Operation Sunshine - Breaking the North Pole

uss nautilus was the first operational nuclear-powered submarine and shared its name with jules verne's classic novel 20 000 leagues under the sea from 1870. the submarine was built for the us armed forces and had the distinction of not being designed as a warship but instead as a symbol of the peaceful use of nuclear energy its nuclear propulsion allowed it to submerge for longer periods than conventional submarines and nautilus broke several records during its first years of operation however its most significant achievement came in the summer of 1958 when over 100 sailors embarked on a scientific expedition without precedence to cross from the pacific to the atlantic underneath the north pole's ice casket [Music] first of a kind the uss nautilus submarine's conceptual design started in 1950 as project scb-64 the new nuclear-powered u-boat was authorized by the u.s congress in 1951 and began construction a year later the idea behind the design was to take advantage of nuclear power by providing a zero emission propulsion system that didn't consume air the first prototype was constructed and tested in 1953 and launched in 1954 during its christening ceremony the clouds obscured most of the sky but as the event continued with first lady mimi eisenhower the sky suddenly opened afterward the crew would say that the sun always shined on nautilus [Music] the ship was commissioned in september of that year but remained dockside for further testing and wasn't handed to the navy until 1955. its first commanding officer eugene p wilkinson would then deliver a historic message quote underway on nuclear power on may 10th nautilus broke the record for the longest submerged cruise at the highest sustained speed when it traveled 1300 miles from new london connecticut to san juan puerto rico in less than 90 hours between 1955 and 1957 the submarine was used to investigate the effects of increased submerged speeds and endurance separating technology advanced hastily compared to world war ii era technology and radars in the anti-submarine aircraft became obsolete against the swift maneuvers of a nuclear submarine nautilus eventually became the basis for the majority of u.s nuclear-powered submarines and even surface combat ships [Music] superiority when the soviets put the sputnik satellite in orbit in october of 1957 they took the lead in space superiority the world and especially the united states were terrified that a warhead launch would follow thus the us citizens and allies demanded a response to this intercontinental ballistic missile threat and turned to president dwight eisenhower in a press conference that same month it became clear that the u.s did not have a definitive timeline to launch a satellite and were losing in the technological front of the cold war with both sides aiming to demonstrate scientific superiority tensions between the governments increased but the soviets were undoubtedly ahead in rocket research the americans were aware of the gap and were concerned the same rocket technology would be used to launch a nuclear missile thus eisenhower aimed to speed up rocketry development and minimize fear [Music] however rushing the program resulted in a shameful and public failure when the first american satellite exploded before liftoff in december of 1957 followed by another failed attempt two months later the president needed something to show american superiority to the world and boost the morale of his country and that's when a potential solution came up the combination of submarine and nuclear reactor technology that the americans had developed earlier in the decade was unmatched at the time maybe they didn't have space superiority yet but under the ocean they posed the world's greatest threat [Music] the us was more advanced in those two areas but as the country could not handle any more negative publicity the project was developed in secret and entrusted to the navy the idea was not merely to deploy a nuclear submarine but to push the technology to its limit an unprecedented journey commander william r anderson was chosen to undertake a submerged circumnavigation of the globe however he suggested a trip under the north pole instead such a feat hadn't even been considered but there were discussions about this being a more strategic approach to get from the pacific to the atlantic and reposition submarines between the oceans without crossing through the panama canal the achievement would also prove that the us had the potential to launch missiles from the arctic against the soviet union the idea convinced eisenhower under one condition quote i want no one i mean no one to announce the success or failure of this attempt until i personally indicate where and when the announcement will take place uss nautilus was chosen because of the advantages of its nuclear reactor which allowed a longer submersion than conventional submarines meanwhile a fake mission was also planned in parallel as a cover story that explained the vessel's presence in the pacific it was said that familiarization exercises were being carried out with nuclear submarines and the pacific fleet because the waters in the pacific were shallower than in the atlantic anderson decided that it would be a better option to cross the more complicated part first and then emerge smoothly in the atlantic otherwise they could stumble upon a dead end and be forced to turn around the ship departed from groton on august 17th 1957 the first attempt was unsuccessful as the ice proved more profound than expected another effort was then planned for the following summer [Music] on april 25th 1958 nautilus was underway again to the west coast and tested the new equipment developed especially for the mission however by then the submarine's crew was unaware that they would try to cross the arctic once again magnetic and gyro compasses became unreliable and inaccurate above 85 degrees north so specially built compasses had been installed in the submarine the navy couldn't risk the crew getting disoriented beneath the ice and forced to play a longitude roulette the commander even thought of using torpedoes to blow a hole in the ice cap in case of emergency after stops at san diego san francisco and seattle operation sunshine got underway on june 9th but the submarine was forced to turn back again because of the deep drift ice in the shallow waters by the 28th nautilus arrived at pearl harbor to await better conditions most of the crew was on leave but they were strictly forbidden from talking about their real mission on july 23rd the wait was over and the course was set north toward the bering strait on august first nautilus submerged at the barrow sea valley and so began the arduous journey beneath the arctic ice sheet the most challenging part was crossing the bering strait where the ice extended 60 feet below sea level in an initial attempt they found insufficient room to pass between the ice and the sea bottom without hitting the roof or grounding [Music] however the second attempt was successful and nautilus passed through a known channel close to alaska this path hadn't been their first choice as their risk being detected but on august 3rd at 11 15 pm nautilus became the first watercraft to reach the geographic north pole commander anderson then announced quote for the usa and the u.s navy the north pole celebration the crew wrote letters to their families and friends with special commemorative stamps everyone aboard the submarine was excited to be the first to do random activities while at the north pole such as being in the forward most part of the ship to be the first to get there or the first to take a shower while there among other things a notable world citizen then visited the crew it was crew member bill mcnally dressed as santa claus and he scolded commander anderson for trespassing on his home during his vacation season anderson pleaded ignorance of the rules of the north and santa claus seemed pleased wishing everybody and their families a merry christmas after 96 hours and traveling 1830 miles under the ice nautilus emerged near greenland having completed the first submarine cross through the north pole the president then received a radio message from anderson quote nautilus 90 north the vessel proceeded southward and anderson was airlifted by helicopter and transported to washington dc for a ceremony at the white house on august 8th the president awarded him the legion of merit while the crew earned the first presidential unit citation bestowed during peacetime their citation read quote the skill professional competency and courage of the officers and crew of nautilus were in keeping with the highest traditions of the armed forces of the united states and the pioneering spirit which has always characterized our country the president also mentioned that the new route could be utilized for trade with cargo submarines after a brief stop in the isle of portland england where they received the presidential unit citation from the american ambassador the crew returned to america where they had a hero's welcome in new york city the first nuclear submarine broke many records in the first years of service submerging far longer than diesel electric models it also allowed travel to remote locations far beyond limits prior to its invention in addition the operation revealed several limitations in the design and construction of the ship and this knowledge was applied to improve future versions nautilus was decommissioned in 1980 and designated a national historic landmark in 1982 it's preserved as a museum ship at the submarine force library and museum in groton connecticut where it receives a quarter million visitors every year thank you for watching our video we hope you liked it for more information and stories about historical feats don't forget to subscribe to all our dark documentaries channels and please hit the thumbs up button and 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Channel: Dark Seas

Views: 61,285

Rating: 4.9604888 out of 5

Keywords: navy, naval, documentary, history, history channel, warships, dark docs, submarine, nuclear, nuclear submarine

Id: z7HcPTtfRMc

Length: 10min 3sec (603 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 21 2021