Commissioning
The USS Nautilus was the first nuclear-powered submarine in the U.S. Navy. She was the fourth, and best known, vessel in U.S. Navy history to carry the name Nautilus.
The contract to build her was awarded to General Dynamics Corp.’s Electric Boat Division in Groton, Conn., on Aug. 2, 1951. Her construction would be personally overseen by Admiral Hyman Rickover, known as the “Father of the Nuclear Navy.” Her keel was laid down on June 14, 1952, by President Harry Truman. She was launched on Jan. 21, 1954 and was sponsored by Mamie Eisenhower, the wife of then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower. She was commissioned on Sept. 30, 1954, with Commander Eugene P. Wilkinson in command.
Underway
Equipped with a Westinghouse S2W naval reactor, the Nautilus put to sea for the first time at 11 a.m. on Jan. 17, 1955, transmitting the message “Underway on nuclear power.” On the way to her shakedown cruise on May 10, 1955, she travelled 1,100 miles from New London, Conn., to San Juan, Puerto Rico fully submerged and set what were then the records for both the longest submerged cruise and the highest sustained speeds of all time.
As the first submarine of her kind, the Nautilus was used primarily as a testing platform for the first two years of her career, as the effects of increased submerged speeds and endurance were investigated. It was determined that submarines of the Nautilus’ speed and capabilities would require an entirely new form of anti-submarine warfare.
In May 1957, the Nautilus made her first voyage to the Pacific, taking part in Operation Home Run. It was the first opportunity ships of the Pacific Fleet would have to see the capabilities of a nuclear-powered submarine first-hand. On July 21, she returned to New London, Conn.
On Aug. 19, 1957, the Nautilus left New London and began her first voyage under the polar ice pack, traveling more than 1,200 miles submerged. She then took part in NATO exercises in the Eastern Atlantic and made ports of call in France and England before returning to New London on Oct. 28.
On April 25, 1958, the Nautilus began her second trip to the West Coast of the United States. Her return trip to the Atlantic would not take her through the Panama Canal, but under the polar ice cap instead. On June 9, she left San Francisco for New London to begin her mission, but was stopped by deep draft ice in the Chukchi Sea on June 19. She made her way to Pearl Harbor to await better conditions, and started a second attempt on July 23. On Aug. 1, she submerged in the Barrow Sea Valley and, at 11:15 p.m. on Aug. 3, 1958, became the first watercraft to reach the geographic North Pole. She would travel another four days under the ice before surfacing northeast of Greenland. She would end her voyage at the Isle of Portland, England. In recognition of her historic feat, the Nautilus received the first peacetime Presidential Unit Citation.
The Nautilus entered the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard at Kittery, Maine in May 1959 for her first overhaul. The process would last until August 1960; she would return to regular duty in October, when she deployed to the Mediterranean Sea for the first time. She returned to New London on Dec. 16.
The Nautilus would take part in NATO exercises and the blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis over the next two years before beginning another deployment to the Mediterranean in August 1963. Another overhaul took the Nautilus out of action from January 1964 to May 1966.
Though more advanced nuclear powered submarines would supplant the Nautilus in many areas, she remained on active duty with the Atlantic Fleet until the spring of 1979.
Decommissioning
The Nautilus was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on March 3, 1980. She made her way back from Mare Island, Calif., to Groton several years later, and was opened to the public as part of the U.S. Navy Submarine Force Museum and Library. In 2002, she underwent a five-month, $4.7 million preservation. On Sept. 30, 2004, she celebrated the 50th Anniversary of her commissioning. She attracts approximately 250,000 visitors a year.
Characteristics of the USS Nautilus
Displacement: 2,980 tons light, 3,520 tons full, 540 tons dead
Length: 320 ft (97.5 m)
Beam: 28 ft (8.5 m)
Draft: 26 ft (7.9 m)
Complement: 13 officers, 92 men
Armament: 6 torpedo tubes
Career:
Name: USS Nautilus
Operator: United States Navy
Awarded: 2 August 1951
Builder: General Dynamics
Laid down: 14 June 1952
Launched: 21 January 1954
Completed: 22 April 1955
Commissioned: 30 September 1954
Decommissioned: 3 March 1980
Struck: 3 March 1980
Fate: Retained by Navy as museum
Timeline:
August 1951: Contract to build USS Nautilus awarded
June 1952: Keel of USS Nautilus laid down by President Truman
January 1954: USS Nautilus launched
September 1954: USS Nautilus commissioned
January 1955: USS Nautilus becomes first submarine to operate under nuclear power
August 1958: USS Nautilus becomes first submarine to pass under the North Pole
March 1980: USS Nautilus decommissioned
Crewmembers of the USS Nautilus:
An unofficial list of crew members that served on the USS Nautilus can be found on the unofficial navy website at: http://navysite.de. This list is compiled by former crewmembers that voluntarily register. Some quoted comments from former crewmembers are listed below; many more are available on the source website at the following Web address:
http://www.navysite.de/ssn/ssn571.htm
Gary Ingraham (served November 1961-December 1965):”Served with SO MANY great people on a great submarine!”
Erich Ziller (served September-December 1962): “A great ship & great crew. Went to USS Ethan Allen SSBN-608B. Returned to 571as a USNR ETC(SS) 3 or 4 times. Now reside in Mishicot, WI as a Retired Reserve.”
Charlie Grover (served November 1964-June 1968): “GOOD TIMES , GREAT MEMORIES.”
Dennis Halsted (served March 1965-March 1967):”Nautilus was my first and only ship. Proud to have served on her.”
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Nautilus_(SSN-571)
http://www.nautilus571.com/
