The Story of the First Ultra Modern Phone Cable Ship - AT&T Archives

in 1956 18 t laid the first transoceanic cable called tat 1 but the only ship suitable for such long distances was the British cable ship monarch which 18 D had been chartering since the early 1950s and too late at once modern telephone cables all of the machinery on the monarch required extensive modifications it was clear 18 T needed its own ship so the company designed the first truly modern cable ship the cs long lines it was launched in 1961 and by 1963 had made its maiden voyage laying the third transatlantic cable past three on its next journey the ship late EPC won the very first trans-pacific cable that run is documented in this film over the next two decades CS long lines would install over 40 thousand miles of cable around the world by the 1980s plans were made for the very first fiber-optic transatlantic cable tat 8 and long lines was the ship for the job on one early test of the new technology technicians hauled up the cable after they found a short in the system and discovered shark teeth embedded in the cable turns out the unshielded fiber optic cable caused an electrical field that drove the sharks into a feeding frenzy there are just some things you can't test for in the lab see as long lines completed late at 8:00 in 1988 for another decade or so the ship served 18 t laying other cables and making repairs from the great ships heyday here's C s long lines number three is ready for service we have to order circuits patched in and working perfectly wonderful wait a minute that's what we've been waiting for thank you very much get some sleep now cheerio you know I think we'll do that thank you again good night well that she works to people talking via ship-to-shore radio telephone one on the eye sees and the other on the cornish coast of Great Britain it sounds commonplace and as a matter of fact it is but behind this particular conversation is a fascinating story the construction of a worldwide network of underseas telephone cables I am Lowell Wengert a vice president of the American telephone and telegraph company and my job involves me in the continuously unfolding drama of international communications the incident you have just seen took place in September 1963 aboard the Bell systems ocean cable layer C s long lines only a few minutes before engineers aboard ship had completed the final splice of a third transatlantic telephone cable then came the radio telephone call confirming completion of still another communications route between the United States and England it was an historic moment and one that has been repeated a number of times on the sea s long lines a ship that has played an important role in expanding communications throughout the world this is her story the story of a ship November 1963 once again the bell systems ocean cable layer CS long lines moves up Chesapeake Bay toward Baltimore she is returning with pride after her first big job a third transatlantic telephone cable this latest voice route to Europe extends 3500 miles along the ocean floor from the beaches of New Jersey to the coast of Cornwall on the southwestern tip of England the manufacturing plant is our starting point for this fascinating project under seas cable designed by the Bell Telephone laboratories is manufactured not only at the Western electric plant in Baltimore but also at two other identical cable plants one in Southampton England and the other in Yokohama Japan cable at all three plants is made to Belle system design specifications in the first step on the assembly line forty-one fine steel wires are wrapped together on a stranding machine to provide an inner core which gives the cable its required tensile strength next the inner conductor which is one of two conductors in this coaxial cable is formed by wrapping a strip of copper tape around the core of steel wires it seemed as electrically welded a layer of polyethylene is added as insulation between the inner and outer conductors transparent at first it becomes white as it is cooled by water this insulating layer is then shaved to meet rigid engineering tolerances now an outer copper sheath which serves as the second conductor of a colossal cable is shaped around the white polyethylene layer finally a protective covering of black polyethylene is added and the manufacturing process is complete the finished cable is 1 and 1/4 inches in diameter it's 5 separate layers each represent a distinct and precise manufacturing technique in Baltimore as in other plants the new cable is placed in large pans each holding about 20 miles of cable these pans are then towed to a loading platform at dockside the cable ends are terminated in bell-shaped couplings which are tied together with a metal bar then wrapped in canvas to aid their passage along the loading route the deck is notified the transporter turned on and another cable section starts aboard up through the bell mouth along the trough the coupling moves as cable starts paying out of the new storage pan Kable from two pans is pulled aboard simultaneously it follows a carefully planned route as it winds its way aboard ship and into cable tanks beep in the hold a transporter pulls the cable aboard at speeds of four to five miles an hour down it goes through a slot in the deck and into the cable tank where it is neatly coiled one man guides the cable around the center core other workers make certain it falls tightly into place fully loaded CS long lines will carry some 2,000 miles of cable in her three storage tanks as the cable loading continues repeaters each weighing 500 pounds are hoist to the board ship some 275 of these voice amplifiers will be used between Hawaii and Japan below deck they are stored in the proper order for splicing between cables sections the ends of each 20-mile section are secured opposite the repeaters to which the cable will be spliced while the remainder is coiled in the cable tank below the bytes or cable ends running in and out of the tank are secured to the tank wall where they are held in place until the cable feeds out during the laying operation technicians join the end of each section to its proper repeater the end of each repeater is covered by a plastic disc to protect the connectors during shipment the shield is removed and the connectors or pigtails are prepared for splicing the larger pigtail will be spliced to the center conductor of the cable while the smaller will be spliced to the cables outer sheath a new insulating cover of polyethylene is molded over the splice the finished joint appears as a slight bulge in the polyethylene insulation each splice is x-rayed and carefully examined to make certain that no imperfection exists when the splice is completed the cable coupling is moved into position for joining to the metal case of the repeater it is precisely fitted and then bolted down securely to withstand the extreme tension encountered on its trip to the ocean floor with her cable tanks full all cable and secured and all repeaters spliced in along the entire length of the cable the CS long lines puts out to sea destination Hawaii the beginning point of the cable to Japan is the underground terminal station at Makaha Beach on the island of Oahu here a short section of armored cable is pulled ashore to the terminal this shore end section is then spliced to the 2,000 miles of deep sea cable aboard ship now the long lines moves out toward Midway Island some 1,300 miles to the northwest as she starts to work signals flying from her mast say to all other ships cable-laying underway please stand clear now the miles of cables so carefully loaded in baltimore uncoil upward to the deck above passing through the up runners slot the cable moves toward the stern of the ship where it travels out the chute and disappears into the sea while each 20 miles section is being laid the next repeater is readied for its trip overboard an electric hoist is used to lift the repeater from the rack and lower it into the cable tron a parachute is attached to the heavy repeater so that it's sinking speed will match that of the lighter cable as the end of a cable section is reached the cable ends attached to the tank wall pull free and start the repeater through the tractor like treads of the linear cable engine then out the stern chute and down into the sea a few seconds after it disappears beneath the waves a balloon pops to the surface indicating that the parachute covering is pulled off and the chute is opened now the repeater gently sinks to the ocean floor its descent is so gradual that the long lines may travel another 15 miles before the repeater settles on the bottom of the sea and so under the watchful eyes of experienced technicians the cable continues to pay out mile after mile and repeater after repeater a ship's officer using a sextant is shooting the Sun for a position check similar checks are made daily at dawn and dusk using visible stars these periodic position checks aid the captain in his task of accurately plotting the pre-planned course his ship must travel the route the ship follows is one which was carefully planned through oceanographic surveys the nerve center of the cable laying operation is the drum room where every phase of the project is observed and controlled kilometres and depth recorders provide a picture of the ocean bottom beneath the ship each detail is recorded to determine the amount of slack needed so that the cable will conform to the contours of the ocean floor when any unexpected conditions arise the engineers who laid out the system are on board to make any changes necessary in the cable laying plan at the central control console continuous readings are made of the ship's actual speed over the ocean floor here also the cable payout rate of the linear engine is controlled a small computer is used to automatically compare and then control these variables properly detailed records are kept of the cable laid tension on the cable and many other statistics transmission men continuously conduct tests with the distant Shore terminal test signals are transmitted through all the cable aboard ship as well as the cable which has been laid between the ship and the shore terminal these tests ensure that all repeaters and cable sections are working satisfactorily and that transmission performance measures up to engineered standards careful check is maintained on the power supplied to the repeaters aboard ship and those on the ocean bottom 5,000 volts are required to operate the vacuum tubes in all the repeaters along the route telephone circuits are established over the cable so that the ship may maintain communication with the shore terminal and coordinate all tests and operations and so the job goes on with technicians and ship's crew performing the numerous tasks required to keep the cable laying operation in motion the work continues around the clock and in all kinds of weather at Midway Island of the cable is brought ashore to provide communications to this specific outpost the rough coral reefs surrounding Midway and other Pacific Islands can sometimes damage even heavily armored cable so here it is necessary to provide the cable with additional protection using balloons to aid them in moving the cable to its proper position the divers fit a heavy armor pipe around the cable to protect it from the coral heads and jagged rocks along the route this armored casing is extended out over the reef to a depth of a hundred feet or more where the cable plunges over the coral cliff toward the ocean bottom nearly three miles below from Midway the long lines continues along her route to a point 700 miles west and the end of her 2,000 mile load of beep sea cable here a large marker buoy is readied for attachment to the cable end before it goes overboard a radar reflector is mounted on the boy as a navigation aid in finding the spot at a later date now securely anchored and lashed to the cable end the boy and its floats will be pulled up when cable laying operations are resumed leaving the marker boy the long lines proceeds to Honolulu to rendezvous with the cable transport Arthur M huddle here cable manufactured in England is translated into the long line storage tanks departing Honolulu the long lines returns to the area where the buoy was dropped the radar reflector atop the boy makes locating its position routine once the boy is sighted the engines are slowed for the approach and pick up the floats and boy are recovered and then the cable end is hauled up from the ocean floor for splicing to the new load of cable aboard ship the splicing is completed below deck in the joining room the cable ends have been prepared for splicing by stripping back the black protective covering the white polyethylene insulation and the inner conductor to expose the center core of steel strands these strands and the inner copper conductor are inserted into a heavy steel sleeve which is crimped together by a 500-ton press to form a strong splice next the white polyethylene plastic is bolted around the splice to form a continuous insulation between the two conductors each molding is x-rayed and the picture examined for any imperfection in the joint which might affect the quality of transmission if the mold is perfect the splice is completed and closed continuing westward over the Pacific waste for some 400 miles the cable is brought ashore at Wake Island to link this tiny dot to the US mainland and then onto the cable terminal at Guam and the end of her second load of cable from guam the long lines moves up to yokohama for another load of cable which has been manufactured in Japan here also she picks up repeaters which had been previously shipped awaiting her arrival trucks carrying these repeaters form a colorful convoy as they wind their way through the streets of downtown Yokohama on their way to the docks the cable is transported from the plant in barges which are towed to the ship from the barges the cable is drawn in over the bow of the ship into its tanks here to the cable is neatly coiled in the cable tank by Japanese workers the cable loading continues around-the-clock through the night moving down the coast the longline stands off shore at Ninomiya the Japanese cable terminal to avoid cable damage in the shallow waters balloons are attached so that it may be floated ashore as the cable pays out the ships work boat starts pulling it toward the beach a half mile offshore the cable is attached to a steel hawser which has been floated out to meet the work boat the cable is gradually pulled in toward the beach where the landing is greeted by a group of photographers and workmen the balloons are removed as the cable is hauled ashore at the same time work boats and other ships offshore remove the balloons supporting the cable on the water the balloons are rounded up for storage aboard ship the laying of this Shore end cable continues through the evening and into the night by early morning operations completed the ship starts moving southward toward Guam on the final link of the 5,300 mile route from Honolulu to Japan moving along her course at a steady speed of 8 knots the long lines completes the final splice off Guam some 12 days later the new cable is officially opened for service by Frederick R Capital chairman of the board of American telephone and telegraph company talking from London on a three-way conversation with Douglas guild president of the Hawaiian telephone company and Katsuji oh oh no president of Koksijde din Chandan wah Company Limited the other two partners in this international communications project my thanks to both of you and all of your coaches tonight we have been two great countries move closer to one another and by your partnership and cooperation we've created a powerful instrument for worldwide conversation and understanding between people everywhere it's been a great pleasure to participate in this occasion I now declare the cable officially open for service between the United States and Japan good night and my very best wishes to everyone who has participated finishing her trans-pacific venture CS long line sailed East to Honolulu to take on another load of cable then moving out toward California she starts work on a second underseas telephone cable between Hawaii and the US mainland some two weeks later the ship stands off the California coast near San Luis Obispo to complete operations at this US cable terminal the cable is pulled ashore on the last few miles of its route then it is hauled through a trench in the beach and worked slowly and carefully by hand up and into a conduit leading to a manhole where it is spliced to cable already in place from the terminal station proceeding up to San Francisco the long lines ties up with the transport ships Karva to load cable this cable will link the Philippines to the trans-pacific route at Guam with our cable tanks loaded again the long lines returns to Guam and starts out on the 1500 mile route to the Philippines near the little coastal town of Bel Air shore end operations get underway as the cable is floated in work operations are also proceeding at the landing site excitement over the event runs high as schoolchildren from Bel Air are granted a holiday to watch the operations marching down the beach like a small army they arrive with happy faces and welcome signs rope barriers are necessary to keep the enthusiastic youngsters out of the working area skin divers from the Philippine Navy are on hand to assist in the landing work now as the cable comes ashore it rounds a sheep and moves along the cable trench into the jungle there it is spliced to another cable connecting it with the terminal station finishing the Phillipines project the long lines reek Rosses the pacific to enter the Panama Canal crossing the Isthmus she moves back into the Atlantic on her way to Baltimore to pick up more cable and repeaters for her next assignment a cable from Vero Beach Florida to st. Thomas in the Virgin Islands which she completed in December 1964 another job completed officials of AT&T and Francis P TMT now discussed the final plans for the cs long lines next project which is a fourth transatlantic telephone cable extending from the US mainland to France Beach Haven on the coast of New Jersey is the take-off point for the fourth transatlantic cable lying offshore the CS long lines maneuvers into proper position to lay the shore end portion of the cable the captain zeroes in on the short target and gives the order to begin operations contact is then established with the director of shore operations to inform him that the cable end is about to be started in toward Shore as the cable end is over boarded it is picked up by a tugboat which will tow it in toward the beach and regular intervals balloons are attached to the cable so that it may be floated in rather than dragged across the shore bottom the bright orange balloons appear to form a brilliant dotted path from ship towards Shore a small boat coming out to meet the tugboat brings a towline which will be attached to the end of the cable when the shore line is secured the tugboat cuts loose its towline allowing the cable end to slip into the sea a cluster of several balloons suspends the cable end and marks its progress as it is pulled into the shore shore and operations completed the CS long lines heads out into the Atlantic on the first leg of its ocean spanning voyage from New Jersey Shore to st. Hilaire de res on the coast of France cable tanks empty the cable end is buoyed and marked and the ship heads for her next cable supply point Norton ham Germany while in transit the conference table becomes the center of action where final plans are checked and discussed at Norton ham the cable has been placed in storage tanks and conveyed to the loading area where it is put aboard the cs long lines while loading proceeds the shore end portion of the cable at st. Hilaire is being placed by the French the terminal station is about three-quarters of a mile inland from the shore so it was necessary to run a buried cable line down to the beach air groups of men anxiously await the Beeching of the cable end so that it can be tied to its land termination offshore the French cable ship Marcel BR drops anchor and makes preparations for the placing of the shore end of the cable on the foredeck balloons are attached to the cable end and it is over boarded then picked up by a small launch which will tow it to the beach the familiar line of balloons marks its progress forward once the cable end is beached to displace to the land line completing the shore operations meanwhile the sea s long lines having completed laying the cable picked up at Norton ham stops now at Calais France here the large cable storage pans are transported on huge flatbed trucks from the manufacturing plant to the loading area and put aboard the ship when she has placed these last miles of transatlantic cable number four she will have compiled a total of 17,000 miles of cable placed in just over two years of service a record of achievement unparalleled in cable ship history on September 15 1965 transatlantic cable number 4 was officially opened for service completing the latest link in this worldwide network of underseas cables around the globe man reaches out to communicate with his fellow man in future years global communications will play an increasingly important role in the handling of personal business and governmental matters this vast worldwide communications network was built through the cooperation of many nations and is dedicated to providing the best possible service for its customers beneath the sea a constantly expanding international network of telephone cables put there by men and ships ships like the cs long lines you you

Channel: AT&T Tech Channel

Views: 64,833

Rating: 4.8765779 out of 5

Keywords: AT&T Tech Channel, AT&T Archives, AT&T, History, Communication, phone, cable, undersea, longlines, 1960s, bonus, edition, george, kupczak

Id: jhnblU9leIo

Length: 30min 25sec (1825 seconds)

Published: Tue Oct 02 2012