This is a CosMoS Seahorse II Submarine “Swimmer Delivery Vehicle,” in short, it’s a “wet” submarine with an electric drivetrain that can carry two occupants inside a simple cockpit.
This particular Seahorse II is said to have been the one used in the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball, after having been fitted with an orange and black manta ray-style cowling to change its appearance. We added a video of the scene below, as you can see the front of the sub was able to shoot out spear-like projectiles.
Above Video: This is the famous underwater battle scene in the 1965 film “Thunderball,” staring Sean Connery in his fourth outing as the daring British spy named James Bond.
The CosMoS Seahorse II Submarine was developed by Cos.Mo.S (officially Costruzione Motoscafi Sottomarini) in the 1950s as a follow-on to the successful first generation model. CosMoS had been founded in 1954 by Sergio Pucciarini, a former Italian combat diver, specifically to build small submersibles with an eye on lucrative military contracts in Italy and overseas.
One of the most important early customers of CosMoS was the US Navy who bought a number of Seahorses starting in the 1950s and extending into the 1960s. These submersibles were used by American Underwater Demolition Teams and other special operatives including US Navy Seals.
The US Military’s use of Seahorses has only ever been documented in training roles, not combat, however the highly secretive nature of special operations being what they are, it wouldn’t be at all surprising if they had been used on covert missions and rumors abound that they were used by Seals in Vietnam.
The Seahorse II has an electric drivetrain and a single propeller. The hull is made from fiberglass, an ideal material due to the fact that it’s lightweight, it doesn’t rust, and in this application, it doesn’t have to resist pressure as the pressure is the same inside and outside the vessel.
The two occupants enter and exit the Seahorse by flipping the canopy to the side, the front seat has the controls which allow elevation, speed, and left-right direction changes. The Seahorse can operate on the surface or at shallow to moderate depths, and the occupants would typically wear their own scuba gear rather than relying on tanks/regulators fitted to the craft itself.
It’s not know exactly how many Seahorses were made or how many have survived. The company changed hands in the mid-1980s and then became embroiled in a scandal involving a contract with Saddam Hussein, after which time it was shuttered.
The CosMoS Seahorse II Submarine Shown Here
The vehicle you see here is a CosMoS Seahorse II Submarine, and as noted above it’s listed as being the one that was modified for use in James Bond’s Thunderball.
Here we see the main controls that allow the submarine to be moved left and right, as well as to make it dive or surface.
This sub is currently non-operational and would require a restoration before any diving is attempted. It’s missing the diving rudder at the rear and the cable controls are not connected. When operational it had a bank of lead acid batteries under the seating area in a watertight compartment.
If you’d like to read more about this unusual submersible or register to bid you can visit the listing here on Bring a Trailer. It’s being offered for sale out of Taft, California with a rolling display cart and bill of sale.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
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