History And Accomplishments In Ocean Engineering At The Naval Ocean Systems Center, 1966-1983

The search for the "H" Bomb off Palomares, Spain and its subsequent recovery by the CURV I was conducted in January through April 1966. Using this operation as a baseline, a review of the accomplishment in ocean engineering at the Naval Ocean Systems Center is presented. The development and operation of the CURV II, and CURV III including example operations such as the rescue of the PISCES III, are described. Also covered are the development of the SNOOPY family of small vehicles, the work system package and the recovery vehicles for the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters. This period also included support to the submarine forces by the development and construction of the IX-501 (ELK RIVER) saturation diving training platform, and operational support to the two DSRV's and other Navy deep submersibles. Supporting technology discussions include materials; head coupled sensors; optical and acoustic sensors; electrical, optical and acoustic undersea data links; and special tools and equipment. The SSP KAIMALINO (a SWATH ship) and a deployable tethered floating breakwater are described. This paper concludes with a description of the building and operations of a free swimming test bed vehicle to explore completely autonomous undersea operations.