12/25/2023 0 Comments Nautilus submarine north pole![]() ![]() The crew of 116 submerged under the icecap at Point Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost point in the United States. After some delays due to shallow water, she finally departed Pearl Harbor on July 23, 1958, and successfully made it to the Bering Strait. ![]() It was a fitting name for an excursion that found itself operating during 24 hours of daylight. The top-secret mission of reaching the geographic North Pole. National Archives photograph, USN 1037145 Anderson, USN, Commanding Officer of USS Nautilus (SSN-571), far right, on the bridge during a period of low visibility as the submarine prepares to pass under the North Pole, August 1958. On June 9, 1958, Nautilus left Seattle to begin “Operation Sunshine,”Ĭommander William R. In April of 1958, she set off from New London heading west through the Panama Canal with stops in California and a brief period in Seattle. An initial attempt was made in 1957 but the ice proved a powerful opponent and the Nautilus returned home unable to complete the mission. At the time, no ship had ever made it to the North Pole due to the depth of ice in the area. Anderson, Captain of the Nautilus, suggested a submerged trip under the North Pole to test the strength of America’s new nuclear Navy. The Navy’s ability to excel in submarine development was exactly what Eisenhower needed to show America’s technological supremacy. In 1952, Admiral Rickover’s idea of a nuclear navy was achieved with the start of construction on SSN-571, USS Nautilus – the world’s first nuclear submarine. The President felt the urgent need to show the American people that they were not only as technologically advanced as the Soviets but superior. President Eisenhower had the difficult job of not only keeping up with the new technologies but keeping the American people feeling safe. Children practiced air raid drills in school, hiding under their desks, afraid of any new noise in the sky. There was a very real fear that rippled through communities that a nuclear missile could land on American soil at any time. What made people so fearful during The Cold War was the public’s awareness that America was behind in terms of rocket power. The decade is remembered for its famous spies and secret missions. Students in classrooms across the world were being taught about the space race and there was growing tension between the United States and the Soviet Union over nuclear weapons. The 1950s was a period in world history that will always stand out. On August 3, 1958, history was made as USS Nautilus made it to 90 degrees North. It is a moment in history that changed the tide for all countries and opened the door for faster travel, trade routes, and the growing technological advancements of the day. The story of the Nautilus is not a Navy story. You don’t have to be a submariner to know the tale or what it meant not just for America but for the world. And, in 1958, a secret mission went 1,830 miles in four days hiding in this unsetting sun. ![]() One of the most fascinating is the fact that there are 24 hours of sunlight for six months out of the year. Summer in the Arctic has interesting features. ![]()
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