Aluminaut

Aluminaut was the world's first deep submersible made of aluminum.

Launched in 1964 this was the world’s first aluminum submarine constructed with civilian funding and designed for research, salvage and exploration at a time when most submarines were built using government funding.

Its massive buoyancy allowed it to carry 6000 pounds – a record for deep submersibles at the time. The pressure hull consisted of two hemi-spheres connected by a series of cylinder shaped sections. The hull was designed to withstand 7000 pounds per square inch of pressure. The 6.5” inch thick pressure hull was made of forged high-strength aluminum.