NAUTILE´s (SM97) first year: The results of the tests and of the first operational dives

NAUTILE (SM 97) has been completed in late 1984 and dedicated on December 14th. After intensive shallow and mid depth dives in the Mediterranean sea in early 1985, NAUTILE and her mother-ship NADIR sailed to the Puerto Rican trench where deep dives were made at 6,000 meters. Then both vessels sailed to Japan through Panama Canal for the KAIKO operation, a series of 20 to 30 dives with French and Japanese scientists off the coast of Japan. The paper describes the main characteristics of NAUTILE, narrates how the test dives have been completed, and explains what we have learnt from this first operational year.