[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 128 (Monday, July 30, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S5450]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





     60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NORTH POLE TRANSIT BY USS ``NAUTILUS''

  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I wish to commemorate the 60th 
anniversary of the historic ship USS Nautilus, SSN-571, and her 
historic submerged transit of the North Pole on August 3, 1958.
  The USS Nautilus was the first commissioned nuclear-powered ship in 
the U.S. Navy. President Harry S. Truman laid the keel for the future 
ship on June 14, 1952, at the Electric Boat Shipyard in Groton, CT. Two 
years later, First Lady Mamie Eisenhower launched the history-making 
nuclear submarine when she broke the traditional bottle of champagne 
across the bow of the USS Nautilus.
  On the morning of January 17, 1955, at 11:00 a.m. EST, the Nautilus's 
first Commanding Officer, Commander Eugene P. Wilkinson, ordered all 
lines cast off and signaled the memorable message, ``Underway On 
Nuclear Power.''
  During its shakedown on May 10, 1956, the USS Nautilus cruised from 
Groton, CT, to San Juan, PR, in fewer than 90 hours, fully submerged 
for the entire journey. The underwater distance--1,381 miles--was ten 
times farther than any submerged submarine had previously sailed. 
Following this journey, the Nautilus would shatter all submerged speed 
and distance records over the remainder of the decade.
  In response to the nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile threat 
posed by the Soviet Union following the launch of the first satellite 
Sputnik, President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered the U.S. Navy to 
attempt a submarine transit to the North Pole to gain credibility for 
the soon-to-come submarine-launched ballistic missile weapons system 
still in research and development.
  On July 23, 1958, the USS Nautilus departed Pearl Harbor, Hi, under 
top secret orders to conduct Operation Sunshine, the first crossing of 
the North Pole by a ship.
  Eleven days later, Commander William R. Anderson announced to the 116 
men aboard, ``For the world, our country, and the Navy: THE NORTH 
POLE.'' Thus, on August 3, 1958, the USS Nautilus became the first 
watercraft to reach the geographic North Pole, 90 degrees north, known 
also as the geographic ``top of the world.''
  Following this momentous voyage, the USS Nautilus and her crew earned 
the Presidential Unit Citation, the first ever awarded in peacetime.
  After Operation Sunshine, the USS Nautilus enjoyed many more 
successes in her long and illustrious career of duty in the U.S. Navy, 
such as in October 1962, when she participated in the naval quarantine 
of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
  Over the years, the USS Nautilus played an integral part in numerous 
North Atlantic Treaty Organization--NATO--exercises and a variety of 
developmental test programs. On September 14, 1966, the USS Nautilus 
celebrated 300,000 nautical miles of ocean faring.
  Having pioneered the use of nuclear power at sea, the USS Nautilus 
continued to serve alongside many of the more modern nuclear-powered 
submarines. In April 1975, the USS Nautilus participated in Exercise 
Agate Punch. She was cited by the Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Group 12 
as ``Not Getting Older--Getting Better.''
  In the spring of 1977, the USS Nautilus deployed for the last time to 
the Mediterranean Sea, and on April 9, 1979, the Nautilus set out from 
Groton, CT, on her final voyage to Mare Island Naval Shipyard in 
Vallejo, CA. On May 25, 1979, the USS Nautilus shut down her reactor 
for the final time, and she reached Mare Island 4 days later.
  Following a career spanning 25 years and over half a million miles 
steamed, she decommissioned on March 3, 1980.
  On May 14, 1980, President Jimmy Carter authorized Groton, CT, as the 
permanent home for the USS Nautilus, and on May 20, 1982, the USS 
Nautilus was designated a National Historic Landmark by the Secretary 
of the Interior. Following an extensive historic ship conversion at 
Mare Island Naval Shipyard, the Nautilus was towed to Groton, CT, for 
the final time, arriving on July 6, 1985, in preparation for display to 
the public as a museum.
  On April 11, 1986, 86 years to the day after the birth of the 
submarine force, the historic ship Nautilus, joined by the Submarine 
Force Museum, opened to the public as the first and finest exhibit of 
its kind in the world, providing an educational and visible link to 
yesterday's nuclear-powered submarine.
  I am delighted to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the North Pole 
transit by USS Nautilus, SSN-571, and her accomplishments over the last 
64 years. The historic ship Nautilus is a testament to American 
ingenuity, courage, and technical prowess. She deserves the greatest 
reverence and continues to serve as a reminder to future generations of 
Americans as she rests alongside modern day nuclear submarines at the 
Naval Submarine Base New London.

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