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KF5JRV > TODAY 04.10.18 13:11l 36 Lines 1843 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 22286_KF5JRV
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Sept 30
Path: IZ3LSV<ED1ZAC<GB7CIP<AB0AF<KF5JRV
Sent: 181001/1117Z 22286@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQ6.0.16
The USS Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear submarine, is commissioned
by the U.S. Navy.
The Nautilus was constructed under the direction of U.S. Navy Captain
Hyman G. Rickover, a brilliant Russian-born engineer who joined the U.S.
atomic program in 1946. In 1947, he was put in charge of the navy’s
nuclear-propulsion program and began work on an atomic submarine.
Regarded as a fanatic by his detractors, Rickover succeeded in
developing and delivering the world’s first nuclear submarine years
ahead of schedule. In 1952, the Nautilus‘ keel was laid by President
Harry S. Truman, and on January 21, 1954, first lady Mamie Eisenhower
broke a bottle of champagne across its bow as it was launched into the
Thames River at Groton, Connecticut. Commissioned on September 30, 1954,
it first ran under nuclear power on the morning of January 17, 1955.
Much larger than the diesel-electric submarines that preceded it, the
Nautilus stretched 319 feet and displaced 3,180 tons. It could remain
submerged for almost unlimited periods because its atomic engine needed
no air and only a very small quantity of nuclear fuel. The
uranium-powered nuclear reactor produced steam that drove propulsion
turbines, allowing the Nautilus to travel underwater at speeds in excess
of 20 knots.
In its early years of service, the USS Nautilus broke numerous submarine
travel records and in August 1958 accomplished the first voyage under
the geographic North Pole. After a career spanning 25 years and almost
500,000 miles steamed, the Nautilus was decommissioned on March 3, 1980.
Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1982, the world’s first
nuclear submarine went on exhibit in 1986 as the Historic Ship Nautilus
at the Submarine Force Museum in Groton, Connecticut.
73 de Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
email: KF5JRV@ICLOUD.COM
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