Unknown to the market, this smaller cased Air Command was only recently re-discovered. The current owner inherited the watch from his father, who discovered this watch with another Blancpain Fifty Fathoms in Marseilles in 1998. Upon its discovery, due to its unusual case size and markings, he acquired the Fifty Fathoms and drove to Blancpain in Paudex to have the second one inspected before purchase. To his astonishment, the letter stated that the watch had been ordered by Jacques Cousteau, the famed oceanographer in 1949. Amazingly enough it perfectly coincides with his departure from the French Navy and his founding of French Oceanographic Campaigns (FOC), and leasing his world famous exploring boat "The Calypso". It is unclear to how long it took for Blancpain to fullfil his request but one can assume that after the first batch had been delivered to the US Army, some prototypes were still being developed and delivered at a later date. The finish of the movement is definitely from the 1950's although it does not feature the stop-second feature as usually found on the Air Command as it was delivered much later. A rare opportunity to acquire a prototype diving wristwatch with fantastic provenance.