DSRV-1 Mystic

DSRV-1 (Mystic) docked to a Los Angeles-class attack submarine.
Career (United States)
Name:	Official: DSRV-1 Unofficial: Mystic
Namesake:	Mystic, a village in Connecticut
Builder:	Lockheed Missiles and Space Company, Sunnyvale, California
Launched:	24 January 1970
Acquired:	1 June 1970
Out of service:	1 October 2008
General characteristics
Class and 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 (1,500 m)
Capacity:	24 passengers
Complement:	Four (two pilots and two rescue personnel)

DSRV-1 Mystic is a Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle that is rated to dive up to 1500 metres. DSRV1 was built by Lockheed for the U.S. Navy and launched 24 January 1970.

The senior engineer responsible for the project was Paul Philip Prelitz (father of Chris Prelitz). Mr. Prelitz was also the senior engineer for the Sealab II "Man in the Sea" project.

Mystic loaded aboard a Russian Antonov An-124 cargo aircraft.

Mystic was launched on 24 January 1970. 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.

Mystic was decommissioned on September 30, 2008.^{[citation needed]} The submarine may be donated to the Naval Undersea Museum.

In fiction

In fiction, it was used in the 1978 film Gray Lady Down as a rescue vehicle following a submarine accident, as well as Tom Clancy's novel The Hunt for Red October and film based on it The Hunt for Red October to ferry men from the USS Dallas to the Red October.

See also

• Mystic class deep submergence rescue vehicle
• DSRV-2 Avalon

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.
• NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive Mystic (DSRV-1)
• USN Factfile DSRV 1 & 2
• Liewer, Steve, "Goodbye To Mystic Minisub, Hello To Falcon", San Diego Union-Tribune, March 6, 2009.