Ben Franklin, American scientific submarine, now a museum ship in Canada
The Ben Franklin is a compact submarine measuring about 16 meters in length, now displayed outside the Vancouver Maritime Museum. Built in Switzerland in 1968, the vessel features four external electric pods and 29 portholes designed to allow crews to observe the ocean while diving.
The submarine launched its first mission in July 1969 from the Gulf of Mexico and drifted for a month through the Gulf Stream before resurfacing near Nova Scotia. After various missions and remaining unused for decades, it was placed at the Vancouver Maritime Museum in 1999 following restoration.
The Ben Franklin takes its name from Benjamin Franklin and carries symbolic meaning as a vessel of scientific exploration. Visitors experience it as a tangible connection to the era when humans ventured into the deep ocean to understand marine life and currents.
The submarine is displayed outdoors before the museum entrance and viewable from outside without paying admission. You can walk around the vessel at any time to see its exterior design and structure in detail.
Jacques Piccard, the legendary deep-sea explorer, insisted on installing 29 portholes despite engineers warning they could be weak points. This unusually high number of windows allowed the crew to observe marine life in remarkable detail from the deep.
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