Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DSV_Alvin
Sounds like it was (shocker) really well designed. It even sank once when a cable snapped on support boat — crew escaped, and it was recovered and retrofit. And if things go sideways, the cabin/titanium sphere could detach, floating freely up to the surface.
After hearing about OceanGate, deep sea subs sounded terrifying — but reading about this is somehow very comforting.
To be fair, it’s a Ship of Theseus - none of the current sub is from the 1960s:
Good point! I think this makes it even neater in a way: it was a solid, modular design that allowed for upgrades.