He was responsible for conducting the oceanographic experiments during the mission and for evaluating the possibilities of Ben Franklin for future civilian and navy uses.
Kenneth Haigh, Scientist, US Naval Oceanographic Office
Kenneth Haigh joined the US Naval Oceanographic Office in 1968 as an exchange scientist from the Royal Navy Scientific Survey (Britain). An electrical engineer by training, Haigh was a specialist in acoustics and was responsible for conduction scientific experiements while on board Ben Franklin. Piccard described him in the following manner - “In his person the British Empire has come aboard the mesocaph: calm, level-headed, knowledgeable, dependable, humourous, discreet, modest, tenacious, impassive - all these British qualities go into making a wonderful co-worker and comrade. Only one thing aboard displeases him: the instant tea!”
Chester B May, Scientist, NASA
Chet May was a pioneer in space system maintenance. He worked for NASA (National Aeronautical and Space Administration) as a researcher. His role on board Ben Franklin was to collect information about environmental conditions, maintaining the submersible, power management, and physiological and psychological reactions of the crew. His observations would be supported by the over 65,000 photos taken by the cameras installed through out the submersible. |
