That this American built mine sweeper would be known the world over was very hard to predict when Jacques-Yves Cousteau, together with a few friends, acquired her in Malta where she had been decommissioned and began using her for French oceanographic missions.

Built in 1942 in the Great Lakes region, this vessel was completely overhauled in 1950 and became over the years the most modern and best equiped oceanographic ship in the world. Since that date and after each mission whether in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, the Persian Golf, the Indian Ocean etc… she was continuously upgraded.

Because of her teams of experts and scientists and the quality and diversity of her equipment she was used for petroleum research in the Persian Gulf, to define the best path for oil lines in the Mediterranean between Algeria and Spain, to test deep sea diving equipment, to explore a 2 000 year old wreck laden with amphoras, as well as pure oceanographic research in water temperature, under sea currents, etc…

Specifications :

Model building : Simple

Scale of drawing : 1/50th,
one plan, two photographs, one notice (french).
The drawing represents the Calypso as she was in 1959.