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Bonus Edition Introduction by George Kupczak of the AT&T Archives and History Center

The story of the Bell System's first "ultra modern" Cable ship. Included in the film are her first cable laying assignments: the third cable across the Atlantic Ocean (Transatlantic Cable Number 3), and the first cable across the Pacific Ocean (Transpacific Cable Number 1 from Hawaii to Japan, via Midway, Wake and Guam). Also shown are the cables laid from Guam to the Philippines, the second Hawaiian cable back into San Luis Obispo on the California Coast, and the Vero Beach, FL to St. Thomas, V.I. cable system.

The following operations are detailed in the film: cable manufacture, cable loading, repeater splicing, and cable laying techniques.

The C.S. Long Lines was launched in 1961, but started its assignments in 1963.

The ship was 511 ft long, and was fitted with 3 "cable tanks", which could hold 2168 nautical miles of cable.

The ship was sold by AT&T in 1997, after having laid cable on 23 missions, including 10 across the Pacific or Atlantic, from 1963 to 1992. The ship was broken up in 2003.

Producer: Audio Productions, Inc.

Footage courtesy of AT&T Archives and History Center, Warren, NJ