The guidelines he set during his tenure as Director of the program (1940’s-1982) are still followed today. Rickover knew that working with such an unstable element needed to be handled with respect and caution in order to move ahead with the project. He emphasized in-depth inspections and rigorous training. His conservative approach to reactor and propulsion plant designed ensured that manufactures and shipyards followed specific guidelines. Nuclear-propulsion development was a completely new undertaking when Rickover was assigned to the program. No expense was spared and the project consumed $55 million. The project was fast paced and anything Rickover needed was procured immediately. He would not allow any corners to be cut and safety was his number one priority. But his determination led to a new submarine Navy. Rickover was famously known for being a rigid and at times difficult man. Rickover headed the nuclear-propulsion program, with its sole mission to figure out how to extract power from an explosive radioactive substance and have it drive a propeller. That October, a secret memorandum was signed that would initiate the development, design and construction of a nuclear powered submarine within the department. That requires that you come up all the time you can’t run the engines submerged … But if you could run a nuclear engine – not need air – it could go indefinitely.” In 1947, Beach was assigned to the Atomic Energy Division of the Navy, which at the time was solely dealing with atomic bombs. The nuclear engine would give a submarine tremendous capability, because, you see, the submariners right away to relate to air – you have to have air to run the engines. Beach recalls the period, saying, “I remember at that time thinking to myself, by George, there’s the way to go. After the end of WWII, a theory began to circulate that the atom bomb could be harnessed and turned into an engine. But why switch to nuclear power at all? What makes a nuclear submarine a modern marvel?Ī nuclear ship propulsion program was first studied in 1939. However, Rickover’s background in engineering and science paved the way for our modern submarine force. Rickover was considered a fanatic by his colleagues, and to many the idea of harnessing nuclear power to run a submarine was science fiction. The uranium-powered nuclear reactor produced steam that drove propulsion turbines, which allowed the her to travel at speeds in excess of 20 knots. Due to the atomic engine, she could remain submerged for almost an unlimited amount of time because no air was needed. She stretched 319 feet and displaced some 3,180 tons. The Nautilus was much larger than its diesel predecessors. Rickover, the idea of a nuclear Navy came to life. On September 30, 1954, the USS Nautilus was commissioned.
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