1 8 THE NAVY OCEAN ENGINEERING PROGRAM 



and scientific uses. The development of a nuclear propulsion plant for 

 an oceanographic research vehicle will result in greater independence from 

 surface-support ships, essentially unlimited endurance of propulsion, and 

 auxiliary power for detailed exploration of the ocean. 



The submarine will have viewing ports for visual observation of its sur- 

 roundings and of the ocean bottom. In addition, a remote grapple will be 

 installed to permit collection of marine samples and other items. With its 

 depth capability, the NR-1 is expected to be able to explore all areas of the 

 continental shelf, an area which appears to contain the most accessible 

 wealth in mineral and food resources in the seas. A ship with its depth 

 capability is capable of exploring an area several times that of the United 

 States. 



UNMANNED VEHICLES 



To augment the DSSV, unmanned instrument platforms, either towed 

 or self-powered, will be used during a search mission. Both the manned and 

 unmanned vehicles may utilize some of the same search sensors. Manned 

 submersibles have the advantage of direct investigation of target contacts, 

 while unmanned vehicles eliminate human hazard, are less expensive, and, 

 in the case of towed vehicles, are of almost unlimited endurance. 



Navy accomplishments with towed search systems have included experi- 

 mental developments by the Naval Research Laboratory. One of these 

 towed systems both located and identified much of the debris from the 

 THRESHER at about 8500 ft depth. The integrated design of this system 

 consisted of a framework of aluminum and nonmagnetic stainless steels 

 which held instrumentation including cameras, television, magnetometer, 

 side-looking sonar, and a battery. The tow cable for this system contained 

 a coaxial center section for transmission of telemetry signals between the 

 surface ship and the towed sled. A similar towed sled was used to search 

 much of the sea floor near Palomares, Spain for the unarmed nuclear 

 weapon. This nuclear weapon was found by the manned submersible 

 ALVIN and recovered by the unmanned vehicle CURV. 



CONTROLLED UNDERWATER RECOVERY 

 VEHICLE (CURV) 



The CURV development stemmed from a requirement for recovery of 

 test ordnance, a highly important function in the development of under- 

 water weapon systems. CURV has an operating depth capability of about 



