About The Boat

 

USS NAUTILUS (SSN-571) was the world's first operational nuclear-powered submarine and the first submarine to complete a submerged transit of the North Pole on 3 August 1958.

Her initial commanding officer was Eugene Parks "Dennis" Wilkinson, a widely respected naval officer who set the stage for many of the protocols of today's Nuclear Navy of the US, and who had a storied career during military service and afterwards.

USS NAUTILUS (SSN 571) PatchSharing a name with Captain Nemo's fictional submarine in Jules Verne's classic 1870 science fiction novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and the USS NAUTILUS (SS-168) that served with distinction in World War II, the new nuclear-powered Nautilus was authorized in 1951.

Construction began in 1952, and the boat was launched in January 1954, attended by Mamie Eisenhower, First Lady of the United States, wife of 34th President Dwight D. Eisenhower; it was commissioned the following September into the United States Navy.

Nautilus was delivered to the Navy in 1955.

Because her nuclear propulsion allowed her to remain submerged far longer than diesel-electric submarines, she broke many records in her first years of operation and traveled to locations previously beyond the limits of submarines. In operation, she revealed a number of limitations in her design and construction. This information was used to improve subsequent submarines.

Nautilus was decommissioned in 1980 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1982. The submarine has been preserved as a museum ship at the Submarine Force Library and Museum in Groton, Connecticut, where the vessel receives around 250,000 visitors per year. 

 

Specifications:

 

  • Awarded: 02 AUG 1951
  • Keel Laid: 14 JUN 1952
  • Launched: 21 JAN 1954
  • Commissioned: 30 SEP 54
  • Decommissioned: 03 MAR 80
  • Stricken: 03 MAR 80
  • Builder: General Dynamics, Groton, CT
  • Propulsion system: one STW nuclear reactor
  • Screw: two
  • Length: 320 ft (98 meters)
  • Beam: 28 ft (8.5 meters)
  • Draft: 26 ft (7.9 meters)
  • Displacement, surfaced: approx. 3,533 tons
  • Displacement, submerged: approx. 4,092 tons 
  • Speed: Surfaced: in excess of 15 knots
  • Speed: Submerged: in excess of 20 knots
  • Armament: six 533 mm torpedo tubes
  • Crew: 13 Officers, 92 Enlisted

 

Sources: Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, www.navysite.de, Wikipedia

Share the good stuff, shipmate!

OPSEC Policy

The Cold War Boats Association prohibits the posting of Classified material on the the coldwarboats.org website.

Any documents, photographs, audio or video recordings, or artifacts that are currently considered Classified are not permitted, and will be removed.

Any information that could compromise the operational security of active duty personnel, commissioned ships, or their missions is not permitted, and will be removed.

Access to personally identifiable information (PII) of active-duty service members or information related to the crews of submarines currently in full or limited commission is restricted to administrators only.

Full details of the Cold War Boats Association's Security Policy can be found at: www.coldwarboats.org/security.

Questions and concerns should be directed to the Security Manager at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Copyright Information

 
 
© 2024 Brad Williamson
and/or the
Cold War Boats Association
or respective image owners
 
All Rights Reserved
 
Permission is granted for not-for-profit reproduction
of text and images under the condition that
all attribution as to owner and source is included,
and additionally, when republished electronically, a link to is provided.
 
 

Privacy Policy

The Cold War Boats Association is committed to protecting your personally identifiable information (PII). 

This information, your PII,  includes your email, your street address, your phone number(s), your personal records (such as a DD-214) and various other related information.

Your PII will never be shared, given, sold, or rented. It will not be accessible by others, except by administrators or moderators of the www.coldwarboats.org website as necessary in the performance of their duties.

Your use of the www.coldwarboats.org website is your acknowledgement that these limitations are understood.

Full details of the Cold War Boats Association's Privacy Policy can be found at: www.coldwarboats.org/privacy.

Questions and concerns should be directed to the Privacy Manager at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

0
Shares