Submarines, Fleet: piping BT, 1943

This series is divided alphabetically into subseries designated mostly by Vine. Folders are arranged chronologically within each subseries, and pertain to his projects, interests, and organizations with which he had close connections. The subseries include:

Materials overlap within the subseries. For example, several of Vine’s early drafts, manuscripts and reports relating to his work with instruments, seismic studies, and the navy are both in the Submarines files and the Underwater Sound files. Similarly, materials from the first series relate to, and overlap with, materials in the second series.

The Bottom Studies material (box 1) dates from the early 1960s when Vine, Joe Mizula, and others, worked with continuous towed thermistor records to gather information about the distribution of temperatures in surface waters. These files relate to the Thermistor Records Study group of material.

The Bureau of Ships files (box 1), date from 1942-1957, and contain correspondence between Vine, Roger Revelle, WHOI director Columbus Iselin, A.C. Redfield, and W. E. Schevill, among others. Some of these materials pertain to his half-time position as oceanographer for the Bureau’s Sonar division, from 1947-1950. These files are related to the Navy materials.

The Correspondence files (boxes1-2) comprise the heart of Vine’s collection, and date mostly from the 1960s and early 1970s. Many of these files are now subtitled ‘Board’ to represent Vine’s interchangeable ‘Board’, ‘Tech board’, and ‘Daily’ assignation, however these files comprise general correspondence with no apparent correlation to any ‘Board.’

Harbor Branch Foundation files (box 2), date back to the early 1970s, when Vine participated in a semi-submerged study for the Foundation. The files also include a proposal for mariculture research; and an operational report for Project Deepwork 100, a simulated saturation dive to 1000 feet (box 2 f.17).

The Instruments files (boxes 2-3) date mostly from the 1940s and 1960s, and contain varied materials including data, meeting minutes, notes, reports, proposals, drafts, and program information.

Navy files (box 3) date from the 1940s to 1960s and reflect Vine’s enduring and long-reaching communication and involvement with the naval community. Of particular interest is Vine’s draft letter to Howard Hughes addressing ocean exploration as a final frontier worthy of Hughes’s interest and contribution, filed in ‘Committee- NAECOE vehicle panel,’ (box 3, folder 30). Vine was a member of a special panel to review the NAECOE program and mission. He also served as a member of the Subroc (study) Technical Advisory Group [STAG] from 1957-1964, and these files are found in this group of materials (box 3, f.24) and in the Thermistor Records Study files (box 7, f.15).

Plans (boxes 4,5) files spans the 1940s to 1970s and comprise blueprints for research vessels, tugs, and planes, and for 1940s fleet submarines.

The Submarines files (boxes 5-7) date from 1940s to 1973 and contains studies for salinity-temperature depth recorders, correspondence, trip reports, blueprints, photographs, proposal for Project FAMOUS, and handwritten notes on tests on the Bristol Company’s equipment (box 6, folders 2-4).

The Submersibles files (box 7) date from 1958-1973 and contain research and design materials.

The Thermistor Records Study files (box 7) date from 1960-1965 and relate to a project looking at the structure of the oceans, specifically the top 500 feet.

Thresher Project files (box 7) date from 1963, and include information pertaining to the search for the lost submarine.

Underwater Sound files (boxes 7,8) span the years 1940-1976, and contain log and trip notebooks, reports and writings, proposals, and data. Also included is an initial survey of sound fixing and ranging (SOFAR) sites in Bermuda.

Writings, Patents, and Talks files (box 8) span the years 1943-1979, and contain meetings and workshop information, drafts, and design material.