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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Aluminaut

Specifications: Aluminaut was built for Reynolds Metals Co. by the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics in Groton, Connecticut in 1964. She was operated by Reynolds Submarine Services Corp., based in Miami, until 1970.
Displacement (sub/srf tons): 80/ un known, Dimensions: (L*B feet/meter): 51`0*8.1/15.6*2.5, Propulsion: un known, Speed (sub knots): 3.0, Range (sub n/miles@knots): 32 hours operation time, Diving Depth (feet/meter): 15,000/4,570, Complement: 3 crew, 3-4 scientists

Size	Image Description	Source
335k	A mockup of the 42-foot *Aluminaut, shown at WHOI in 1961. The deep submergence vehicle (DSV) was owned by the Reynolds Metals Co. (later Reynolds Aluminum) and operated briefly by WHOI in the early 1960s. In 1969, the Aluminaut* helped retrieve the Alvin (DSV-2) from beneath 5,000 feet of water, a year after *Alvin* accidentally sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean when support cables snapped. The 80-ton sub also did contract work for the US Navy and filmaker Jacques Cousteau, among others. After retirement, *Aluminaut* was donated to the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond, where it is on permanent display.	Photo & text courtesy of whoi.edu.
115k	1966 Palomares B-52 crash - recovered H-bomb.	Photo & text courtesy of wikimedia.org.
697k	Alvin (DSV-2) and *Aluminaut* in the well deck of either the Fort Snelling (LSD-30). The two submersibles were berthed together until *Aluminaut's* tender arrived.	Photo courtesy of the Naval Historical Center & text via writtenbybarbaramoran.com.
720k	*Aluminaut* with arms on bow, shown leaving Charlestown Navy Yard, will grasp Alvin (DSV-2) and assit in hauling her to the surface. Photo taken on 16 August 1969.	A.P. Wire photo courtesy of Tommy Trampp.
68k	*Aluminaut* at work in the deep.	Photo courtesy of wikimedia.org.
95k	*Aluminaut* at the Science Museum of Virginia where it is on permanent display.	Photo courtesy of photobucket.com.
471k	Cut out of the *Aluminaut*.	Photo courtesy of rms-titanic.perso.sfr.fr. & scalemodelcastings.com.
746k	*Aluminaut* plaque.	Photo courtesy of Kelly Michals via National Museum of the U.S. Navy.

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
USS Aluminaut The Underseas Explorer (1969)

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