[1970s FOOTAGE SCUBA DIVERS IN SUPPORT OF ALUMINAUT SUBMERSIBLE TESTS]

Year Published: 1970

Description: This reel of silent SCUBA footage likely dates to 1970, when the submersible Aluminaut was used for various scientific experiments off the coast of Vieques, Puerto Rico. This included a series of tests measuring the reflectivity of the seabed to acoustic waves. It's not clear what this footage documents but it does show SCUBA divers, including one with a still camera, placing an experimental package on the seafloor at (4:57) and using a dye market a (9:17). At (9:45) another dye marker is shown in use. At (12:05) what might be a sonobuoy is shown descending in the ocean. At (12:54) the experimental package is shown again. The Aluminaut was the world's first aluminum submarine, an experimental deep-ocean research vessel built by Reynolds Metals Company in 1964. It was designed to operate at depths of up to 15,000 feet and was known for its unique specifications, including a 51-foot hull and a high strength-to-weight ratio. 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.

Online Copy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCxQvzyS-Hs

Metadata Source:YouTube