SEA PLOW

CD 2055060 E&MP5.032

Cables, Transatlantic

August 1967
[see inventor's comment below]

A sea plow designed by Bell Telephone Laboratories to bury underwater telephone cable below the ocean floor is lifted from the sea by a crane aboard the John Cabot, a Canadian cable repair ship and icebreaker.

The plow was used by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company’s Long Lines Department to bury the shore-end sections of two transatlantic cables off the coast of New Jersey. 

Original Caption by Science Service
^©Bell Telephone

Inventor Comments 5.11.2000

Re: CD 2055060 E&MP5.032, (http://scienceservice.si.edu/pages/005032.htm) This is an interesting Web page but the date of Sept. 1938 is completely incorrect. The actual date of completion of buryial of the shore ends of TAT-3 (TransAtlantic Telephone cable 3) and TAT-4 with Sea Plow I was August of 1967, not September 1938.

The reason that I know that is that I am the inventor of the plow (with two expired patents dated 1965) and I am one of the individuals standing on the after deck of the John Cabot in the picture.

I ... can provide patent numbers and exact dates for that information ... after May 24th. Thanks to my son for locating this information for me!

Best regards, John Maclay

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