A museum 20,000 leagues in the making: Exploring the USS Nautilus
Since the early 20th century, submarines have been a vital part of every navy. Their ability to stealthily attack supply ships, troop transports and warships, and seek out enemy subs who might do the same, has long been crucial in wartime.
Designed to hide below the waves, submarines are their most vulnerable when on the ocean's surface. And up until the 70 years ago, they had to come out of hiding occasionally to recharge their limited batteries.
But what if a sub didn't have to surface? What if it could travel indefinitely, underwater, at a high speed? For that you'd need a power source that didn't rely on fossil fuels. In the early 1950s, US Navy scientists figured that nuclear power was the answer. The first such sub was the USS Nautilus, which launched in 1954.
For 26 years, the Nautilus paved the way for dozens of nuclear submarines. She broke records for speed and endurance and became the first boat to reach the North Pole (under the ice). She's now a museum ship in Groton, Connecticut. I headed there to see how she looks today.
https://www.cnet.com/news/a-museum-20000-leagues-in-the-making-exploring-the-uss-nautilus/
Great museum! Very interesting and informative.
https://ussnautilus.org/
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