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''Aluminaut'' was built in 1964 and was the world's first aluminum submarine since the WWII Type 21. The 80-ton, manned deep-ocean research submersible was built by Reynolds Metals Company, which was seeking to advertise the utility of aluminum. An experimental vessel, the ''Aluminaut'' was based in Miami, Florida, and was operated from 1964 to 1970 by Reynolds Marine 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. atomic bomb in 1966 and recovering its smaller fellow Deep Submergence Vehicle (DSV), ''Alvin (DSV-2)'' 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. ==1964: Aluminaut: the world's first aluminum submarine== Reynolds Metals was a pioneer in research and development of other products using aluminum. These included an aluminum transit bus and other aluminum motor vehicles.〔( Alcoa, Inc. Company History ).〕 The concept of an aluminum submarine was developed at Reynolds during World War II in 1942 by Executive VP Julian "Louis" Reynolds, a son of the founder. At 34, Louis Reynolds was in charge of the foil division, which accounted for 65% of the company's sales before the war.〔( Time Magazine ).〕 Reynolds Metals played an active role in the U.S. war effort, however it was 20 years before the aluminum submarine was built.〔( Time Magazine ).〕〔( Answers.com ).〕 In 1964, Reynolds had the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics in Groton, Connecticut build the world's first aluminum submarine. The submersible was operated by subsidiary Reynolds Marine Services based in Miami, Florida. Compared to many deep sea vessels, ''Aluminaut'' was large. It weighed 80 tons and could accommodate a crew of 3 and 3-4 scientists. It had four view ports, active and passive sonar, manipulators, side scan sonar, and could hold of payload.〔( Aluminaut ) at SMV.〕 Reynolds had the ''Aluminaut'' designed and built as an experiment. For flexibility, it was outfitted for many types of oceanographic and salvage missions. Time Magazine reported in September 1964 on the unique specifications, reporting that the vessel's hull consists of eleven forged cylinders. Since aluminum's strength-to-weight ratio exceeds that of steel, the Aluminaut's thick shell will withstand pressures of 7,500 lbf/in² (52 MPa) at the sub's maximum diving range.〔 The ''Aluminaut'' was designed at Woods Hole Marine Station in Massachusetts and first tested in 1956. A full-scale wooden mock-up was built to engineer the interior spaces. The project was classified as top secret at that time. At that time it did not have a conning tower entry and it immediately flooded and sank. The tower entry was designed and added and in the first test turned the submarine upside down. It was thought at that time that the design was impractical and was almost scrapped. A one-sixteenth scale model of the final design was built in 1960 and run through stability and pressure tests. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Aluminaut」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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