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The Brain Behind the Modern Nuclear Navy
The Brain Behind the Modern Nuclear Navy
Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Victor-ny, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
The most important figure in modern nuclear submarines is this man. His name is Admiral Hyman G. Rickover. (1900-1986) His contributions to submarine design are still used today and are a standard feature in all US Navy submarines. Rickover had the reputation for being tough and not handing his "boats" over to any commander. Dubbed "father of the nuclear navy", Rickover literally developed engineering plants in ships that had a longer range without constantly refueling as a Diesel Electric submarine could do.
Coming from Russian occupied Poland, he was denied the opportunity to go to school because of his Jewish family. His only opportunity was at a school where he learned Hebrew 6 days a week from sunrise to sunset and to synagogue on the seventh day. The family arrived in 1906 and he was able to eventually graduate high school and earn an appointment to Annapolis. (US Naval Academy) He Americanized his middle name to George when he took the oath at Annapolis.
To a navy officer, your standing as a cadet at Annapolis meant the type of duty you got later. He did poorly at drilling or military bearing. He was not athletic. He was a bookish midshipman who studied long after his shipmates went to bed at Annapolis. Though he was not allowed to study after lights out, he did. His classmates thought it gave him an unfair advantage as a midshipman. Yet he did overcome obstacles and graduate.
As a result of his experiences, he became a staunch supporter of education. As an officer on the USS Nevada, he excelled. Within a few years he knew the entire electrical system and impressed his commanding officer. He took an interest in the submarine service as a majority of the officers were advancing. He almost didn't get into the submarine division because of his age, but his Commanding Officer on the USS Nevada remembered him and got him in at age 29. (Rockwell, 20-22)
Rickover had the short straw when it came to commands. He was assigned to the submarine S48 which had a poor track record for performance when he got out of Submarine school. This was his first and only submarine he would be assigned to. The submarine had been plagued with electrical motor issues. Instead of looking for another ship, he stayed the course and redesigned the problematic electrical motors. He made the best of all of his assignments and made improvements. As a result of his work, the redesigned motors caused no further trouble aboard. His work inspired him to continue work on developing submarines. It never really stopped. (Rockwell, 25)
Throughout World War II, he encountered various assignments. Rickover went where he was assigned, as all officers do. He worked at Oak Ridge and the US Naval Supply Depot in Mechanicsburg, PA where it took months to ship out parts for the fleet. Rickover had the place cleaned up and it took a few days to ship out parts. He did stints on the Battleships California and USS New Mexico. One of his commands was a run down minesweeper- a ship he fixed up from stem to stern, USS Finch. It was Rickover's only command at sea. He was 3 of 4 commanding officers the ship would have in its commission. (Harris, 354)
End of WWII/ Postwar Career
End of WWII/ Postwar Career
His emphasis was not going to sea, but making machinery that worked to US Navy specifications and not a manufacturer's in one of his earlier assignments. In one instance a manufacturer sent a representative to meet with Rickover because a submarine control panel would not work aboard a submarine. Rickover had plans ready for the manufacturer of what he needed the panel to be and expected it in a month.
His service in WWII complete, he was getting assigned to mediocre duties like declassifying documents, or decommissioning ships. These responsibilities were great because the goal was to take measures to preserve a ship for future use. Among the tasks was ensuring the ships were ready for "mothballing" as it was called. When the commanding officer would arrive, he would not go ashore for liberty. Rickover made them don dungarees and go over their ship. He even went through bilges to make sure that garbage wasn't painted over in the process.
These ships could one day serve again and improperly preserved ships could cost time and money to bring back to service. His drive followed him throughout his career. As a testament to his character, he did what it took to get the goal accomplished. Since he had a low standing at Annapolis, these were the jobs he got. (Rockwell. 31-32)
Adaptability is the quality he had helped him later in life. Constantly challenged, he had to deal with obstacles that would have ended most navy careers. Rickover had to be aggressive to get into the nuclear program. He was someone underutilized by the navy, but had a vision for the future. His duties were not at sea, but they were equally as important in naval warfare. (Rockwell, 22, 23)
Success does have a sense of bravery attached to it. As a Captain, he attended a lecture on nuclear physics and was not able to understand the material. They went over it again and he still couldn't understand the material. An annoyed instructor suggested a tutoring session to help him understand the material. As a result, his classmates showed up for the tutoring session with him. "I am not the only dummy. Just the one with guts to admit it." Though not a perfect person, he did admit to it. Speaking up is the key to accomplishing any task and Rickover understood this well. His willingness to do things to beyond Navy standards is what set him apart, an unlikely innovator and naval officer needed to create a technology to counter the Soviet threat. (Rockwell, 19)
"What it takes to do a job will not be learned from management courses. It is principally a matter of experience, the proper attitude and common sense- none of which can be taught in the classroom. Human experience shows that people, not organizations or management systems, get things done"- Adm. Hyman G. Rickover (Rockwell, 11)
The Spirit That Made a Nation Stronger
The Spirit That Made a Nation Stronger
SGT141, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Rickover also had a way of impressing people. Lord Montbatten was visiting and Rickover thought showing him his concepts of nuclear submarines was more interesting than going to formal receptions. As a result of Rickover's reactions, Lord Mountbatten was delighted at what he saw. Rickover also impressed Princess Sofia of Greece. She had been afraid of flying and Rickover got her in the helicopter and with some talking while in flight, she overcame her fear of flying. She publicly mentioned how he helped her overcome her fear of flying. (Rockwell, 5-6)
An outsider could look at Rickover as an old salt. He was highly educated and an intellectual. His rank deserves the respect due to any Flag Officer. Far from the stereotypical sailor going out and drinking on liberty, Rickover devoted himself to his work. As such, an officer or enlisted submariner under his command had a reason to fear and respect him at the same time. Work and its challenges drove him. Being responsible with developing a new technology required him to be a tough admiral. He had to be because in being a submariner, you can face danger at any point in an unforgiving environment.
As much as 1 minute can determine the difference between the submarine surviving or being lost to the depths below in any submarine- WWII or the present. The initial seconds of responding in that minute determines your fate. A dangerous job to begin with, the priority was working in spaces underwater safely to bring both the crew and the submarine back home. The men and the submarine together. That was important to Rickover. The diesel- electric submarines of WWII were on their way out as they becoming more limited in their use. The idea of a submarine required a makeover and redesign to remain a vital part of the fleet. This meant an alternate, longer enduring propulsion system and relearning how to drive a submarine.
He went on to realize the value of nuclear energy. With fossil fuels being finite, a submarine could stay under water for several months fitted with a nuclear reactor making it more useful in the fleet. Demand was increasing as tensions with the Soviet Union increased. Sputnik was a motivator to answer the Soviet threat. The answer was in a nuclear reactor. His first reactor would not be on a submarine. His first reactor would be in Shippingport, Pennsylvania in order to get an idea of the design needed to successfully install in a submarine. He kept alive the idea of a nuclear submarine when people thought it was not practical. (Rockwell, 1)
Creation of the USS Nautilus
Creation of the USS Nautilus
Right: The launch of the USS Nautilus
Below: USS Nautilus at sea
U.S. Navy photo/Released, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
U.S. Navy photo 80-G-709366, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Rickover was instrumental in developing the first Nuclear Submarine and was ironically called the USS Nautilus, realizing Jules Verne's vision of a Nuclear Powered submarine. A fantasy became a real 300 foot long submarine 28 feet wide. It was a test bed for the new propulsion and Rickover used a diesel electric design for the hull. The older style of hull, however, did not make Nautilus ineffective. She was able to outrun a surface fleet and hide. Admiral Rickover must have been proud in seeing this new submarine prove to be more effective and capable than he realized as it performed the task it was designed to do.
In response to the Soviet satellite, Sputnik in 1957, there was a need for the Nautilus to make a voyage under the North Pole to counter the Soviet threat. It was a dangerous, uncharted maneuver which took 3 tries. This submarine finally made a historic voyage from Pearl Harbor, under the polar ice and North Pole arriving in England in 1958. The Nautilus needed to endure test after test. Nautilus cemented the view that the nuclear submarine was here to stay and Hyman G. Rickover changed submarines forever with his design. So much of what was designed was done on the fly. Rickover oversaw it all.
As a fitting tribute to the man himself, the Nautilus lives on today in Groton, CT not far from where she was built. In keeping with Rickover's standards, new submarines are built at the Electric Boat division of General Dynamics today. At the US Navy Submarine School in New London, CT, a bronze statue of Rickover is outside the classroom. All sailors going in for tests rub his nose with their fingers as a sign of respect and luck.
His presence is still felt long after he died. Rickover did redefine the role of a submariner. He also underscored the importance of hard training. As a result, he didn't just hand over a command to anyone. His recruitment standards were brutal. Rickover had a good sense of who could be a good submariner and who couldn't in a changing, new machine of war.
U.S. Navy, Journalist 3rd Class Wes Eplen, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Above: A US Navy DSRV
Top Right: a control panel aboard the USS Nautilus
Center: The Nautilus preserved as a museum in Groton, CT
Bottom: A Virginia Class submarine.
Image by George Hodan. Image is public Domain
Victor-ny, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Artist's rendering of a Virginia Class Submarine U.S. D.O.D. graphic by Ron Stern. (RELEASED), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Realities of a New Training
The Realities of a New Training
Image by US Navy. Image is Public Domain
Above: Admiral Rickover in a hatch aboard the USS Nautilus.
Below: "Dolphins" are the insignia of a submariner and are worn by both enlisted and officers.
Courtesy United States Navy.
Image is public domain.
Again, as s a new submariner, you still need to react to danger quickly because the sea is the most unforgiving environment which can kill very quickly. New technology, reactors and better accommodations for the crew did not change that notion of danger in any way. As a matter of fact, the dangers increased. The nature of the job requires those in the submarine service to be a different breed than a surface sailor. Submerged, a risk of all ships is made even worse. Fire. There is no 9-1-1 and each submariner must react to the disaster to save the ship and all aboard. A fire can consume all the oxygen in the atmosphere killing all aboard.
Submariners are trained to run to the danger and address it rapidly. It tests character and it also tests human endurance. You need to be able to live within a confined space, living within a machine. Procedure and detail govern the job. Failure to do so could kill you and the rest of your crew. In all of the years of nuclear submarines, we can say we only lost 2 nuclear submarines on patrol. The USS Thresher and USS Scorpion. Their remains on the ocean floor remain a reminder of the dangers of being submariners.
Yet Rickover's designs prevented an environmental disaster and ensured sailors would return home in a program much safer than that of the Soviet Union. It is a testament to the mind of Rickover at work. If something was defective, it got fixed that was the way it was. The responsibility of managing a new technology we barely understood responsibly fell on him.
Rickover helped the modern submarine fleet take shape by changing its role and increasing its responsibility. It also meant changing command structure. Already a weapon of war, you now had two missions you trained for. There was the attack role on smaller attack submarines and the responsibility of nuclear weapons on larger nuclear ballistic missile submarines. The nuclear submarine was the perfect platform to launch missiles and helped to maintain strategic deterrence. It needed to succeed.
Sailors in ballistic missile submarines dealt with nuclear energy in two ways. They have a reactor and upon orders, the launching of missiles containing nuclear warheads to protect our country. It is rehearsed time and time again and every sailor performs the task without fail. As a sailor, you react to and follow the scripted orders you are given without question. Even more so with a submariner. There is no protesting, no pouting, no anger over who did what. You are expected to do your job. Period. All of this is a result of Rickover's strict adherence to protocols.
In closing, Rickover again, was big on the safety of a submarine crew and made sure the reactor was designed in such a way to minimize radiation exposure. Safety was law. During his 63 years of service to the US Navy there were zero reactor accidents as a result of his high standards. He established high benchmarks for quality of submarines. Training was important and he would train crews to safely operate a nuclear reactor.
Rickover could also remove a ship from service if there were defects or incompetent crews aboard. He was a source of controversy for the Navy as he made sure that ships improperly built were repaired properly. He was not afraid to address that with the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics. You needed a leader like him to keep the program running in the right direction. An unlikely hero, he did rock the boat and his contributions to the technology of submarine design are still used today. (Wikipedia)
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