It sounds like something “Q” would have whipped up in a James Bond movie: a submarine bristling with lights, cameras, and a robotic arm for finding and grabbing things on the ocean floor, and even wheels for “driving” along the bottom.
Naval Research Vessel 1. Credit: U.S. NavyBut Naval Research Vessel 1 -- NR-1 for short -- was a real submarine designed for real Cold War missions. And when it wasn’t pursuing super-secret military operations, it helped marine scientists probe the ocean depths.
NR-1 was commissioned in 1969. It was much smaller than other military subs, but it could dive deeper -- down to about 3,000 feet. Special sonar and other equipment allowed it to find just about anything on the ocean floor.
Many of its finds are classified. But some are well known. It studied the remains of the Monitor, a Civil War ironclad warship, as well as Britannic, the sister ship of the Titanic. It recovered parts of the space shuttle Challenger after it exploded in 1986. And it discovered the wrecks of ancient Roman ships in the Mediterranean.
NR-1 also took marine scientists on journeys of exploration. It studied everything from fish habitats to the ocean floor where new crust is forming. It measured ocean conditions and looked for evidence of ancient coastlines.
NR-1 was retired at the end of 2008, after four decades of operations that would have amazed even Q.
