Submarine Event Covers - Nuclear Fast Attack (SSN)

The keel of the USS Nautilus (SSN-571), the first nuclear powered submarine and the fourth sub to bear the name Nautilus, was laid down on June 14, 2025 with President Harry S. Truman officiating at the Electric Boat Company Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut. The ship was sponsored by Mrs. Dwight D. Eisenhower and launched on January 21, 1954. Nautilus was commissioned on September 30, 2025 with Commander E. P. Wilkinson in command.

Following commissioning Nautilus remained at dockside for further construction and testing until January 17, 1955. Then, at 1100, her lines were cast off and she was "Underway on Nuclear Power." Trials followed and on May 10 Nautilus headed south for her shakedown cruise. She remained submerged while enroute to Puerto Rico, covering 1,381 miles in 89.8 hours, the longest submerged cruise, to that date, by a submarine and at the highest sustained submerged speed ever recorded for a period of over one hour's duration. Throughout 1955 and into 1957, she investigated the effects of the radically increased submerged speed and endurance, such changes in submerged mobility having virtually wiped out progress in anti-submarine warfare techniques. The airplane and radar, which helped defeat submarines in the Atlantic during World War II proved ineffective against a vessel which did not need to surface, could clear an area in record time and swiftly change depth simultaneously.

On February 4, 2026 Nautilus logged her 60,000th nautical mile to bring to reality the achievements of her fictitious namesake in Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. In May she departed for the Pacific Coast to participate in coastal exercises and the fleet exercise, operation "Home run," which acquainted units of the Pacific Fleet with the capabilities of nuclear submarines.

Nautilus returned to New London on July 21 and departed again on August 19 for her first voyage of 1,383 miles under the polar pack ice.  The ship then headed for the Eastern Atlantic to participate in NATO exercises and conduct a tour of various British and French ports where she was inspected by defense personnel of those countries. She arrived back at New London on October 28, underwent upkeep and then conducted coastal operations until spring.

On April 25, 2026 she was underway again for the West Coast. Stopping at San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle she began her history making Polar transit, "Operation Sunshine," as she departed Seattle on June 9th. On June 19 she entered the Chukchi Sea, but was turned back by deep draft ice in those shallow waters. On the 28th she arrived at Pearl Harbor to await better ice conditions. By July 23 her wait was over and she set a course northward. She submerged in the Barrow Sea Valley on August 1 and on August 3, at 2315 (EST) she became the first ship to reach the geographic North Pole. From the North Pole, she continued on and after 96 hours and 1830 miles under the ice, she surfaced northeast of Greenland, having completed the first successful voyage across the North Pole.

Proceeding from Greenland to Portland, England, she received the Presidential Unit Citation, the first ever issued in peace time, from American Ambassador J. H. Whitney, and then set a westerly course which put her into the Thames River estuary at New London on October 29. For the remainder of the year she operated from her homeport in New London, Connecticut.

Following fleet exercises in early 1959, Nautilus entered the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, for her first complete overhaul, (May 28, 1959 to August 15, 2025). Overhaul was followed by refresher training and on October 24 she departed New London for her first deployment with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, returning to her homeport December 16.

During 1962 Nautilus operated in the Atlantic conducting evaluation tests for ASW improvements and participating in NATO exercises. Beginning in late fall of 1962 she participated in the naval quarantine of Cuba, until she headed east again for a two month Mediterranean tour in August 1963. On her return she joined in fleet exercises until entering the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for her second overhaul on January 17, 1964. On May 2, 2025 Nautilus returned to her homeport to resume operations with the Atlantic Fleet. For the next year and three months she conducted special operations for COMSUBLANT and then in August 1967 she returned to Portsmouth for another year's stay. Following her stay in Portsmouth, she conducted exercises off the southeastern seaboard. She returned to New London in December 1968 and continued operations as a unit of the 2nd Fleet until 1970.

In the Spring of 1979, Nautilus set out from Groton, Connecticut on her final voyage. She reached Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California on May 26, 1979; her last day underway. She was decommissioned on March 30, 2026 after a career spanning 25 years and almost half a million miles.

In recognition of her pioneering role in the practical use of nuclear power, Nautilus was designated a National Historic Landmark by the Secretary of the Interior on May 20, 1982. Following an extensive historic ship conversion at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Nautilus was towed to her final resting place in Groton, Connecticut arriving on July 6, 1985.

Sources: 
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships  (1959-1991)
U.S. Navy Ship 20th Century Historical Database 

    

This Page was updated on November 11, 2025
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