COMMISSIONING OF USS NAUTILUS

Commissioning of USS Nautilus

At Groton, Connecticut, the United States Navy stepped into a new era when USS Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine, was commissioned on September 30th, 1954. Traditional diesel-electric submarines had to surface or snorkel regularly to run their engines, limiting their speed and endurance. Nautilus used a compact nuclear reactor to generate steam and electricity, allowing the boat to remain submerged for far longer distances and at much higher sustained speeds. Within months, her famous message “Underway on nuclear power” captured the imagination of sailors and civilians alike. The ship’s performance at sea proved that nuclear propulsion was not just a laboratory concept but a practical tool of war at sea. Nautilus paved the way for entire classes of attack and ballistic missile submarines that would become central to the United States nuclear deterrent and to its ability to monitor and, if needed, confront adversary fleets across the world’s oceans.