General Dynamics Electric Boat, Groton, Connecticut, US
Launched
1964
In service
1964
Out of service
1970
Homeport
Miami, Florida, US
Status
Preserved as museum ship; Science Museum of Virginia; Richmond, Virginia, US
General characteristics
Type
Deep-submergence vehicle (DSV)
Tonnage
80 short tons (73 t)
Displacement
80 short tons (73 t)
Length
51 ft (16 m)
Beam
8 ft 1 in (2.46 m)
Speed
3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph)
Endurance
32 hours
Test depth
17,000 feet (5,200 m)
Capacity
6,000 lb (2,700 kg) payload
Crew
6-7 (3 crew, 3-4 scientists)
Aluminaut (built in 1964) was the world's first aluminum submarine. An experimental vessel, the 80-ton, 15.5-metre (51 ft) crewed deep-ocean research submersible was built by Reynolds Metals Company, which was seeking to promote the utility of aluminum. Aluminaut was based in Miami, Florida, and was operated from 1964 to 1970 by Reynolds Submarine Services, doing contract work for the U.S. Navy and other organizations, including marine biologist Jacques Cousteau.
Aluminaut is best known for helping recover a lost unarmed U.S. hydrogen bomb in 1966 and recovering its smaller fellow deep-submergence vehicle, DSV Alvin in 1969, after Alvin had been lost and sank in the Atlantic Ocean the previous year. After retirement, Aluminaut was donated to the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond, where it is on permanent display.
Aluminaut (built in 1964) was the world's first aluminum submarine. An experimental vessel, the 80-ton, 15.5-metre (51 ft) crewed deep-ocean research...
as well as for developing and promoting new uses for aluminum. Its RV Aluminaut submarine was operated by Reynolds Submarine Services Corporation. It...
recovery was "deemed to be within the state of the art". In August 1969, the Aluminaut, a DSV built by Reynolds Metals Company, descended to Alvin but had trouble...
Global Information
United States