Submersible shield

A submarine rescue submersible commissioned by the Republic of Korea Navy has been fitted with a nose-cone shield produced by London-based firm, Talbot Designs, a bespoke plastic fabricator based in north London.

The high-cost, pressure-rated acrylic view-port at the front of the rescue submersible needed to be protected from accidental damage during routine use.

Talbot Designs was commissioned by James Fisher Defence (JFD), based in Renfrew, Scotland, which designed, manufactured and commissioned the rescue submersible, to provide a sacrificial lens cover to protect the front view-port, which it then manufactured to fit the complex contours of the submersible rescue vehicle.

If damaged, the non-pressure-rated protective cover can readily be replaced quickly, easily and relatively inexpensively.

Steve Gibson, consultant design engineer at JFD, said: 'The design criteria for the front view-port protect was fairly complicated.

'The view-port protection on our earlier designs were generally simple hemispheres, but our shape evolved to incorporate cut-outs to avoid interruption to the light beams, so that the lights could be tucked in closer to the hull for improved hydrostatics.