Upon graduation in engineering I went to work for a navy laboratory that has had a number of names, including Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC). The roll of the department I worked in at the time was the development of Underwater Weapons.  Systems under development included torpedoes, undersea missiles, submarine launched missiles (Polaris), and unmanned vehicles.   These various systems were tested off the coast of Southern California on ranges near San Clemente Island.  Most weapon systems were fitted with buoyance systems for recovery after testing.  However, frequently the buoyancy systems did not work for various reasons.  So , out of necessity, the lab developed the CURV I (Cable-controlled Undersea Recovery Vehicle) to retrieve those weapons wherein the buoyancy systems did not work or were not used.  CURV I was the first successful  remotely operated undersea vehicle.  When a B-52 and it's refueling plane collided over Spain in 1966 four nuclear bombs fell to the earth, 3 onto land and one in approximately 3000' of water.  This was a high profile event with negative worldwide publicity.  At the time the CURV was a little know piece of equipment, but it became known throughout the world when it was successful in recovering the bomb, even though it self destructed in the process due to water depth beyond the CURV design limits.  Discussion would include the history of the CURV, the design of the CURV, and its evolution after this event.  At the time I was a junior engineer in the weapons development department, and participated in the redesign and upgrade of the follow on vehicle (CURV II).