History of the USS Nautilus

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Mobilis in MobileHistory of the USS Nautilus
(SSN-571)

• Worlds first operational nuclear-powered
  submarine.
• Launched January 21, 1954.
• First vessel to complete a submerged transit
  across the North Pole.
• On January 17, 1955, at 11 am EST, NAUTILUS'
  first Commanding Officer, Commander Eugene P.
  Wilkinson, ordered all lines cast off and
  signaled the memorable and historic message,
• "Underway On Nuclear Power"
• Over the next several years, NAUTILUS shattered
  all submerged speed and distance records.
• Moving in a moving thing

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20,000 Leagues Comparison

• Vernes marine league equals 2.16 miles.
• 20,000 marine leagues under the sea would
  translate to 43,200 miles.
• 20,000 leagues in todays conversion equals
  60,000 miles.
• On February 4, 1957, USS NAUTILUS logged her
  60,000th mile.

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Accomplished the impossible

• On July 23, 1958, NAUTILUS departed Pearl Harbor,
  Hawaii under top secret orders to conduct
  "Operation Sunshine," the first crossing of the
  north pole by a ship.
• At 1115 pm on August 3, 1958, NAUTILUS' second
  Commanding Officer, Commander William R.
  Anderson, USN, announced to his crew "For the
  world, Our Country, and the Navy - the North
  Pole."
• With 116 men aboard, NAUTILUS had accomplished
  the "impossible," reaching the geographic North
  Pole--90 degrees north.

• After 96 hours and 1,830 miles submerged under
  the ice, USS NAUTILUS surfaced in the Greenland
  Sea, on August 5, 1958.

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Congratulations from a Frenchman

• On August 11, 1958, Charles de Gaulle sent
  President Eisenhower the following message
• Thanks to the United States Navy, the
  Nautilus, whose expected exploits generations
  of Frenchmen had learned about in advance, has
  accomplished its destiny. Allow me to tell you
  how delighted I am at this exemplary success. It
  is fine and good that a great country of liberty
  should give so brilliantly the proof of
  inventiveness and courage.

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• Commander Anderson was flown from Iceland to
  Washington, D.C., where he was presented the
  Legion of Merit by President Eisenhower.
• Upon Commander Anderson's return to NAUTILUS,
  she proceeded to Portland, England where
  Ambassador John Hay Whitney presented the first
  Presidential Unit Citation ever issued in
  peacetime.

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• My Brother-in-Laws Mother knew one of the crew
  members aboard the USS Nautilus and sent her a
  letter commemorating the historic event.
• Note the postmark is the exact date and time the
  USS Nautilus was at the North Pole.

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Other Records of the First and Finest

• Over the next six years, NAUTILUS participated in
  several fleet exercises while traveling over
  200,000 miles.
• In the spring of 1966, she logged her 300,000th
  mile.

• During the following 12 years, NAUTILUS was
  involved in a variety of developmental testing
  programs while continuing to serve alongside many
  of the more modern nuclear powered submarines she
  had preceded.

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Journeys end

• In the spring of 1979, NAUTILUS set out from
  Groton, Connecticut on her final voyage. She
  reached Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo,
  California on May 26, 1979.
• She was decommissioned on March 3, 1980 after a
  career spanning 25 years, 2,507 dives, and
  513,550 miles.
• In recognition of her pioneering role in the
  practical use of nuclear power, NAUTILUS was
  designated a National Historic Landmark by the
  Secretary of the Interior on May 20, 1982.
• Following an extensive historic ship conversion
  at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, NAUTILUS was towed
  to Groton, Connecticut arriving on July 6, 1985.

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Final Resting Place

• On April 11, 1986, eighty-six years to the day
  after the birth of the Submarine Force, Historic
  Ship NAUTILUS, joined by the Submarine Force
  Museum, opened to the public as the first and
  finest exhibit of its kind in the world,
  providing a visible link between yesterday's
  Submarine Force and the Submarine Force of
  tomorrow.

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Summer Vacation July 2004
A great place to visit!
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• Onboard the USS Nautilus is a first edition,
  signed 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
• It is mounted behind glass in the wall of the
  main corridor.
• It was given to the US Navy by Vernes great
  grandson.

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Submarine Force Museum Groton, Conn.
Main Hallway
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Comparison of the Two Nautilus

• Specifications
• Power
• Displacement
• Hull design
• Length
• Beam
• Draft
• Top Speed
• Depth Control
• Diving Depth
• Armament
• Crew

Vernes Electrical 1507 tons Double 70 m 8 m 7.2
m 50 mph Floodable tanks Hydroplane 52,490
ft Ram/electric current 20 or so
US Navy Nuclear/Electrical 4092 tons Single 97.5
m (320 ft) 8.5 m (28 ft) 7.9 m (26 ft) 28.8 mph
Floodable tanks Hydroplane 700 ft 6 torpedo
tubes 116
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References

• You can take a virtual tour of the USS Nautilus
  at http//www.ussnautilus.org/
• Other Web sites
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Nautilus_(SSN-571
  )
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautilus_28Verne29
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty_Thousand_Leagu
  es_Under_The_Sea
• http//home.att.net/karen.crisafulli/nautilus.htm
  l
• http//www.answers.com/topic/uss-nautilus-ssn-571
• http//www.eisenhower.archives.gov/dl/Nautilus/Nau
  tilusdocuments.htm
• http//www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/1056/nautil
  us.htm
• http//www.subguru.com/nautilus571.htm
• http//www.williammaloney.com/Aviation/SubmarineUS
  SNautilus/USSNautilus.htm
• Book References
• Naval Institute Press edition of 20,000 Leagues
  Under the Sea
• (thanks to Walter James Miller and Rick Walter)
• Livre de Poche paperback of Verne's original
  French
• (thanks to Rick Walter)

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• Any Questions?