Page 390 - (DK) Smithsinian - Military History: The Definitive Visual Guide to the Objects of Warfare

388 NUCLEAR ATTACK SUBMARINE Bridge Sail Propeller

GE 1945–PRESENT USS NAUTILUS Torpedo tube doors Sail Flat deck area

When the Nautilus entered service in 1954, it was the world’s first
SIDE VIEW
nuclear-powered submarine. Its advent in the early part of the Cold
War (see pp.384–85) marked a revolutionary step in naval warfare.
Radar antenna
Rudder

for long periods without having to surface
underwater and carried only conventional
A Three reactors enabled the Nautilus to travel The Nautilus was not especially fast Hydroplane Attack PLAN VIEW
torpedoes. Apart from the reactors, its
or refuel, unlike conventional submarines.
THE NUCLEAR (2,222km) in 90 hours. Three years crew member, and (on its 1958 sub-Arctic Torpedo Crew’s center After crews quarters
In 1955, the ship set a new record for a
major innovations were dispensing with
submerged voyage, covering 1,381 miles
a deck gun, providing a bunk for each
room
quarters
Ballast
Engine
later it became the first submarine to
trip) an inertial navigation system. By
Reactor
tank
room
travel under the ice cap to the North Pole.
1959, the Nautilus was being superseded
by submarines that, through improved hull
On the Nautilus’s upper deck was the
attack center—the heart of the ship’s role
design and the use of new materials, could
as a warship. Forward of that were captain’s travel faster and reach greater depths than
Batteries
and officers’ quarters. The lower deck
dominate naval warfare, either as torpedo-
housed the control room, from where the before. Nuclear submarines would soon USS NAUTILUS CROSS SECTION
ship was steered when underwater, and carrying attack submarines or as nuclear Displacing 3,533 tons (4,092 tons submerged), the
Nautilus was 323½ft (98.6m) long and carried a crew
the crew’s mess and galley. The engines missile carriers. Retired in 1980, the of 116. It had a top speed of 23 knots and could dive
and reactors were near the stern. Nautilus is now a museum. to a maximum depth of 700ft (213m).
OPERATING SYSTEMS

▲ ALARMS ▲ WATER LEVELS ▲ DISPLAY PANEL
Alerts were sounded before Dials indicated the amount Prior to diving, this panel was checked
the craft began to dive or if of water contained in the to determine the status of the craft’s
there was danger of a collision. ship’s ballast tanks. numerous hatches and vents.

▲ SONAR ROOM
Sonar equipment and displays were used to locate
ships and other submarines, follow target objects,
and avoid underwater collisions.

▲ CONTROL ROOM ▲ ELECTRONIC COUNTERMEASURES ▶ SUBMARINE SAIL
Two planesmen operated the hydroplanes These devices detected signals from other When travelling on the surface, the Nautilus
to adjust the ship’s angle and depth. To their vessels and helped foil attempts to track the was steered from the bridge, located at the
right, the helmsman operated the rudder. ship from its own transmissions. top of the submarine’s “sail” (conning tower).