A pressure-resistant observation chamber
Barton developed ideas for a diving chamber during his engineering studies and offered Beebe a design and financial support. The thick-walled sphere had quartz observation windows and was raised and lowered on a cable from a ship. It lacked self-propulsion; electric and telephone lines connected it to the surface.
References: [1]
Testing and deep descents
Unmanned tests in 1930 preceded occupied dives. On 15 August 1934 Barton and Beebe reached 3,028 feet off Bermuda. Oxygen tanks and chemicals for removing carbon dioxide and moisture formed part of the chamber’s life-support equipment.
The Benthoscope
Barton’s Benthoscope reached 4,500 feet in 1949. He also described undersea exploration in The World Beneath the Sea, published in 1953. His role encompassed the engineering of pressure chambers and their handling systems as well as participation in the dives.
References: [1]