The Protei-5 is a small Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n one-man diver propulsion vehicle

Diver Propulsion Vehicle

A diver propulsion vehicle is an item of diving equipment used by scuba and rebreather divers to increase range underwater...

 often used by Russian commando frogmen

Russian commando frogmen

# Scout diver is a Russian term for members of a special purpose unit of the Russian or Soviet Naval Spetsnaz - SpN VMF .# Сombat swimmer is a Russian term meaning members of special purpose anti-sabotage divers' units...

. It is battery

Battery (electricity)

An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...

 electric powered, using six non-sealed lead–acid batteries. It clips on under the diver with a clip over each shoulder and one up between his legs. Its casing is aluminium

Aluminium

Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....

. It was intended to be clipped onto the outside of a submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

; near the operation site the frogmen would airlock out underwater and unhitch their Protei 5's and ride them to the operation site. It seems to have been intended to be ridden fast and far rather than for complicated maneuvering.

The Russian for "diver-carrying vehicle" is буксировщик buksirovshchik = "tugger".

The rod sticking out of the front end was meant to carry a lamp.

The lever on the left bow is the motor's on/off switch. There is no speed control.

The frogman steers with the diving fins on his feet.

Overall size: 2 feet 2 inches (66 centimetres) wide, 2 feet 3 inches (69 centimetres) high, 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) long.

Size of hull: 2 feet 2 inches (66 centimetres) wide, 1 feet 3 inches (38 centimetres) high, 4 feet 9 inches (1.45 m) long.

A frogman with an IDA71 rebreather riding a Protei-7 could pass through a hole 3 foot (0.9144 m) square.

Only two Protei-5 have found their way out of the ex-USSR, as far as is known:

• One is in upstate New York
  Upstate New York
  Upstate New York is the region of the U.S. state of New York that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area.-Definition:There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York...
  
  , USA; currently (as of March 2008) it is not working because the batteries that came with it are too big for the Protei-5's battery compartment.
• One is fully operational in New Jersey
  New Jersey
  New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
  
  , USA; it was made in 1970, and its motor is noisy and in a secret attack or reconnaissance
  Reconnaissance
  Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
  
   operation would likely be easily heard by hydrophone
  Hydrophone
  A hydrophone is a microphone designed to be used underwater for recording or listening to underwater sound. Most hydrophones are based on a piezoelectric transducer that generates electricity when subjected to a pressure change...
  
  s.

There have been similar designs made in Russia, including a model called Proton.

The name "Protei" is a Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n version of the classical

Classical antiquity

Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...

 Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 / Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 mythological name Proteus

Proteus

In Greek mythology, Proteus is an early sea-god, one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea", whose name suggests the "first" , as protogonos is the "primordial" or the "firstborn". He became the son of Poseidon in the Olympian theogony In Greek mythology, Proteus (Πρωτεύς)...

.

External links

• Diver Dave's Site 17 images and a longer description of a Protei-5
• article "Riding on Proton" by Afonchenko (in Russian, with 6 images, about diving with a similar craft called a Proton)
  • http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish Auto-translator, including from Russian to English
• YouTube videos:
  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0C2f0HZNA8 (4 minutes 58 seconds long): Protei-5 pool tests; the front handlebar
    Handlebar
    A handlebar is part of the steering mechanism, in lieu of a steering wheel, for vehicles that are ridden on, instead of in, such as bicycles, motorcycles, tricycles, ATVs, snowmobiles and personal watercraft. It may also be simply the handles on a device such as a zip line trolley or a floor buffer...
    
     and the repaint were added after it left Russia.
  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G53yFyffCK4 (4 minutes 40 seconds long): How this Protei-5 was renovated and got working
  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TpQ23KIIBw (5 minutes 34 seconds long): First test at Dutch Springs
    Dutch Springs
    Dutch Springs is a spring-fed quarry lake located north of the city of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Since 1980, a commercial recreation area, with facilities for scuba diving, has operated at the location.-History:...
    
    
  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7iOE2plq3E (3 minutes 11 seconds long): Second test at Dutch Springs
    Dutch Springs
    Dutch Springs is a spring-fed quarry lake located north of the city of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Since 1980, a commercial recreation area, with facilities for scuba diving, has operated at the location.-History:...
    
    : Protei 5 proved faster than a standard Dacor
    Dacor (scuba diving)
    Dacor is a former USA manufacturer scuba diving gear. Dacor was one of the five original United States diving gear makers: U.S. Divers, Healthways, Voit, Dacor, and Swimaster. Dacor is now merged with Mares.- External links :...
    
     scooter
    Diver Propulsion Vehicle
    A diver propulsion vehicle is an item of diving equipment used by scuba and rebreather divers to increase range underwater...
    
    ; Protei 5 estimated duration on a batteryful 3 hours 40 minutes
  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHdIkIvNcCI (4 minutes 44 seconds long): Underwater speed and battery-endurance contest between a Protei-5 and a Farallon MK-7 scooter
    Diver Propulsion Vehicle
    A diver propulsion vehicle is an item of diving equipment used by scuba and rebreather divers to increase range underwater...