Aluminaut
![Aluminaut underwater in 1972 (NOAA/NURP)](/Images/godic/202412/20/Aluminaut_NURP3335.PNG")
![The recovered thermonuclear bomb was displayed by U.S. Navy officials on the fantail of the submarine rescue ship U.S.S. Petrel after it was located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Spain at a depth of 762 meters and recovered in April 1966](/Images/godic/202412/20/1966_Palomares_B-52_crash_-_recovered_H-bomb3335.jpg")
Aluminaut was built in 1964 and was the world's first aluminum submarine since the WWII Type 21. An experimental vessel, the 80-ton, 15.5 meter manned 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.