The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau Quiz

Answer: Gironde, France

Jacques Cousteau was born to Daniel and Élisabeth Cousteau on 11th June 1910 in the Gironde region of France. He became proficient in building machines, including a battery operated car when he was 13. He also saved up enough money to buy a home movie camera. His love of the sea started at an early age. At 20 years old, he studied at the naval academy, École Navale, and became a gunnery officer. He initially wanted a career in naval aviation but had to change his plans after being injured in a car accident.

Answer: A spy

Yes, Jacques Cousteau was a spy! His undercover work for the Navy took him to far away countries including Japan and Shanghai. He worked against Italian spies in France as a resistance fighter. His medals included Commandeur de la Légion d'Honneur (Legion of Honour), Grand-Croix de l'Ordre National du Mérite (National Order of Merit) and Croix de Guerre (Military Cross) 1939-1945.

Answer: Aqua-Lung

French engineer, Émile Gagnan, along with Jacques Cousteau, both had a hand in designing the 1943 Aqua-Lung prototype. Previous breathing regulators had been made up to 80 years beforehand, but Gagnan-Cousteau introduced the miniature version for automatic breathing at greater depths.

The first patented brand sold to the mass market after the war was called the "CG45" (Cousteau Gagnan 1945). The Aqua-Lung (open-circuit) was designed so that gas would flow from the cylinder to the diver through the regulator and breathing apparatus before being expelled into the water.

The new designs are called "re-breathers" (closed-circuit). Once the diver breathes in the gas, this is exhaled through another bag where the carbon dioxide is removed and the oxygen is safe to re-circulate.

Answer: The Silent World

The 1953 book had the subtitle "A story of undersea discovery and adventure, by the first men to swim at record depths with the freedom of fish". It was co-written with Frédéric Dumas, another famed underwater diver and friend of Jacques Cousteau. The book included stories of found shipwrecks as well as the initial testing of the first "aqua-lung".

It included 48 pages of photographs in black and white, and 16 pages in colour. It has sold over 5 million copies since its publication. The film "Le Monde du Silence" also won an Academy Award.

Answer: Minesweeper

Jacques Cousteau took ownership of the "Calypso" in 1950. She was initially christened "J-826" in 1942 and used as a minesweeper for the Royal Navy. Her life after the war, until she was discovered in Malta, was that of a passenger ferry. She was taken to France for a refit and the new "Calypso" was born, transformed with the latest technology that befits an oceanographic vessel.

Her first trip was to Corsica, followed by the study of coral in the Red Sea. Cameras were installed in 1953 ready for filming at sea.

She was later fitted with submersibles, a crane and a helicopter. This grand old lady sailed the seas until 1996 when a collision fatally damaged her and she sank in the port of Singapore. She was retrieved from the water 17 days later and her restoration started in 2007.

Answer: HMHS Britannic

His Majesty's Hospital Ship Britannic was sunk by a mine near to the Greek island of Kea. Owned by the White Star Line, she was the sister ship to the RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic. She could carry a maximum of 300 wounded, 489 medical staff and 860 crew. Luckily, when she went down, she only took 30 souls with her. 1,036 people were saved that fateful day. Jacques Cousteau discovered her on expedition in 1975.

She lay in shallow waters, but the Greek and British governments had to be made aware as no diving could be carried out without their permission.

She was designated as a British war grave. She has been visited many times since by different teams of divers, but her secrets remain with her at the bottom of the sea.

Answer: Conshelf

Conshelf is a shortened name for the "Continental Shelf Station". During the trials with Conshelf One, two oceanauts would live under the sea, but spend five hours each day above ground so that their general health could be monitored. Conshelf Two was launched a year later and ten men lived under the Red Sea for 30 days. Jacques Cousteau won an Academy Award the following year for Best Documentary. Conshelf Three was introduced in 1965 where six men lived under the sea for three weeks off the French coast.

This was a breakthrough in underwater living and the effect it had on man, both physically and psychologically.

Answer: Alcyone

The Alcyone was the masterpiece of Jacques Cousteau and his team of associates, Professor Lucien Malavard and Dr. Bertrand Charrier. The ship included what looked like an upright smokestack, but it worked like a vertical aeroplane wing by drawing wind through a shutter for propulsion. The whole ship had inbuilt computers and when the wind died down, the diesel engine would automatically take over from the "Turbosail".

Answer: Mini-submersible

"Denise" was a mini-submersible, often spending four of five hours underwater at a depth of approximately 350 meters. Her formal name was "SP-350" and she was also known as a "Diving Saucer" because of her resemblance to a flying saucer. A crane aboard the Calypso would lower her, and the diver, into the water from the rear of the ship.

The cabin would fit a maximum of two divers, both able to see marine life through portholes. The submersible was fitted with cameras, radio, a robotic arm and external lights.

In 1965, two single man diving saucers were introduced. These were called "Sea Fleas" and could travel to depths of 500 meters.

Answer: The Cousteau Society

The Cousteau Society mission statement reads "Educating people to understand, to love and to protect the water systems of the planet, marine and fresh water, for the well-being of future generations." The Society has expanded during the years, but the fundamental idea and dream of one man remains the same. In excess of one hundred books and 115 films document undersea exploration by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and his team. These include New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, the Amazon, Mekong and Yellow rivers, Lake Baikal and Antarctica.