Here is the Flip, one of the strangest ships ever to have floated, or rather « sunk. » This research platform was designed in the 1960s to flip vertically to collect underwater data.
A ship that sinks, its bow upright like the Titanic in its final moments, before resurfacing and sinking again… that was the strange sight experienced by sailors off the west coast of the United States during the 1960s. This peculiar vessel of the U.S. Navy was called the Flip, short for Floating Instrument Platform, and its sinking was purely for scientific purposes.
The 108-meter-long ship, weighing 700 tons, was rather narrow, with a width limited to eight meters. Except for a bow that resembled that of any other ship and remained on the surface upright, it was unconventional in every aspect. Even this bow was unique upon closer inspection, equipped with four decks positioned vertically, with ladders laid flat. Apart from its stern, which never submerged, the entire length of the vessel was filled with ballast tanks. These tanks gradually filled with seawater to capsize the ship and make it assume a vertical position.
On the forward deck, where the crew of five sailors and eleven scientists were stationed, they also had to adjust from wall to floor to stand vertically. The Flip was not powered; it had to be towed, making it more of a barge than a ship.
