I recently purchased a 1955 Aerojet General Mark VII 2 man sub and I am looking for any sources that might be able to supply more information. It is a two man pedal-powered fiberglass constructed wet submarine. At some point someone painted a blue Mermaid on each side of my sub. I believe this sub also had an electric motor at some point. Currently there is no motor, transmission or electrical switches present but there is a battery box and a set of wires that run to the front of the sub where I suspect motor controls were located. From what I understand it was built with the idea to sell the design to the UDT teams but the design was not considered robust enough for Navy use. I only know of one other that is/was located in
I recently purchased a 1955 Aerojet General Mark VII 2 man sub and I am looking for any sources that might be able to supply more information. It is a two man pedal powered fiberglass constructed wet submarine. I believe it also had an electric motor. Currently there is no motor, transmission or electrical switches present but there is a battery box and a set of wires that run to the front of the sub where I suspect motor controls were located. From what I understand it was built to potentially sell to the UDT teams. The design was not considered robust enough for Navy use. I only know of one other that is/was located at Museum of Man in the Sea in Panama City Beach, Florida. I would love to know how many were made and other details.
Aerojet Mark VII at Museum of Man in the Sea_Panama City Beach, Florida
I found an old posting from 2004 on PSUB web page that could relate to my particular submarine except my sub does not have a unit up in front of the divers with a spring loaded "T" type handle, and no gauge that was mentioned in the the post. There are many holes in my hull where devices/structures may have been mounted to the sub but who knows:
From: Norman Burns
To: Personal_Submersiblesatpsubs.org.
Sent: Friday, February 06, 2004 10:46 PM
Subject: Aerojet Mark VII wet sub
I recently acquired a old wet sub that must have been built in the 50's or 60's. I have a Readers Digest Article with a picture of it. Apparently it was built by Aero Jet and sold in the Neiman Marcus catalog in 1963 for $18,700.00. Psubs has a picture of it in the wetsubs pictures. It is a Mark VII fiberglass two man side by side wetsub. It has huge front windows that must be replaced. They were formed out of 36 inch x 36 inch Plexiglas. I need to learn how to make those. I was hoping someone might be able to help me find some information about the sub, and hopefully some specs. It has what appears to be a combination ballast tank, battery box. or maybe its just a water tight battery box. It is a long cylinder with a pressure cap that goes in one end. I has about 10 battery type wires that go out the side thru a hose to a unit up in front of the divers with a spring loaded "T" type handle. this unit also has a gauge which I will have to take the face off to find out what it is. It has long pieces of angle iron type brackets on each side of the tank half way up the sides. my guess is a battery rack. On the outside of the tank in the back it has a label that says to inflate the tank with 10 psi of air before diving. it has a small tire stem to inflate it. as far as it being a ballast tank. I don't think it has any holes to let water in or out. This sub is peddle powered with the two divers laying or floating face down with their shoulders up against a restraint to hold them in place as they pedal the pedals behind them. It is also. I want it is also supposed to be motor driven. but has no motor. It has two narrow single blade props that turn in opposite directions. I'd appreciate any feed back. Thanks for being there. Norman-Louis
Here is another link to the Aerojet family of wet subs:
AEROJET GENERAL MINIATURE SUBMARINE FOR UDTs TESTING AT CATALINA ISLAND 20054
In 1949 the U.S. Navy asked the Aerojet General Corporation to find a way to allow underwater demolition teams to move more quickly. Two Aerojet engineers, Calvin Gongwer and George McRoberts, delivered not only a report but the miniature submarine shown in this historic film. This version appears to be electrically powered and probably not the prototype version, which was actually human powered. Inside the fiberglass hull of that first unit was what Gongwer and McRoberts christened the "Aquaped", a unicycle-like device that a diver could pedal underwater. The submarine was fully maneuverable underwater but did require the use of an Aqualung, and could supposedly move about four times faster than a frogman. The AquaPed was listed in the U.S. Divers catalog for $160 and the human powered submarine $1500 in 1953, with the listing indicating the submarine could move at roughly 5 knots. (Source: August 1953 issue of Life Magazine).
Aerojet's submarine caught the attention of budding director/producer Roger Corman. He obtained the company's enthusiastic permission to use one of the subs in return for on-screen promotion. The result was his first solo production, "Monster From the Ocean Floor" (1954).
It's unclear whether the Aerojet mini-sub or the Aquaped were ever used by the UDTs / SEALs, but SDVs (Seal Delivery Vehicles) were deployed with various units in the 1950s.
In 1949 the U.S. Navy asked the Aerojet General Corporation to find a way to allow underwater demolition teams to move more quickly. Two Aerojet engineers, Calvin Gongwer and George McRoberts, delivered not only a report but the miniature submarine shown in this historic film. This version appears to be electrically powered and probably not the prototype version, which was actually human powered. Inside the fiberglass hull of that first unit was what Gongwer and McRoberts christened the "Aquaped", a unicycle-like device that a diver could pedal underwater. The submarine was fully maneuverable underwater but did require the use of an Aqualung, and could supposedly move about four times faster than a frogman. The AquaPed was listed in the U.S. Divers catalog for $160 and the human powered submarine $1500 in 1953, with the listing indicating the submarine could move at roughly 5 knots. (Source: August 1953 issue of Life Magazine). Aerojet's submarine caught the attention of budding director/producer Roger Corman. He obtained the company's enthusiastic permission to use one of the subs in return for on-screen promotion. The result was his first solo production, "Monster From the Ocean Floor" (1954). It's unclear whether the Aerojet mini-sub or the Aquaped were ever used by the UDTs / SEALs, but SDVs (Seal Delivery Vehicles) were deployed with various units in the 1950s. e encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment!
I found an old posting from 2004 on PSUB web page that could relate to my submarine except my sub has no unit up in front of the divers with a spring loaded "T" type handle, and no gauge. There are many holes where devices/structures may have been mounted to the sub :
From: Norman-Burns
To: Personal_Submersibles@psubs.org.
Sent: Friday, February 06, 2004 10:46 PM
Subject: Aerojet Mark VII wet sub
I recently acquired an old wet sub that must have been built in the 50's or 60's. I have a Readers Digest Article with a picture of it. Apparently it was built by Aero Jet and sold in the Neiman Marcus catalog in 1963 for $18,700.00. Psubs has a picture of it in the wetsubs pictures. It is a Mark VII fiberglass two man side by side wetsub. It has huge front windows that must be replaced. They were formed out of 36 inch x 36 inch Plexiglas. I need to learn how to make those. I was hoping someone might be able to help me find some information about the sub, and hopefully some specs. It has what appears to be a combination ballast tank, battery box. or maybe its just a water tight battery box. It is a long cylinder with a pressure cap that goes in one end. I has about 10 battery type wires that go out the side thru a hose to a unit up in front of the divers with a spring loaded "T" type handle. this unit also has a gauge which I will have to take the face off to find out what it is. It has long pieces of angle iron type brackets on each side of the tank half way up the sides. my guess is a battery rack. On the outside of the tank in the back it has a label that says to inflate the tank with 10 psi of air before diving. it has a small tire stem to inflate it. as far as it being a ballast tank. I don't think it has any holes to let water in or out. This sub is peddle powered with the two divers laying or floating face down with their shoulders up against a restraint to hold them in place as they pedal the pedals behind them. It is also. I want it is also supposed to be motor driven. but has no motor. It has two narrow single blade props that turn in opposite directions. I'd appreciate any feed back. Thanks for being there. Norman-Louis
Here is another link to the Aerojet family of wet subs:
AEROJET GENERAL MINIATURE SUBMARINE FOR UDTs TESTING AT CATALINA ISLAND 20054
In 1949 the U.S. Navy asked the Aerojet General Corporation to find a way to allow underwater demolition teams to move more quickly. Two Aerojet engineers, Calvin Gongwer and George McRoberts, delivered not only a report but the miniature submarine shown in this historic film. This version appears to be electrically powered and probably not the prototype version, which was actually human powered. Inside the fiberglass hull of that first unit was what Gongwer and McRoberts christened the "Aquaped", a unicycle-like device that a diver could pedal underwater. The submarine was fully maneuverable underwater but did require the use of an Aqualung, and could supposedly move about four times faster than a frogman. The AquaPed was listed in the U.S. Divers catalog for $160 and the human powered submarine $1500 in 1953, with the listing indicating the submarine could move at roughly 5 knots. (Source: August 1953 issue of Life Magazine).
Aerojet's submarine caught the attention of budding director/producer Roger Corman. He obtained the company's enthusiastic permission to use one of the subs in return for on-screen promotion. The result was his first solo production, "Monster From the Ocean Floor" (1954).
It's unclear whether the Aerojet mini-sub or the Aquaped were ever used by the UDTs / SEALs, but SDVs (Seal Delivery Vehicles) were deployed with various units in the 1950s.
In 1949 the U.S. Navy asked the Aerojet General Corporation to find a way to allow underwater demolition teams to move more quickly. Two Aerojet engineers, Calvin Gongwer and George McRoberts, delivered not only a report but the miniature submarine shown in this historic film. This version appears to be electrically powered and probably not the prototype version, which was actually human powered. Inside the fiberglass hull of that first unit was what Gongwer and McRoberts christened the "Aquaped", a unicycle-like device that a diver could pedal underwater. The submarine was fully maneuverable underwater but did require the use of an Aqualung, and could supposedly move about four times faster than a frogman. The AquaPed was listed in the U.S. Divers catalog for $160 and the human powered submarine $1500 in 1953, with the listing indicating the submarine could move at roughly 5 knots. (Source: August 1953 issue of Life Magazine). Aerojet's submarine caught the attention of budding director/producer Roger Corman. He obtained the company's enthusiastic permission to use one of the subs in return for on-screen promotion. The result was his first solo production, "Monster From the Ocean Floor" (1954). It's unclear whether the Aerojet mini-sub or the Aquaped were ever used by the UDTs / SEALs, but SDVs (Seal Delivery Vehicles) were deployed with various units in the 1950s. e encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment!
[Edited by moderator to remove personal email links]
I recently purchased a 1955 Aerojet General Mark VII 2 man sub and I am looking for any sources that might be able to supply more information. It is a two man pedal powered fiberglass constructed wet submarine. I believe it also had an electric motor. Currently there is no motor, transmission or electrical switches present but there is a battery box and a set of wires that run to the front of the sub where I suspect motor controls were located. From what I understand it was built to potentially sell to the UDT teams. The design was not considered robust enough for Navy use. I only know of one other that is/was located at Museum of Man in the Sea in Panama City Beach, Florida. I would love to know how many were made and other details.
Aerojet Mark VII at Museum of Man in the Sea_Panama City Beach, Florida
I found an old posting from 2004 on PSUB web page that could relate to my particular submarine except my sub does not have a unit up in front of the divers with a spring loaded "T" type handle, and no gauge that was mentioned in the the post. There are many holes in my hull where devices/structures may have been mounted to the sub but who knows:
From: Norman Burns
To: Personal_Submersiblesatpsubs.org.
Sent: Friday, February 06, 2004 10:46 PM
Subject: Aerojet Mark VII wet sub
I recently acquired a old wet sub that must have been built in the 50's or 60's. I have a Readers Digest Article with a picture of it. Apparently it was built by Aero Jet and sold in the Neiman Marcus catalog in 1963 for $18,700.00. Psubs has a picture of it in the wetsubs pictures. It is a Mark VII fiberglass two man side by side wetsub. It has huge front windows that must be replaced. They were formed out of 36 inch x 36 inch Plexiglas. I need to learn how to make those. I was hoping someone might be able to help me find some information about the sub, and hopefully some specs. It has what appears to be a combination ballast tank, battery box. or maybe its just a water tight battery box. It is a long cylinder with a pressure cap that goes in one end. I has about 10 battery type wires that go out the side thru a hose to a unit up in front of the divers with a spring loaded "T" type handle. this unit also has a gauge which I will have to take the face off to find out what it is. It has long pieces of angle iron type brackets on each side of the tank half way up the sides. my guess is a battery rack. On the outside of the tank in the back it has a label that says to inflate the tank with 10 psi of air before diving. it has a small tire stem to inflate it. as far as it being a ballast tank. I don't think it has any holes to let water in or out. This sub is peddle powered with the two divers laying or floating face down with their shoulders up against a restraint to hold them in place as they pedal the pedals behind them. It is also. I want it is also supposed to be motor driven. but has no motor. It has two narrow single blade props that turn in opposite directions. I'd appreciate any feed back. Thanks for being there. Norman-Louis
Here is another link to the Aerojet family of wet subs:
AEROJET GENERAL MINIATURE SUBMARINE FOR UDTs TESTING AT CATALINA ISLAND 20054 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
In 1949 the U.S. Navy asked the Aerojet General Corporation to find a way to allow underwater demolition teams to move more quickly. Two Aerojet engineers,...
archive.org
In 1949 the U.S. Navy asked the Aerojet General Corporation to find a way to allow underwater demolition teams to move more quickly. Two Aerojet engineers, Calvin Gongwer and George McRoberts, delivered not only a report but the miniature submarine shown in this historic film. This version appears to be electrically powered and probably not the prototype version, which was actually human powered. Inside the fiberglass hull of that first unit was what Gongwer and McRoberts christened the "Aquaped", a unicycle-like device that a diver could pedal underwater. The submarine was fully maneuverable underwater but did require the use of an Aqualung, and could supposedly move about four times faster than a frogman. The AquaPed was listed in the U.S. Divers catalog for $160 and the human powered submarine $1500 in 1953, with the listing indicating the submarine could move at roughly 5 knots. (Source: August 1953 issue of Life Magazine).
Aerojet's submarine caught the attention of budding director/producer Roger Corman. He obtained the company's enthusiastic permission to use one of the subs in return for on-screen promotion. The result was his first solo production, "Monster From the Ocean Floor" (1954).
It's unclear whether the Aerojet mini-sub or the Aquaped were ever used by the UDTs / SEALs, but SDVs (Seal Delivery Vehicles) were deployed with various units in the 1950s.
Youtube Link:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGAryiZpjEQ
AEROJET GENERAL MINIATURE SUBMARINE FOR UDTs TESTING AT CATALINA ISLAND 20054
In 1949 the U.S. Navy asked the Aerojet General Corporation to find a way to allow underwater demolition teams to move more quickly. Two Aerojet engineers, Calvin Gongwer and George McRoberts, delivered not only a report but the miniature submarine shown in this historic film. This version appears to be electrically powered and probably not the prototype version, which was actually human powered. Inside the fiberglass hull of that first unit was what Gongwer and McRoberts christened the "Aquaped", a unicycle-like device that a diver could pedal underwater. The submarine was fully maneuverable underwater but did require the use of an Aqualung, and could supposedly move about four times faster than a frogman. The AquaPed was listed in the U.S. Divers catalog for $160 and the human powered submarine $1500 in 1953, with the listing indicating the submarine could move at roughly 5 knots. (Source: August 1953 issue of Life Magazine). Aerojet's submarine caught the attention of budding director/producer Roger Corman. He obtained the company's enthusiastic permission to use one of the subs in return for on-screen promotion. The result was his first solo production, "Monster From the Ocean Floor" (1954). It's unclear whether the Aerojet mini-sub or the Aquaped were ever used by the UDTs / SEALs, but SDVs (Seal Delivery Vehicles) were deployed with various units in the 1950s. e encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment!
I found an old posting from 2004 on PSUB web page that could relate to my submarine except my sub has no unit up in front of the divers with a spring loaded "T" type handle, and no gauge. There are many holes where devices/structures may have been mounted to the sub :
From: Norman-Burns
To: Personal_Submersibles@psubs.org.
Sent: Friday, February 06, 2004 10:46 PM
Subject: Aerojet Mark VII wet sub
I recently acquired an old wet sub that must have been built in the 50's or 60's. I have a Readers Digest Article with a picture of it. Apparently it was built by Aero Jet and sold in the Neiman Marcus catalog in 1963 for $18,700.00. Psubs has a picture of it in the wetsubs pictures. It is a Mark VII fiberglass two man side by side wetsub. It has huge front windows that must be replaced. They were formed out of 36 inch x 36 inch Plexiglas. I need to learn how to make those. I was hoping someone might be able to help me find some information about the sub, and hopefully some specs. It has what appears to be a combination ballast tank, battery box. or maybe its just a water tight battery box. It is a long cylinder with a pressure cap that goes in one end. I has about 10 battery type wires that go out the side thru a hose to a unit up in front of the divers with a spring loaded "T" type handle. this unit also has a gauge which I will have to take the face off to find out what it is. It has long pieces of angle iron type brackets on each side of the tank half way up the sides. my guess is a battery rack. On the outside of the tank in the back it has a label that says to inflate the tank with 10 psi of air before diving. it has a small tire stem to inflate it. as far as it being a ballast tank. I don't think it has any holes to let water in or out. This sub is peddle powered with the two divers laying or floating face down with their shoulders up against a restraint to hold them in place as they pedal the pedals behind them. It is also. I want it is also supposed to be motor driven. but has no motor. It has two narrow single blade props that turn in opposite directions. I'd appreciate any feed back. Thanks for being there. Norman-Louis
Here is another link to the Aerojet family of wet subs:
AEROJET GENERAL MINIATURE SUBMARINE FOR UDTs TESTING AT CATALINA ISLAND 20054 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
In 1949 the U.S. Navy asked the Aerojet General Corporation to find a way to allow underwater demolition teams to move more quickly. Two Aerojet engineers,...
archive.org
In 1949 the U.S. Navy asked the Aerojet General Corporation to find a way to allow underwater demolition teams to move more quickly. Two Aerojet engineers, Calvin Gongwer and George McRoberts, delivered not only a report but the miniature submarine shown in this historic film. This version appears to be electrically powered and probably not the prototype version, which was actually human powered. Inside the fiberglass hull of that first unit was what Gongwer and McRoberts christened the "Aquaped", a unicycle-like device that a diver could pedal underwater. The submarine was fully maneuverable underwater but did require the use of an Aqualung, and could supposedly move about four times faster than a frogman. The AquaPed was listed in the U.S. Divers catalog for $160 and the human powered submarine $1500 in 1953, with the listing indicating the submarine could move at roughly 5 knots. (Source: August 1953 issue of Life Magazine).
Aerojet's submarine caught the attention of budding director/producer Roger Corman. He obtained the company's enthusiastic permission to use one of the subs in return for on-screen promotion. The result was his first solo production, "Monster From the Ocean Floor" (1954).
It's unclear whether the Aerojet mini-sub or the Aquaped were ever used by the UDTs / SEALs, but SDVs (Seal Delivery Vehicles) were deployed with various units in the 1950s.
Youtube Link:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGAryiZpjEQ
AEROJET GENERAL MINIATURE SUBMARINE FOR UDTs TESTING AT CATALINA ISLAND 20054
In 1949 the U.S. Navy asked the Aerojet General Corporation to find a way to allow underwater demolition teams to move more quickly. Two Aerojet engineers, Calvin Gongwer and George McRoberts, delivered not only a report but the miniature submarine shown in this historic film. This version appears to be electrically powered and probably not the prototype version, which was actually human powered. Inside the fiberglass hull of that first unit was what Gongwer and McRoberts christened the "Aquaped", a unicycle-like device that a diver could pedal underwater. The submarine was fully maneuverable underwater but did require the use of an Aqualung, and could supposedly move about four times faster than a frogman. The AquaPed was listed in the U.S. Divers catalog for $160 and the human powered submarine $1500 in 1953, with the listing indicating the submarine could move at roughly 5 knots. (Source: August 1953 issue of Life Magazine). Aerojet's submarine caught the attention of budding director/producer Roger Corman. He obtained the company's enthusiastic permission to use one of the subs in return for on-screen promotion. The result was his first solo production, "Monster From the Ocean Floor" (1954). It's unclear whether the Aerojet mini-sub or the Aquaped were ever used by the UDTs / SEALs, but SDVs (Seal Delivery Vehicles) were deployed with various units in the 1950s. e encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment!
[Edited by moderator to remove personal email links]
Last edited by a moderator:
