Classified by the Navy as an Auxiliary General Submarine, Albacore was the first modern submarine to have the rounded, teardrop shaped hull. Her test or maximum operating depth was 600 feet and her conventional lead acid battery gave her a maximum submerged speed of 25 knots or almost 30 miles per hour. Albacore was built strictly as an experimental submarine - she had no torpedo tubes and carried only pistols and rifles for her security watch. She was small - at 205 feet long, she was 2/3rds the length of a World War 2 Fleet Boat; and fast - with her special silver zinc battery, Albacore could outrun a contemporary nuclear submarine until her battery was exhausted. Albacore was highly maneuverable. Due to the steep angles the boat sometimes took, subway car type straps could be found throughout the boat for people to hang onto when the boat was performing hydrobatics - or underwater acrobatics. In addition to being used as a high speed submarine target, Albacore was the platform for trying out new submarine propulsion and control systems, tactics and operational concepts.