RV Calypso

The research vessel Calypso of Jacques Cousteau arriving in Montreal on 30 August 1980
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS J-826
Builder	Ballard Marine Railway Company, Seattle, Washington, United States
Laid down	12 August 1941
Launched	21 March 1942
Commissioned	February 1943
Recommissioned	BYMS-2026 (1944)
Decommissioned	1946
Renamed	Calypso G (1949)
France
Owner	Thomas Guinness
Operator	Compagnie Océanographique Française, Nice
Renamed	Calypso (1950)
Reclassified	Research vessel
Refit	For Cousteau (1951)
Fate	Sunk and raised (1996)
Status	Being refurbished under the direction of the Cousteau Society
General characteristics [1]
Tonnage	294 GRT
Displacement	360 tons
Length	139 ft (42 m) (43 meters, according to another source)[2]
Beam	25 ft (7.6 m)
Draft	10 ft (3.0 m)
Decks	Three
Installed power	2 × 580 hp (430 kW) 8-cylinder General Motors diesel engines
Propulsion	Twin screw
Speed	10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Crew	27 in captain's quarters, 6 staterooms and crew quarters
Notes	Photo and science labs Underwater observation chamber Helicopter landing pad Yumbo 3-ton hydraulic crane Minisub storage hold

RV Calypso is a former British Royal Navy minesweeper converted into a research vessel for the oceanographic researcher Jacques Cousteau, equipped with a mobile laboratory for underwater field research. She was severely damaged in 1996 and was planned to undergo a complete refurbishment in 2009–2011 that has not been accomplished. The ship is named after the Greek mythological figure Calypso.