Submersible for Science
Photograph of Alvin with the submarine ALVIN
Submersible for Science Letter and Script Treatment
In addition to his work on television films for the public, Boretz also took on work from the U.S. Navy to research and write Submersible for Science, a film for the Office of the Oceanographers that explores the use of the new deep submergence research vehicle, named ALVIN. Dedicated to his research, in 1974, Boretz went to The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts with the permission of the U.S. Navy to examine and learn more about the vessel.
With his previous experience writing for the series Navy Logs between 1957 and 1958, Boretz had already researched the Navy. In a 1957 interview with the New York World-Telegram, he jokes that he "spent four years in the Air Force in World War II, and I practically had to join the Navy when I started writing this television series." He was dedicated enough that he sailed with the USS Snyder to research his anti-submarine warfare story called "The Amateurs." When writing a script about the mental disabilities among Naval personnel, he went to the Naval Hospital in New York to speak with the doctor about the symptoms and treatments commonly seen.
As with other scripts that he felt passionate about writing, Boretz launched himself into researching Submersible for Science in order to create a thoughtful and accurate portrayal of the Navy's newest technology. In 2023, the ALVIN is still in use as a research vehicle for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and Boretz's Submersible for Science gave the first glance at how powerful the vessel would become in the future.