Causes of the disappearance of the Minerva
During an 8-hour dive in billionaire Victor VESCOVO's exploration submarine Limiting Factor, Jean-Louis BARBIER, a retired submariner and aircraft accident expert, was able to examine the wreck first-hand, methodically looking for anything he could find. With the support of the films then recorded, he was able to propose an explanation for the sinking of the Minerve.
This one is not 100% certain, but it is the only one that remains compatible with everything that has been observed.
The Minerve, like the Eurydice two years later, was apparently the victim of a collision.
Necessary expertise
Examination of the images taken during the discovery of the Minerve revealed their limitations. Many parts of the submarine had not been filmed. It was therefore difficult to attempt an investigation into the causes of the 1968 accident on an incomplete basis.
Among those who offered to help understand what could have happened, retired former Admiral Jean-Louis Barbier quickly stood out. He had extensive experience sailing aboard numerous types of submarines, including Daphné submarines identical to the Minerve, and recognized expertise in analyzing air accidents.
When American billionaire Victor Vescovo proposed diving on the wreck, Hervé Fauve decided that Jean-Louis Barbier, who was in high demand at the time, would have priority for the descent. With the billionaire at the helm, guided by Jean-Louis, the small submarine, the limiting factor, meticulously examined all the debris, which would be filmed simultaneously.
Jean-Louis Barbier ressort du sous-marin Limiting Factor après sa plongée
Working method
Jean-Louis will consider one by one all the scenarios that could have led to the 1968 accident. He could rely on the work of the 1968 commission of inquiry which had worked in this direction.
Each time he checked whether the debris from the Minerve confirmed the hypothesis or not. For example, if the Minerve had been hit by a torpedo, water would have rushed into the submarine, which would have sunk without imploding.
This patient expert work will require 6 months of work, partly carried out during the COVID lockdown in 2020.
Conclusion of the study
Jean Louis, based on other elements, arrives at the hypothesis that the Minerve must have taken on a significant quantity of water which weighed down the submarine, dragging it down to its implosion depth.
This massive ingress of water is probably the result of the air tube shut-off valve being torn off.
The image opposite, among others, shows that elements are missing from this part of the massif. The air tube and a whip antenna that were supposed to be visible must have been torn off. The implosion probably didn't dislodge them.
The fact that this air tube and the antenna next to it are missing are among the elements that lead us to believe that the Minerve was the victim of a boarding by a surface vessel.
We know that the Eurydice, two years after the Minerve, had itself sunk after being boarded by a ship. The possibility that this was the cause of the Minerve's disappearance is not improbable.
During the hearing of the submariners during the 1968 commission of inquiry, this hypothesis was the one that was most frequently cited.
An analysis that closes the Minerve case
Opposite, the final report drawn up by Admiral Barbier who dived on the wreck on January 31, 2020 aboard the "Limiting Factor" submarine. On this occasion after having analysed both the images of the wreckage, he approached and looked at the elements he wanted to see closely during 6 hours.
He is the only one to have been able to engage in un tel exam.
Admiral Barbier, former retired submariner officer, has a long experience of navigation on board many types of submarines including Daphne identical to the Minerva.
He also has expertise in terms of air accident analysis.
He is a Justice Expert at the Court of Appeal of Aix en Provence, approved by the Court of Cassation.
This expertise remains the only one carried out since the discovery of the wreckage. It will probably remain so for a long time to come, because there is no other project in this area.
To read it, right-click on the PDF document.
Interview with Jean-Louis Barbier
Admiral Barbier and Paul Henri Nargeolet aboard the Pressure Drop on February 1, 2020 @SIRPA
Massif de la Minerve during the dive of January 31, 2020 @Victor Vescovo