RP FLIP
R/P FLIP (floating instrument platform) was an open ocean research platform owned by the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) and operated by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The platform was 108 meters (355 ft) long and was designed to partially flood and pitch backward 90°, resulting in only the front 17 meters (55 ft) of the platform pointing up out of the water, with bulkheads becoming decks. When flipped, most of the buoyancy for the platform was provided by water at depths below the influence of surface waves, hence FLIP was stable and mostly immune to wave action, similar to a spar buoy. At the end of a mission, compressed air was pumped into the ballast tanks in the flooded section and the platform, which had no propulsion, returned to its horizontal position so it could be towed to a new location. The platform was frequently mistaken for a capsized ocean transport ship.
| History | |
|---|---|
| United States | |
| Owner | Office of Naval Research |
| Operator | Scripps Institution of Oceanography |
| Builder | |
| Cost | Approximately US$600,000 |
| Launched | 22 June 1962 |
| Completed | 23 July 1962 |
| In service | September 1962 |
| Out of service | August 2023 |
| Identification |
|
| Status | To be scrapped |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Research platform |
| Tonnage | 700 GT |
| Length | 108 m (355 ft) |
| Beam | 7.93 m (26.0 ft) |
| Draught |
|
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | None |
| Speed | Towed: 7–10 kn (8–12 mph; 13–19 km/h) |
| Endurance | 35 days |
| Capacity |
|
| Complement | 5 crew, 11 researchers |
FLIP's last research cruise was in late 2017, with ONR ending its support of the vessel in 2020. It was berthed at the Nimitz Marine Facility pier (Scripps) in Point Loma until being towed away to be scrapped on August 4, 2023.