Before the advent of the snorkel, diesel boats had to surface every day for four hours to recharge their batteries. This certainly increased their detection, and hence their vulnerability.

A device for running the engine under water has partially solved this problem.

However, the real breakthrough was the appearance of a nuclear submarine, which could be on a campaign for several months without surfacing.

During the Cold War, the rivalry between the USSR and the United States was on many “fronts”. The rivalry was not only in space, on land or on water, but also under water.

This is what the appearance of the first Soviet nuclear submarine is compared to:Its historical value is no less than that of the manned spacecraft Vostok, on which cosmonaut No. 1 Yuri Gagarin flew, or the cruiser Aurora. ”

Probably, by analogy, one can compare the creation of the first nuclear submarine USS Nautilus (SSN-571) with the flight of American astronauts to the moon. It is even difficult to imagine how the people who went on a hike on this boat for the first time felt. What could be the consequences of radiation on people during a long stay near the reactor. How safe is it. The US Congress project could be either a real triumph or a terrible disaster.

The submarine USS Nautilus (SSN-571) got its name from the famous work of Jules Verne and in honor of another submarine participating in the Second World War USS Nautilus (SS-168)

The construction was supervised by Hyman George Rickover (born Hyman George Rickover, originally Chaim Rickover; January 27, 1900 - July 8, 1986), a four-star admiral of the United States Navy. He is known as the "father of the atomic fleet"

Hayman Rikover was born into a Jewish family in the town of Makov Mazovetsky (part of the Russian Empire, now Poland). After the Jewish pogroms in 1905, the family emigrated to the United States.

In the early years of operation, the nuclear powered submarine set a series of world records.

In response to the Soviet launch of the satellite, President Eisenhower orders the naval forces to try to cross the North Pole submerged. On August 3, 1958, passing under the ice, Nautilus reached the North Pole, becoming the first ship in the history of mankind to pass this point on the Earth on its own.

On January 21, 1954, the United States launched the first nuclear-powered submarine, USS Nautilus (SSN-571).

On August 12, 1957, the first Soviet nuclear submarine "Leninsky Komsomol", originally K-3, was built.

On July 17, 1962, the K-3 submarine passed the point of the North Pole of the Earth.

On May 8, 2002, the submarine USS Nautilus (SSN-571) ended its combat path and retired in the same city where it was first launched on January 21, 1954, the city of Groton, Connecticut. Literally across the street from the naval base that builds submarines, there is a submarine museum.

The boat is now open to the public. The entrance is free. I suggest you take a look inside the legendary submarine.

After passing the torpedo compartment, you find yourself in the officers' mess. Despite the abundance of instruments, the officers' menu was the same as that of the rest of the crew.

Depending on the rank of the officer, the cabins were double or triple.

Only the captain had a separate cabin.

The radio operator.

Office.

Captain's bridge.

Navigator.

The rudders of the submarine are directly under the captain's bridge.

All space is used to the maximum.

A common resting place. An altar, something that you will not see on Soviet submarines.

Food was available every six hours. The submarine menu was the best in the army. Coffee, ice cream available.

Ordinary staff. Cabin for 7 - 6 people.

Through the torpedo compartment to the exit.

In addition to the boat itself, there is also a separate museum of the submarine fleet.

You can sit at the helm.

Comparison of technologies of the past and the future.

Virtual games in the near future.

Range of destruction of missiles.

A means of transportation for fur seals.

Silent spy boats. From the short film, it was possible to understand that colossal funds were spent on the creation of such a boat in the Soviet Union, which also served as one of the many reasons for the collapse of the USSR.

Jules Verne writes to his publisher Etzel:

It is necessary that my unknown did not have the slightest contact with the rest of humanity, from which he is completely separated. He does not live on earth, he does without land. The sea is enough for him, but the sea needs to give him everything, down to clothing and food. He never sets foot on any of the continents ...

The writer decided to place his hero in the depths of the ocean, and for this he needed an underwater ship. This is how the image of the future "Nautilus" began to form. In the 1860s, submarines were already quite famous, they were built in a number of countries and the writer knew about them well enough. So, back in 1862, he saw the construction "In 1867, returning to Paris after a trip to the United States, Verne visited the World Exhibition on the Champ de Mars, where the" Fairy of Electricity ", the project of the future Suez Canal, as well as the technology of the first submarines and spacesuits, many of which the writer later introduced on his fantastic submarine.

It is difficult to determine exactly which submarine served as the final prototype for the Nautilus. So, outwardly, it is very similar to the American submarine "Alligator" (English), launched in 1862. However, in terms of internal equipment, "Nautilus" is closest to the French "

Paris model

It is widely believed that the "Nautilus" was named after the boat of the same name by Robert Fulton, which he demonstrated to the Parisians on the Seine in May 1801. However, in his works, Verne, born in 1828, never mentions his name, especially since Fulton offered his submarines not only to France, but also to her potential enemy - England. Thus, Verne had no reason to name the fictional submarine after the real one. Moreover, the novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea describes the episode when the passengers of the Nautilus observe a flock of nautilus clams (in the novel they are called Argonauts) and compare the clams and their shells with Captain Nemo and his ship. The same episode reveals the meaning of the Nautilus motto - "Mobilis in mobile".

"Nautilus" in the literary works of Jules Verne

Creation

Design

Internal layout

The salon is separated from them by a watertight bulkhead. It is a spacious hall 10 meters long, 6 meters wide and 5 meters high. Powerful lighting lamps are hidden behind the patterned ceiling, designed in the spirit of Moorish vaults. Captain Nemo has set up a real museum of art and the gifts of nature here. The walls are covered with woven wallpaper with a strict pattern. About 30 paintings in identical frames, separated from one another by shields with knightly armor, adorn the walls. Among the masters are: Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Correggio, Titian, Veronese, Murillo, Holbein, Diego Velazquez, Ribeira, Rubens, Teniers, Gerard Dou, Metsu, Paul Potter, Gericault, Prudon, Bachoeisen, Berne, Delacroix, Deacroix Camp, Troyon, Mesogne, Daubigny, while the works of the newfangled masters at that time like the Impressionists are absent. The entire wall between the doors is occupied by a huge harmonium, on which scores by Weber, Rossini, Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Meyerbeer, Herold, Wagner, Aubert, Gounod and many others are scattered. Several marble and bronze copies of antique sculptures are installed in the corners on high pedestals. Along with the works of art, there are natural creations represented by algae, shells and other gifts of ocean fauna and flora. In the middle of the salon, from a giant tridacna, a fountain glows, illuminated from below by electricity. The edges of the shell are gracefully serrated, and its diameter is about 2 meters. Around the shell, the rarest exhibits of ocean waters are arranged by class and labeled in exquisite copper-framed display cases.

After the salon and the second waterproof partition, there is a library building (it is also a smoking room) five meters long. Black rosewood bookcases with bronze inlays are installed along the walls of the room, occupying the entire space from floor to ceiling. A few steps away from the cupboards, there are solid wide sofas upholstered in brown leather, and light mobile book stands are placed near the sofas. There is a large table in the middle of the library. There are 4 frosted glass lamps on the ceiling, and the ceiling itself is decorated with stucco moldings. The Nautilus library has 20 thousand volumes.

Behind the third watertight bulkhead is a small room with a ladder leading to the boat. Next comes another 2-meter-long cabin (the professor's friends lived in it - his servant Conseil and the harpooner Ned Land), followed by a 3-meter galley located between two spacious storerooms. Near the galley there is a comfortable bathroom with hot and cold water taps. After that there is a sailor's cabin 5 meters long.

The fourth watertight bulkhead separates the cockpit from the engine room, which is twenty meters long and is brightly lit. The room consists of two halves: the first contains batteries that generate electrical energy, and the second contains machines that rotate the ship's propeller.

If we consider only the cost of the hull and equipment, then the "Nautilus" at the time of its creation was worth about two million francs, and taking into account the collections and works of art stored in it, at least four or five million francs.

Nautilus at 20 Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

"Nautilus" appears on the very first pages of the novel and almost immediately shows its incredible driving characteristics, overtaking all existing steamships. At first, everyone thinks that this is an animal: it is mistaken for a giant cetacean (narwhal), then for a giant squid. Soon, by chance, three passengers get on board - Professor Aronnax, his servant Conseil and the harpooner Ned Land. They also recognize the name of the ship, and the Nautilus soon shows them its capabilities.

So thanks to him, the heroes were able to see the life of the depths of the sea.

The depths of the sea were brilliantly lit within a one mile radius of the Nautilus. A marvelous sight! What a feather is worthy of describing it! What a brush is capable of depicting all the tenderness of the colorful range, the play of light rays in the transparent sea waters, from the deepest layers to the surface of the ocean!

Subsequently, the author repeatedly describes his admiration for the inhabitants of the depths in their natural environment. In the Sargasso Sea, the Nautilus dives to a depth of 16 kilometers, without any damage.

The Nautilus glided into bottomless depths, despite the enormous pressure of the external environment. I could feel how the clamps of the ship's iron hull creak, how the spacers bend, how the bulkheads tremble, how the glass in the cabin windows seemed to bend inward under the pressure of water. If our ship did not have the resistance of steel, as its commander said, it would, of course, be flattened!

After the heroes on the "Nautilus" make a hike under the ice to the south pole, in the place of which there is a small island, and Nemo hoists his flag on the pole.

"Nautilus" helped its captain make many discoveries, it was thanks to him that Nemo opened a tunnel under the Isthmus of Suez, revealed the secret of La Perouse's death, was able to explore a number of underwater caves and found Atlantis.

At the same time, the Nautilus is showing itself as a battleship. Already at the beginning of the novel, his accidental collision with a passenger ship is mentioned, when the ram pierced the five-centimeter steel with such ease that the ship felt it only as a slight jolt. After this incident, newspapers begin to blame the "giant narwhal" (for whom the Nautilus was initially mistaken) for the death of every ship that disappeared. But only from the second half of the novel, Aronnax and his companions were able to personally see the combat capabilities of the ship. The first, from those described in the novel, the combat use of "Nautilus" is very unusual: Nemo uses it to destroy a flock of sperm whales.

Nautilus in attack

Well, there was a battle! Even Ned Land was delighted and clapped his hands. "Nautilus" in the hands of the captain turned into a formidable harpoon. He chopped into these fleshy carcasses and cut them in half, leaving two bloody chunks of meat behind him. The terrible blows of the tail on his skin were not sensitive to him. The jolts of powerful carcasses - he does not care! Having destroyed one sperm whale, he rushed to another, turned from tack to tack so as not to miss the victim, gave first forward and then reverse, plunged, obedient to the will of the navigator, into the depths, when the animal went under the water, floated up after him to the surface of the ocean , went into a frontal attack or struck from the flank, attacked from the front, from the rear, chopped, cut with his terrible tusk!

What a massacre was going on! What a noise over the ocean waters! What a piercing whistle, what a death throat escaped from the throats of mad animals! Shaken by the blows of mighty tails, the calm ocean waters boiled like a cauldron!

For a whole hour this Homeric massacre went on, where the big-headed people had no mercy. Several times, having united in detachments of ten or twelve individuals, the sperm whales went on the offensive, trying to crush the ship with their carcasses. The wide, toothy jaws, the terrible eyes of the animals darting on the other side of the windows, enraged Ned Land. He showered the bigheads with curses, shook his fist at them. The sperm whales dug their teeth into the iron hull of the submarine like dogs dig into the throat of a hunted boar. But the "Nautilus", by the will of the helmsman, then carried them along into the depths, then brought them to the surface of the waters, despite the enormous weight and mighty grip of the animals.

Also, "Nautilus" shows itself as a "weapon of retaliation", and if in one of the chapters only hints at his battle with the frigate (in this case, one of the sailors is mortally wounded), then towards the end of the novel it is described in detail how he drowns the soldier who is attacking him ship.

Meanwhile, the speed of movement of the "Nautilus" has increased markedly. So he made a run. His entire body shuddered. And suddenly I screamed: "Nautilus" struck, but not as strong as one might expect. I felt the piercing movement of the steel tusk. I heard clanking and grinding. The Nautilus, thanks to the mighty force of its forward drive, passed through the ship's hull as easily as a sailmaker's needle through canvas.

At the end of the novel, in the process of the escape of passengers, "Nautilus" falls into a huge maelstrom - the Malstream, but, as it turns out later in the novel "The Mysterious Island," he managed to get out of it.

Last harbor

Over time, all Nemo's companions died and the captain, who turned 60, was left alone with his ship. He took the Nautilus to one of the harbors, which sometimes served as his anchorage. This harbor was under Lincoln Island. Six years later, when a balloon with travelers from the United States crashed on the island, Nemo tried to swim away, but it turned out that, under the influence of volcanic forces, the basalt rock rose, and the ship could not get out of the underwater cave. The Nautilus was locked up. A few years later, Nemo, feeling his demise, telegraphed the colonists to the Nautilus. After communicating with them, he presented his last request to them:

... I wish the Nautilus was my grave. This will be my coffin. All my friends rest at the bottom of the sea, and I also want to lie there.

The colonists promised to fulfill his request and after the death of Nemo, all doors and hatches on the Nautilus were tightly closed, after which both blow-off valves were opened at the stern. On October 16, 1868, in the Dakkara cave, the "Nautilus" sank under water forever, and on March 9, 1869, after a prolonged eruption of Mount Franklin, the walls of the cave collapsed and the mountain and a significant part of the island were destroyed by the water rushing into the mouth of the volcano. The Nautilus was finally buried under the rubble.

Inaccuracies and absurdities in the description of the ship

Julesvern's description of the Nautilus contains a number of inaccuracies. For example, it is impossible to accurately determine the year the ship was built, since the dates are mixed up in both novels. So in "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" (the action takes place in 1868), Professor Aronnax finds in the library of the ship Joseph Bertrand's book "Fundamentals of Astronomy", published in 1865, from which he concludes that the "Nautilus" was built not earlier than 1865 ... In the novel The Mysterious Island, a balloon with fugitives crashes in 1865, and by that time Nemo had already spent 6 years on the island. It turns out that the "Nautilus" got "tied up" already in 1859, and in 1865 it was locked in a cave. Also in the novel "The Mysterious Island" it is indicated that the "Nautilus" was built after the end of the Sepoy rebellion, that is, not earlier than 1859. From this it follows that the ship sailed in the ocean for less than a year, and Nemo himself spent only 9 years on it, which is much less than the 30 years that engineer Cyrus Smith called.

Of the technical inaccuracies and obvious miscalculations, the following can be mentioned:

"Nautilus" in the works of other authors

In 1993-2002. V. Holbein published a series of books under the general title "Children of Captain Nemo" (also called "Operation Nautilus"). The action of the novels was postponed to 1916, during the First World War, and the main character is the young son of Prince of Dakkar named Michael. The main action takes place on board the Nautilus, but the ship itself, judging by the rare mentions of its design, differs in many respects from the ship from J. Verne's novels. So at Holbein, the Nautilus is equipped with a periscope, which did not exist in 1869, the searchlight is placed on the bow of the ship, and internal combustion engines are used as engines (pumps for supplying fuel are mentioned more than once in the novel). In total, the series includes 12 books, the first of which ("Abandoned Island", "Girl from Atlantis") have already been translated into Russian.

Other submarines in the works of Jules Verne

After "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and "The Mysterious Island" (1875), J. Verne did not return to submarines for a long time. Finally, in 1896, the novel "The Flag of the Motherland" was published, which featured a submarine. Like the Nautilus, its main weapon is a ram, but it is much smaller in size, equipped with a periscope, and the source of electricity is batteries. There is no more detailed description of the submarine in the novel. It is commanded not by a noble captain like Nemo, but by Ker Carraje, a villain who uses a submarine for pirate attacks on ships. Later in the novel, for a while, another submarine appears - "Suord", and then follows a description of the battle of two submarines, which ends with the defeat of the "Suord". At the end of the novel, Ker Carraje and his submarine (which is not called otherwise as a "tug") are killed.

Both novels were published in large circulation and translated into many languages ​​of the world, but they never achieved the popularity of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and "The Mysterious Island", and "Terrible" remained only one of the writer's inventions.

"Nautilus" on the screen

I must say that in a number of the films listed above, "Nautilus" has practically nothing in common with the description of Jules Verne. For example, in 2007 the film “30,000 Leagues Under the Sea” was released, where “Nautilus” is a fantastic huge submarine, outwardly more like the Soviet submarine of Project 941. Roughly the same is the case in the aforementioned film "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" (2003), where the "Nautilus" outwardly strongly resembles a colossal nuclear submarine, is capable of developing tremendous speed and is armed with ballistic missiles.

Also, the ship named "Nautilus" appears in the TV series "Star Trek: Voyager" in the episode "Year to hell" (8th and 9th episodes of the 4th season).

• "The Brandy Family on the Mysterious Island" (1972)
• "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" (1972, 1975, 2002)
• Mysterious Island (1975, 2001)
• Captain Nemo's Underwater Adventures (1975)
• The Great Naval Battle: 20,000 Miles of Love (1981)
• Damu Toraburu Tondekeman (1990)
• Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (1990-1991)
• Willie Fog 2 (1993)
• Space Strikers (1995)
• Johnny Bravo (2000)

"Nautilus" in computer and video games

There is a modification of the game "Far Cry" called "The Mysterious Island" based on the novel of the same name by Jules Verne.

It is noteworthy that the game "Mechanoids 2: War of the Clans" published in 2006 featured a mechanoid named Nautilus. However, the player will never see the Nautilus itself.

"Nautilus" and reality

Initially, the novel “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” was to be called “Captain Nemo”, since the main emphasis in it was placed precisely on the image of the captain, but after J. Verne changed its name, and this played in favor of “Nautilus”. So the name itself draws in the subconscious of readers images of the depths of the sea, the ship itself, and only then - the captain. Thanks to this, as well as the high popularity of the novel, the Nautilus has become one of the most famous submarines in the world.

"Nautilus" and real submarines

The length of "Nautilus" was 70 meters, maximum width - 8 meters, displacement - one and a half thousand tons. His main weapon is a steel ram of enormous hardness, capable of piercing the hull of any ship. He was able to descend to a depth of 16 thousand meters and accelerate under water to 50 knots. And this at a time when real submarines could move under water at a speed of no more than 5 knots and dive to a depth of no more than 25 meters. In addition, none of the real submarines built or only conceived in the drawings had such a powerful, practically inexhaustible "fuel" that the Nautilus was supplied with - electricity. Electricity provides the ship for everyone: it turns the propeller and drives the compressors, illuminates the depths of the ocean and the interior, allows you to cook food and get distilled water. The ship's design includes all the main elements of submarines, the most modern ideas and developments at that time were applied on it, and the method of diving with the help of horizontal rudders is widely used by all modern submarines. The Nautilus even managed to get out of the huge maelstrom, and its reliability is evidenced by the fact that during the entire novel, no technical problems are mentioned. For its time, the Nautilus was an ideal submarine. Nemo even allowed himself to somehow remark:

... in the field of shipbuilding, our contemporaries left not far from the ancients. It took several centuries to discover the mechanical power of steam! Who knows if a second Nautilus will appear even in a hundred years! Progress is moving slowly, Mr. Aronnax!

To which Aronnax replied:

That's right, your ship is a century ahead of its era, if not centuries!

However, soon after the release of the novel, progress in the development of the submarine fleet began to pick up speed. The production of submarines increased, and their design began to improve more and more. Already in 1886, a submarine with an electric engine was launched in England, which was named after the ship of Captain Nemo - "Nautilus". In June 1904, the Popular Mechanics magazine published an article by Verne, "The Future of the Submarine," where he argued that the future lay with mini-submarines, since they would find super-powerful sources of electricity for underwater liners and build a large vessel that could withstand pressure at considerable depths. were, according to the writer, impossible tasks.

In the future, boats will be smaller than they are today, and will be driven by one or two people.

The inability of submarines to sink to the bottom of the ocean is more than covered by the bathyscaphes. So on January 23, 1960, 92 years after the Nautilus sank, the Swiss scientist Jacques Picard and the US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh (eng.) On the Trieste submarine made a record dive to a depth of 11 kilometers into the Mariana Trench and discovered there a highly organized life ...

Modern submarines in displacement surpass Verne's Nautilus dozens of times, they almost caught up in speed (the speed record among submarines is 44.7 knots, set by Soviet nuclear submarines of Project 661), and their crew is more than a hundred people. They also have equipment and weapons that Verne could not even dream of (or refused for one reason or another to equip the Nautilus with them): periscope, sonar, air regeneration units, satellite communications, torpedoes, ballistic missiles and much, much more. ... If in - years. the design of the Nautilus was considered fantastic, but after a little more than a century it turned out to be outdated.

Nevertheless, its design is still popular and finds application in the tourism business. So in 2006, at the exhibition in Dubai, Exomos presented the project of the submarine "Nautilus". The appearance of the submarine is as close as possible to the literary prototype. Its passenger capacity is 10 people, and the maximum diving depth is 30 meters. The cost of the submarine is $ 3 million.

"Nautilus" in culture

The Nautilus could have turned out to be an ordinary fantasy car from the novel, if not for Captain Nemo. Nemo was originally conceived as a Polish revolutionary, cold-bloodedly sinking Russian ships, and the Nautilus was a killing machine. However, Etzel was against such a character and forced the writer to completely remake him. As a result, Nemo from a Pole became a Hindu, from a murderer-avenger - a rebel, a fighter against aggression, as well as a marine scientist. Over time, many of the qualities of Captain Nemo began to unwittingly assign to his ship. The Nautilus ceased to be a killing machine and began to be considered not only a fast submarine, which is subject to all depths, but also a weapon of retaliation, a research laboratory and an underwater hermit's abode. With his help, Nemo not only sank the ships of the aggressors, but also helped the oppressed, and also studied underwater life. The famous marine explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau often compared himself with the heroes of the novel:

"Nautilus" was for its time a perfect design, a technical breakthrough, an ideal submarine, his name became the most popular among submarines. Subsequently, not only submarines were named in his honor, but also other equipment and mechanisms, "Nautilus" became almost a brand. So in 1970 the name "Nautilus" was given to a series of mechanical sports simulators, which radically changed the method of training bodybuilders. The famous rock group "Nautilus Pompilius", although it was named after the mollusk Nautilus (Nautilus Pompilius), but its name was so often associated with the literary "Nautilus" that the soloist - Vyacheslav Butusov, was often called Captain Nemo. In 2003, Rover Computers named its new series of notebooks, the RoverBook Nautilus, after the fantastic submarine. The president of the company commented on the name as follows:

At one time, the ideas outlined in the novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne were truly revolutionary. And in many ways they remain so today.

Also named "Nautilus" is the living space module BA 330 (English), designed by NASA (its first launch into space is scheduled for 2012).

Criticism

Gallery

Notes (edit)

1. Illustration for the first edition of the novel "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" 1869 (artists Newville and Rue)
2. Jules Verne. 20,000 leagues under the sea.
3. E.L.Brandis Next to Jules Verne. - ISBN 5-08-000087-2
4. Induction flow rate meter Nautilus C 2000. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
5. Podmoskovye.ru. Rest in the Moscow region. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
6. HOTEL NAUTILUS - INN BUSINESS CLASS HOTEL. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
7. Diving Center Nautilus. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
8. Diving club "Nautilus". Retrieved March 20, 2009.
9. Nautilus Restaurant (Dinopark). Retrieved March 20, 2009.
10. Vl. Gakov. Captain of the Nautilus.
11. Edouard Lone. In the footsteps of Captain Nemo. French writers. Retrieved January 25, 2009.
12. Shapiro L.S. Nautilus and others. Russian submarine fleet. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
13. It is worth noting that at the end of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, it is the English ship that attacks the Nautilus (this is not indicated directly, but it is hinted rather clearly).
14. Jules Verne. Indian Ocean // 20,000 leagues under the sea.
15. Jules Verne. Mobilis in mobile // 20,000 leagues under the sea.
16. Jules Verne. Part three. Chapter XVI // Mysterious Island.
17. Jules Verne. Some numbers // 20,000 leagues under the sea.
18. Jules Verne. Floating reef // 20,000 leagues under the sea.
19. Jules Verne. Everything on electric energy // 20,000 leagues under the sea.
20. Jules Verne. Black River // 20,000 leagues under the sea.
21. Jules Verne. Hecatomb // 20,000 leagues under the sea.

58 years ago, on January 21, 1954, the nuclear submarine "Nautilus" was launched. It was the first submarine with a nuclear reactor, allowing for months to be in autonomous navigation without lifting to the surface. A new page was opening in the history of the Cold War ...

The idea to use a nuclear reactor as a power plant for submarines originated in the Third Reich. The "uranium machines" that did not consume oxygen (as nuclear reactors were then called) of Professor Heisenberg were intended primarily for the "underwater wolves" of Kriegsmarine. However, the German physicists did not succeed in bringing the work to its logical conclusion and the initiative passed to the United States, which for some time was the only country in the world with atomic reactors and bombs.

In the early years of the Cold War between the USSR and the United States, US strategists thought of long-range bombers as carriers of the atomic bomb. The United States had extensive experience in the combat use of this type of weapon, the American strategic aviation had a reputation as the most powerful in the world, and finally, the territory of the United States was considered largely invulnerable to the enemy's retaliation.

However, the use of aircraft required their basing in close proximity to the borders of the USSR. As a result of the diplomatic efforts undertaken, already in July 1948, the Labor government agreed to the deployment in Great Britain of 60 B-29 bombers with atomic bombs on board. After the signing of the North Atlantic Pact in April 1949, the whole of Western Europe was drawn into the US nuclear strategy, and the number of American bases abroad reached 3400 by the end of the 1960s!

However, over time, the American military and politicians came to understand that the presence of strategic aviation in foreign territories is associated with the risk of a change in the political situation in a particular country, therefore the fleet was increasingly seen as a carrier of atomic weapons in a future war... This trend was finally strengthened after the convincing tests of atomic bombs near the Bikini Atoll.

In 1948, American designers completed the design of a nuclear power plant and began to design and build an experimental reactor. Thus, there were all the prerequisites for the creation of a fleet of nuclear submarines, which not only had to carry nuclear weapons, but also have a nuclear reactor as a power plant.

Construction of the first such boat, named after the fantastic submarine invented by Jules Verne, the Nautilus and designated SSN-571, began on June 14, 1952, in the presence of US President Harry Truman at the Groton shipyard.

On January 21, 1954, in the presence of US President Eisenhower, the Nautilus was launched, and eight months later, on September 30, 1954, it was adopted by the US Navy. On January 17, 1955, the Nautilus went to sea trials in the open ocean, and its first commander, Eugene Wilkinson, broadcasted in plain text: "We are going under the atomic engine."

Apart from the completely new power plant Mark-2, the boat had a conventional design. With a Nautilus displacement of about 4000 tons, a two-shaft nuclear power plant with a total capacity of 9860 kilowatts provided a speed of more than 20 knots. The submerged cruising range was 25 thousand miles with a consumption of 450 grams of U235 per month... Thus, the duration of the voyage depended only on the proper operation of the air regeneration means, food supplies and the endurance of the personnel.

At the same time, however, the specific gravity of the nuclear installation turned out to be very high, because of this, it was not possible to install part of the weapons and equipment provided for by the project on Nautilus. The main reason for the weighting was biological shielding, which includes lead, steel and other materials (about 740 tons). As a result, all the weapons of the "Nautilus" were 6 bow torpedo tubes with 24 torpedo ammunition.

As with any new business, there were some problems. Even during the construction of the Nautilus, and specifically during the tests of the power plant, there was a rupture of the secondary circuit pipeline, through which saturated steam with a temperature of about 220 ° C and under a pressure of 18 atmospheres was supplied from the steam generator to the turbine. Fortunately, this was not the main, but the auxiliary steam line.

The cause of the accident, as it was established during the investigation, was a manufacturing defect: instead of pipes made of high-quality carbon steel grade A-106, pipes made of less durable material A-53 were included in the steam line. The accident prompted American designers to question the advisability of using welded pipes in pressure submarine systems. Elimination of the consequences of the accident and replacement of already installed welded pipes with seamless ones delayed the completion of the Nautilus construction by several months.

After the submarine entered service, rumors began to circulate in the media that the Nautilus personnel had received serious radiation doses due to flaws in the biosecurity design. It was reported that the naval command had to hastily make a partial replacement of the crew, and the submarine had to be docked to make the necessary changes to the protection design. How correct this information is is still not known.

On May 4, 1958, a fire broke out in the turbine compartment on the Nautilus, sailing submerged from Panama to San Francisco. The ignition of the oil-soaked port side turbine insulation was found to have started several days before the fire, but its signs were ignored.

The slight smell of smoke was mistaken for the smell of fresh paint. The fire was discovered only when the presence of personnel in the compartment due to smoke became impossible. There was so much smoke in the compartment that divers in smoke masks could not find its source.

Not finding out the reasons for the appearance of smoke, the commander of the ship gave the order to stop the turbine, surface to periscope depth and try to ventilate the compartment through the snorkel. However, these measures did not help, and the boat was forced to surface to the surface. Enhanced ventilation of the compartment through the open hatch using an auxiliary diesel generator has finally paid off. The amount of smoke in the compartment decreased, and the crew managed to find the place of the fire.

Two sailors in anti-smoke masks (there were only four such masks on the boat) with the help of knives and pliers began to tear off the smoldering insulation from the turbine housing. A column of flame about a meter high escaped from under a torn piece of insulation. Foam fire extinguishers were used. The flames were brought down and the stripping work continued. People had to be changed every 10-15 minutes, as the acrid smoke even penetrated the masks. Only four hours later, all insulation from the turbine was removed and the fire was extinguished.

After the boat arrived in San Francisco, its commander carried out a number of measures aimed at improving the ship's fire safety. In particular, the old insulation was removed from the second turbine. The entire personnel of the submarine were provided with self-contained breathing apparatus.

In May 1958, during the preparation of the Nautilus for the voyage to the North Pole on a boat, the main condenser of the steam turbine unit was flowing. Outboard water seeping into the condensate-feed system could cause salinization of the secondary circuit and lead to the failure of the entire power system of the ship.

Repeated attempts to find the place of the leak did not lead to success, and the commander of the submarine made an original decision. After the arrival of the Nautilus in Seattle, seamen in civilian clothes - the preparation of the campaign was kept in strict secrecy - bought all the proprietary liquid for filling car radiators in automobile stores in order to stop the leak.

Half of this liquid (about 80 liters) was poured into the condenser, after which there was no problem of condenser salinization either in Seattle or later during the hike. Probably, the leak was in the space between the double tube sheets of the condenser and stopped after filling this space with the self-hardening mixture.

On November 10, 1966, during a NATO naval exercise in the North Atlantic, the Nautilus, which was attacking in a periscope position on the American aircraft carrier Essex (displacement 33,000 tons), collided with it. As a result of the collision, the aircraft carrier received an underwater hole, and the fence of the retractable devices was destroyed on the boat. Accompanied by the destroyer, the Nautilus reached the naval base in the American New London at a speed of about 10 knots, covering a distance of about 360 miles.

On July 22, 1958, the Nautilus, under the command of William Andersen, sailed from Pearl Harbor in order to reach the North Pole. It all began with the fact that at the end of 1956, the chief of staff of the Navy, Admiral Burke, received a letter from Senator Jackson. The senator was interested in the possibility of nuclear submarines operating under the pack ice of the Arctic.

This letter was the first sign that made the command of the American fleet seriously think about organizing a campaign to the North Pole. True, some of the American admirals considered the idea reckless and were categorically against it. Despite this, the commander of the submarine forces of the Atlantic Fleet considered the polar campaign a matter of course.

Anderson began to prepare for the upcoming march with triple zeal. On the "Nautilus" special equipment was installed, which made it possible to determine the state of the ice, and a new compass MK-19, which, unlike conventional magnetic compasses, operated at high latitudes. Before the hike, Anderson got hold of the freshest maps and directions with the depths of the Arctic and even made an air flight, the route of which coincided with the planned route of the Nautilus.

On August 19, 1957, the Nautilus headed for the area between Greenland and Svalbard. The first test exit of the submarine under the pack ice was unsuccessful... When the echometer recorded zero ice thickness, the boat tried to surface. Instead of the expected ice-hole, the Nautilus met a drifting ice floe. From a collision with it, the boat severely damaged the only periscope, and the commander of the "Nautilus" decided to go back to the edge of the packs.

The warped periscope was repaired in field conditions. Anderson was rather skeptical about the way stainless steel welders work - even in ideal factory conditions, such welding required a lot of experience. Nevertheless, the crack formed in the periscope was repaired and the device began to work again.

The second attempt to reach the pole did not bring any results either.... A couple of hours after the Nautilus crossed the 86th parallel, both gyrocompasses went out of order. Anderson decided not to tempt fate and gave the order to turn - in high latitudes, even a tiny deviation from the correct course could be fatal and lead the ship to a foreign shore.

At the end of October 1957, Anderson gave a small talk at the White House, which he devoted to a recent trip under the Arctic ice. The report was listened to with indifference, and William was disappointed. The stronger was the desire of the commander of the "Nautilus" to go to the Pole again.

Considering this voyage, Anderson prepared a letter to the White House, in which he convincingly argued that the crossing of the Pole would become a reality as early as next year. The presidential administration made it clear that the Nautilus commander can count on support. The Pentagon also became interested in the idea. Shortly thereafter, Admiral Burke reported on the impending campaign to the president himself, who reacted to Anderson's plans with great enthusiasm.

The operation was to be carried out in an atmosphere of strict secrecy - the command was afraid of another failure. Only a small group of people in the government knew about the details of the campaign. To conceal the true reason for the installation of additional navigation equipment on the Nautilus, it was announced that the ship was participating in joint training maneuvers along with the Skate and Hufbeek boats.

June 9, 1958 "Nautilus" set off on her second polar voyage... With Seattle far behind, Anderson ordered that the submarine's number on the cockpit fence be painted over to maintain anonymity. On the fourth day of the journey, the Nautilus approached the Aleutian Islands.

Knowing that he would have to go further in shallow water, the ship's commander ordered the ascent. The Nautilus maneuvered in this area for a long time - looking for a convenient gap in the chain of islands in order to get to the north. Finally, navigator Jenkins discovered a fairly deep passage between the islands. Having overcome the first obstacle, the submarine entered the Bering Sea.

Now "Nautilus" had to slip through the narrow and ice-covered Bering Strait. The path to the west of St. Lawrence Island was completely covered by pack ice. The draft of some icebergs exceeded ten meters. They could easily crush the Nautilus, pushing the submarine to the bottom. Despite the fact that a significant part of the path was covered, Anderson gave the order to follow the opposite course.

The Nautilus commander did not despair - perhaps the eastern passage through the strait would be more welcoming to rare guests. The boat emerged from the Siberian ice and headed south from St. Lawrence Island, intending to sail into deep waters past Alaska. The next few days of the campaign passed without incident, and on the morning of June 17, the submarine reached the Chukchi Sea.

And then Anderson's bright expectations collapsed. The first alarming signal was the appearance of an ice floe of nineteen meters thickness, which went directly to the submarine. A collision with it was avoided, but the recorders of the instruments warned: an even more serious obstacle was on the way of the boat.

Cuddling to the very bottom, "Nautilus" slipped under a huge ice floe at a distance of only one and a half meters from it. Death was avoided only by a miracle. When the pen of the recorder finally went up, indicating that the boat missed the ice floe, Anderson realized: the operation had failed completely ...

The captain sent his ship to Pearl Harbor. There was still hope that at the end of summer the ice boundary would move to deeper regions, and one more attempt could be made to get to the pole. But who will give permission for it after so many failures?

The reaction from the top US military department was immediate - Anderson was summoned to Washington for an explanation. The commander of the "Nautilus" behaved well and showed tenacity. His report to senior Pentagon officers expressed his firm belief that the next, July, campaign will undoubtedly be crowned with success. And he was given another chance.

Anderson immediately took action. To monitor the ice situation, he sent his navigator Jenks to Alaska. For Jenks, a legend was written according to which he was a Pentagon officer with special powers. Arriving in Alaska, Jenks lifted into the air almost all the patrol aircraft, which daily conducted observations in the area of ​​the future route of the "Nautilus". In mid-July, Anderson, who was still at Pearl Harbor, received the long-awaited news from his navigator: the ice situation became favorable for the transpolar crossing, the main thing is not to miss the moment.

On July 22, a nuclear submarine with erased numbers left Pearl Harbor... The Nautilus was going at maximum speed. On the night of July 27, Anderson took the ship out to the Bering Sea. Two days later, having covered the 2900-mile route from Pearl Harbor, the Nautilus was already cutting through the waters of the Chukchi Sea.

On August 1, the submarine sank under the Arctic pack ice, in places sinking into the water to a depth of twenty meters. Placing the Nautilus underneath them was not easy. Almost all the time, Anderson himself was on watch. The crew of the ship was excited about the upcoming event, which they wanted to celebrate properly. Some, for example, suggested describing twenty-five small circles around the pole. Then "Nautilus" could enter the Guinness Book of Records as the ship, the first in the history of navigation, made 25 voyages around the world in one voyage.

Anderson rightly believed that such maneuvers were out of the question - the likelihood of straying off course was too high. The Nautilus commander was worried about completely different problems. In order to cross the pole as accurately as possible, Anderson did not take his eyes off the indicators of the electronic navigation devices. On August 3, at twenty-three hours and fifteen minutes, the goal of the campaign - the North Geographic Pole of the Earth - was achieved.

Without staying in the pole area longer than was required by collecting statistical information on the state of ice and sea water, Anderson sent the submarine to the Greenland Sea. The Nautilus was to arrive in the Reykjavik area, where a secret meeting was to take place. The helicopter, which was waiting for the submarine at the rendezvous point, removed only one person from the submarine - Commander Anderson.

Fifteen minutes later, the helicopter landed in Keflavik, next to a transport plane ready for departure. When the wheels of the plane touched the landing track of the airfield in Washington, Anderson was already waiting for a car sent from the White House - the president wanted to see the commander of the Nautilus. After the report on the operation, Anderson was again returned to the boat, which during this time managed to reach Portland. Six days later, the Nautilus and its commander entered New York with honor. A military parade was held in their honor ...

On March 3, 1980, after 25 years of service, the Nautilus was expelled from the fleet and declared a National Historic Landmark. Plans were made to convert the submarine to a museum for public display. Upon completion of the decontamination and a large amount of preparatory work, on July 6, 1985, the Nautilus was towed to Groton, Connecticut. Here, at the US Submarine Museum, the world's first nuclear-powered submarine is open to the public.

On March 6, 1916, the laying of the newest submarine USS O-12 (SS-73) took place at the Lake Torpedo Boat Company shipyard in Bridgeport. In the foreseeable future, this ship was supposed to become part of the submarine forces of the US Navy and start solving combat missions. It is unlikely that at that moment someone could have assumed that in many years the submarine preparing for disposal will undergo repairs, receive a new name and set off on a unique journey. However, this is exactly what happened. Under a new name, the Nautilus submarine helped scientists conduct a number of important research.

Recall that the USS O-12 submarine was built according to the O-class Group 2 project, developed by Lake Torpedo Boat under the leadership of Simon Lake. This project was in addition to a second similar development from Electric Boat. It was planned to build 10 submarines of the "first sub-series" from Electric Boat, and the second project was to give the fleet six ships. The O-12 became the second submarine in its sub-series. She was laid down in early March 1916 and launched at the end of September 1917. In October of the following year, the boat officially entered the US Navy.

Submarine USS O-12 during restructuring and modernization.

O-series submarines of the "second group" were single-hull ships with a diesel-electric power plant, equipped with sufficiently powerful engines. The armament consisted of four 457-mm torpedo tubes, placed in pairs in the bow and stern. Ammunition included eight torpedoes - two for each device. In addition, an artillery mount with a 76-mm rifled anti-aircraft gun was located on the deck. The submarines of the project were distinguished by rather high technical characteristics, although they were not devoid of some shortcomings, the correction of which has been the industry for a long time.

In November 1918 a squadron of submarines, including several ships of the "O" type of the first sub-series, were sent to the shores of Europe to participate in the First World War. Soon, new submarines could join this connection, including the O-series, created by S. Lake and his colleagues. However, the Armistice of Compiegne led to the abandonment of these plans. Soon the entire second sub-series of boats was transferred to the category of training boats. In addition, some of them were used as experimental ships to test certain promising communication systems, weapons, etc.

In the course of operation and numerous repairs, the fleet and industry managed to get rid of a significant number of the shortcomings of the existing equipment, but this still did not allow achieving the desired results. In June 1924, the command ordered the withdrawal of all existing O-class Group 2 submarines from the fleet. In the foreseeable future, this equipment was planned to be finally written off and sent for recycling. At the same time, the implementation of such plans was noticeably delayed. The order to write off the submarines was signed only in May 1930. Shortly thereafter, five submarines were sold for scrap. The sixth, in turn, got a second chance.

The scheme of the boat after modernization.

Back in the late twenties, Australian explorer George Hubert Wilkins conceived another expedition to the Arctic. He already had some experience in the region and even led a team that flew through the Arctic regions. Now the scientist suggested exploring the Arctic not from the air or from the surface of the ice, but from under the water. British millionaire Lincoln Ellsworth liked the bold idea of ​​an underwater polar expedition and agreed to finance the project. The project later became known as the Wilkins-Ellsworth Expedition. The second sponsor was William Randolph Hirst, an American newspaper publisher with a direct interest in sensational news from the Arctic.

One of the main tasks of the organizers of the expedition in the early stages of preparation was the search for a vehicle capable of transporting scientists under the ice of the Arctic Ocean without any problems and delivering them to the North Pole. Having learned about the preparation for the trip, the American designer Simon Lake offered his services to the researchers. For reasons of economy and speeding up the preparation of the expedition, he proposed not to build a new submarine, but to get by with the existing one. According to the ideas expressed, the multipurpose submarine Defender, built back in 1907, was to become the expedition's transport.

This submarine had a gasoline-electric power plant, and was also equipped with torpedo tubes and the means of ensuring the work of divers, traditional for S. Leik's early submarines. At one time, the Defender boat could not interest potential customers, which is why it remained in a single copy, which was owned by the developer company. After repair and modernization, it could be used in a new scientific expedition. The proposed renovation project involved the installation of more powerful engines, modern communication systems and special scientific equipment.

The submarine after the completion of the modernization.

In 1928 J.H. Wilkins, L. Ellsworth and S. Lake agreed to begin the restoration and renovation of Defender. For some objective reasons, this work was seriously delayed and was not completed until the spring of 1930, when the organizers of the expedition made a new important decision. Having studied the available opportunities and prospects, they decided to use another submarine. The already partially modernized vessel Defender was sent to suck again.

On May 29, 1930, the United States Navy officially decommissioned and put up for sale all the O-class Group 2 submarines that remained in stock. It was assumed that buyers would immediately send the equipment for cutting. This was the case with five boats, while the sixth was leased by the newly founded Lake and Danenhower, led by Simon Lake and Sloan Danenhower. The fleet agreed to the unexpected proposal, but put forward its demands. In accordance with the signed agreement, the submarine USS O-12 (SS-73) was leased for a period of five years for a fee of $ 1 annually. The tenant received the right to carry out any necessary modernization that did not imply the military use of equipment. At the end of the lease term, the boat should be returned to the fleet or sunk at a depth of at least 1200 feet (more than 370 m).

The decommissioned submarine was transferred to the S. Lake plant to perform all the required work. Already at the very early stages of the repair, the organizers of the expedition were able to personally find out why the fleet had decided to write off the submarine several years earlier. There were numerous fatigue defects in metal structures, including cracks in engines and transmission components. The electrical lines needed to be replaced, and the damage to the felling led to increased risks. All identified shortcomings had to be eliminated. At the same time, the elimination of individual problems was not possible due to the excessive complexity. As a result, in some cases the repairmen used palliative measures, realizing, however, that they were insufficient.

"Nautilus" at sea.

In addition to repairing and replacing unusable units, the boat underwent a noticeable restructuring. So, on top of a solid hull, it was now proposed to install a superstructure of a new design. Its bow at the top narrowed and was equipped with a 12-foot (3.65 m) ice-cutter beam. In this regard, the new superstructure was higher than the base one. In the center of the hull, a small deck remained, from which a lower deckhouse protruded. The additional volumes that appeared inside the superstructure were used to accommodate some additional equipment, from hatches to the outside to drilling systems.

By the time the modernization began, the O-12 submarine was not in a good condition of the power plant, but the replacement of the engines was considered inappropriate. For the installation of new diesel and electric motors, it was required to disassemble part of a strong case, which could lead to a delay in work and an increase in their cost. At the same time, it was obvious that, together with the existing engines, the boat would retain certain technical and operational problems.

Before and after modernization, it was proposed to use two diesel engines from Busch Sulzer with a capacity of 500 hp for movement on the surface. each. For underwater movement, two Diehl engines with a power of 400 hp were responsible, which received energy from a storage battery with 60 cells. A simple transmission remained, connecting the engines with two propeller shafts.

In accordance with the requirements of the lessor, the submarine, during the modernization, lost all existing torpedo tubes and related equipment, including racks for additional ammunition. The released volumes were used to accommodate scientific equipment for various purposes. Together with the old superstructure, the gun mount was removed from the boat. Considering the limited size of the available sturdy hull, the removal of the torpedo tubes was very useful for a future expedition.


View of the boat from above.

According to J.H. Wilkins, the submarine had to overcome a significant part of the planned route under water. To do this, she needed a number of special equipment that had not previously been used on serial submarines. S. Lake's company designed and installed a special drilling device on the O-12. It was a telescopic tube with an electric saw at the top. With its help, the crew could make a shaft of sufficiently large diameter in the ice, up to 13-15 feet long (more than 4 m). The installation with electric drives could be used not only for drilling, but also for reaching the ice surface. In addition, it could be used as a gateway for divers. The use of a new snorkel and exhaust pipe was also proposed. With their help, the ship could start diesel engines not only under water, but also under ice.

The trip under the ice cover was associated with significant navigational difficulties. To simplify the calculation of the distance covered, the boat was equipped with a counter of the original design. On a special retractable support there was a trolley, the wheels of which were mechanically connected to the indicator. It was assumed that the cart would move along the lower surface of the ice and measure the distance traveled.

A significant part of the free volume was given to a full-fledged scientific laboratory with all the special equipment. With the help of the available instruments, the crew could take various samples and examine them, conduct observations, etc.

After the modernization, the main dimensions of the submarine have not changed. The length reached 53 m, the width was a little more than 5 m.The draft was 4-4.25 m.In the surface position, the displacement was 499 tons, underwater - 575 tons.The available engines made it possible to reach speeds of up to 14 knots on the surface and up to 11 knots at a depth ... With over 70 thousand liters of fuel on board, the submarine could sail up to 5500 nautical miles on diesel. The batteries lasted 250 miles. The working depth remained the same - 61 m.

One of the inner compartments.

On March 24, 1931, the modernized submarine was again launched. During the ceremony, she also received a new name. In honor of the central "character" of the famous book by Jules Verne, the research submarine was named Nautilus. It is noteworthy that the relatives of the French writer were invited to the ceremony. An interesting feature of the ceremony was the use of an ice bucket instead of the traditional bottle of champagne. The reason for this was the existing "dry law", which did not spare even shipbuilding.

The research submarine was to be operated by a specially formed crew of 20 people. The crew included both submariners with experience of service in the naval forces, as well as scientists of various specialties. The boat was commanded by Sloan Danenhower, a colleague of S. Lake in the development of the project and the second founder of the company that carried out the modernization. It is interesting that S. Danenhower's father participated in the polar expedition of the USS Jeannette in 1879-81.

After the completion of the modernization "Nautilus" passed the necessary tests. Among other things, the performance of the rig and the new air supply was tested. After all the necessary checks, the submarine could be sent to the place where the research expedition began.

Demonstration of the drilling rig.

On June 4, 1931, the Nautilus boat left the port of New York and sailed to British Plymouth. It was driven by a reduced crew of 14 people. The remaining scientists were to board only in Norway. According to the original plans, after restocking and a short preparation, the submarine was supposed to go to the North Pole. The culmination of the scientific project was to be a meeting with the German airship Graf Zeppelin right at the pole. However, even before the expedition began, problems arose, due to which the research program and route were seriously changed.

On their way to the UK, scientists were caught in a storm. Attempts to cope with the elements led to a breakdown of the diesel power plant. The boat had to drift. Soon she was found and towed to the port of Cork Harbor in the south of Ireland. On June 22, the boat moored in an Irish port and charged its batteries, allowing it to continue operating some systems. However, she could not continue on her own. Soon the warship USS Wyoming (BB-32) took the submarine in tow and delivered it to Plymouth. Repairs were carried out there, during which it was possible to restore the technical readiness of all elements of the power plant.

Only at the end of July "Nautilus" again went to sea and went to the Pole. The submarine was sailing along the Norwegian coast, the first purpose of the trip was Bergen, where it was planned to replenish the crew with scientists who had reached there by other means. On August 11, the boat arrived in Tromso, where it had to stop for a day for repairs. On the way, the submariners got into a storm, as a result of which their ship lost part of the superstructure and external units. I urgently had to look for spare parts and carry out repairs. Refueling was carried out simultaneously with the repair. On August 12, the submarine left Tromsø and two days later reached the pack ice.

Researchers go out onto the ice through a drilling rig.

The next few days J.H. Wilkins and his colleagues have done various studies on the ice surface. For more than a week, scientists measured the temperature of water, ice and air, took samples and collected various scientific data. On August 22, it was decided to make a test dive and determine the possibility of continuing the journey in accordance with the previously drawn up plans.

The attempt to go under water was unsuccessful: certain problems were recorded. The diver examined the submarine and returned with bad news. Somewhere on the way to the Arctic Ocean, the submarine lost its stern horizontal rudders. It was not possible to establish where and when the Nautilus was left without important details, but Wilkins and Danenhower suspected sabotage. Despite the lack of rudders, the crew found an opportunity to dive and tried to descend under the ice. It was found that the submarine is quite capable of solving the assigned tasks, albeit with serious limitations.

Due to the coming autumn and worsening weather conditions, the airship's ability to fly to the North Pole was lost. The leadership of the underwater expedition, having learned about this, decided to continue the campaign even without the possibility of meeting with the pilots. On August 31, the submarine reached 82 ° north latitude - not a single ship had gone further before. At the same time, the technical condition of the boat left much to be desired, and the crew doubted the possibility of continuing the expedition.

Drilling rig prior to installation on a submarine.

Moving north, the Nautilus faced new and new challenges. The boat lost its stern rudders, and the damaged superstructure devices could not perform their functions. There were small leaks in the hull. The lack of heating systems was a big problem. At first, the crew had to endure only the cold, but then a new problem arose. Due to low ambient temperatures, fresh water froze in the onboard lines. The expedition leaders considered it undesirable to continue the journey due to the high risks.

About his decision J.H. Wilkins reported "to the mainland," but soon received a response. W.R. Hirst, who sponsored the work, directly and clearly indicated, almost turning to threats: if the crew does not get to the North Pole, then they will not be paid the promised bonus. Wilkins and Danenhower decided to continue their journey. However, this decision soon led to new problems.

Due to the lack of horizontal rudders, we had to dive in an unusual way. Simultaneously with the filling of the ballast tanks, the boat headed to the edge of the ice and went to depth, resting on the ice with a bow beam. This made it possible to go under the ice, but at the same time it led to damage to some external units. In particular, the submarine was left without radio antennas. It should be noted that even with such unusual methods of diving, the Nautilus became the first submarine in history that managed to sink under the ice of the Arctic.

Over the next few days, the submarine did not get in touch, which became a cause for concern for those who remained on the shore. The organizers of the expedition began to prepare for the rescue operation. Fortunately, the submariners soon managed to find the wormwood, fix the antennas and get in touch.

Nautilus before setting out on its only voyage.

On September 6, the submarine returned to open water and sailed to Bergen, where it arrived on the 20th. All 20 submariners reached the coast. During the expedition, a large amount of various data was collected about the region, the state of ice, weather conditions, etc. The Wilkins-Ellsworth Expedition made a major contribution to the study of the Arctic region. Nevertheless, not without unpleasant consequences. W.R. Hirst considered the expedition unsuccessful and refused to pay the promised bonus to the researchers.

In accordance with the terms of the contract with the US Navy, the organizers of the expedition, upon the expiration of the lease term, had to return the submarine or sink it. By the end of the expedition, the condition of the vessel, to put it mildly, left much to be desired. Crossing the Atlantic to the United States was not possible. In this regard, on the last day of autumn 1931, the no longer needed submarine was towed to one of the fjords near Bergen and sent to the bottom three miles from the coast. The submarine sank at a depth of 347 m - slightly less than the contract with the lessor required.

In 1981, Norwegian divers managed to establish the exact place of the sinking of the Nautilus. At the same time, no action was taken, although a new point appeared on the maps. In the middle of the decade, a group of enthusiastic scientists from several countries, having the opportunity to survey the seabed, organized their own expedition called Project Nautilus 2005. With the help of the manned deep-sea vehicle JAGO, the researchers descended to the location of the submarine and began to study it. For four dives, 1,800 photographs were taken and 8 hours of video were filmed. Later, these materials were transferred to the Bergen Maritime Museum.

The Nautilus at Plymouth, July 1931

Observations have shown that the submerged submarine, despite several decades of being on the seabed, remains in fairly good condition. Under the rust and shellfish, we were able to see the characteristic features of the boat, such as a bow ice cutter, a drilling rig, etc. It was not possible to study the stern and the location of the horizontal rudders, since they were under the layer of bottom sediments.

The collected photo and video materials were transferred to the Bergen Museum, and some of them were soon included in the exhibition. In addition, the possibility of lifting the submarine was considered, followed by restoration and placement in the exhibition hall. Nevertheless, such plans are associated with a host of technical and economic difficulties. As a result, the Nautilus submarine still remains at the bottom and is unlikely to be able to move to a museum in the foreseeable future.

It is known that Simon Lake took up the development of submarines under the influence of the novel "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea." He believed that such a technique could find a wide variety of applications, primarily in research and development. His first submarines did indeed participate in experimental and scientific projects, but they were never involved in truly serious work in these areas. Only the production boat O-12, originally carrying torpedo weapons and built for the US Navy, became a full-fledged research vessel involved in a real expedition. After serious modernization and alteration, as well as after changing the name of the submarine, taking scientists on board, went to the Arctic. Despite numerous problems, the boat and its crew successfully completed the assigned tasks and made a great contribution to the study of the region. An old dream of S. Lake was fulfilled - his equipment served not only the military, but also science.

Of course it was called "Nautilus" - this is the name of the submarine of Captain Nemo, whose adventures Jules Verne described in his science fiction novel "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea". The American Nautilus was the first nuclear-powered submarine in the world. She was launched on January 21, 1954 in the United States. Later "Nautilus" came to mean a certain class of American submarines.

One interesting story is connected with Nautilus - on August 3, 1958, after about 100 hours of sailing, having covered 3400 km, the first submarine reaches the North Pole. Submariners go under the endless ice of the Arctic at a depth of about one hundred meters. But such work required years of preparation and Nautilus was able to reach him only on the fifth attempt. For the first time in the history of the submarine fleet on August 3, 1958, a submarine crosses the North Pole and returns to the shores of Greenland.

These were the years of a continuous technological race during the Cold War, when the Americans were in a hurry to rehabilitate themselves because of the Sputnik launched by the USSR. In 1957, he became the first man-made vehicle sent into space. It was not important to overtake the Soviet Union in those years it was a matter of honor for America.

Thus, the US military took first place in the underwater race, although the Soviet Union has always officially denied the passage of the Nautilus in its territorial waters of Siberia.

Nautilus set several records for submarines in his time. One of the main ones is continuous scuba diving for more than 90 hours at a cruising speed of 20 knots. Nautilus covered 1213 miles (2250 kilometers) during this time. The boat was on alert until 1972, then it was used for training purposes. On July 6, 1985, the Nautilus was converted into a museum of the US Navy's submarine forces. Those wishing to see it can in the harbor of Groton, located in Connecticut.

Atomic energy.

In December 1938, when the whole world looked with alarm at the aggressive aspirations of fascism, German physicists O. Hahn and F. Strassmann discovered the fission of uranium nuclei as a result of their bombardment with neutrons, and at the beginning of 1939 the Austrian physicist L. Meitner gave correct interpretation of the experiments of Hahn and Strassmann, for the first time introduced the concept of "nuclear fission" for this.

Much has been written about the history of nuclear power, so we will not repeat ourselves. We only recall that under the leadership of the outstanding Italian physicist Enrico Fermi, who emigrated to the United States, on December 2, 1942, a controlled chain reaction of uranium fission was carried out for the first time. This is a well-known fact, in contrast to some of the events that preceded it ...

As early as March 17, 1939, Fermi was invited to Washington and at a meeting attended by scientists and officers of the US Navy, he spoke in detail about the opportunities that a controlled nuclear fission reaction opens up for power engineering. The meeting was attended by a man who immediately seized on this idea in relation to submarine shipbuilding. It was the physicist of the US Navy Research Laboratory, Dr. R. Gunn. Within a few days following Fermi's information, Gann, with the support of the leadership of the Marine Engineering Directorate (now the Directorate of Shipbuilding), attempted to obtain funds for the deployment of work on the creation of a nuclear power plant (NPP) for a submarine, but failed. Most of the scientific authorities of the army and navy did not share the opinion about the need for work in the field of naval nuclear power and believed that all efforts of science and the US economy should be focused exclusively on the creation of the atomic bomb. The report presented on November 1, 1939 to President F. Roosevelt, which, in particular, said:

... When uranium atoms fission, a huge amount of heat is released. If the chain reaction is managed in such a way that it develops gradually, it can obviously be used as a constant source of energy for submarines, thus avoiding the need for large storage batteries.

Only in November 1944, representatives of the US Navy were able to convince the committee, created to develop recommendations for the post-war development of atomic energy, of the need to create nuclear submarines (PLA). In December 1945, an extensive program for the construction of submarines was developed, proposals for the implementation of which in April 1946 were submitted by the US Navy Research Laboratory to the Directorate of Shipbuilding. It was recommended, in particular, to concentrate efforts on the creation of naval nuclear reactors of two types: on slow and intermediate neutrons, using water and liquid metal as a coolant.

The operation of nuclear power plants is based on the transformation of nuclear energy into mechanical energy by using an atomic reactor as a heat source, due to which water is converted into steam. Thus, an analogy between a reactor and a steam boiler of a steam power plant is appropriate, but with the difference that steam in the boiler is generated as a result of burning fossil fuel, and in a nuclear power plant - due to the heat released during the fission of nuclear fuel in the reactor. The fundamental advantage of nuclear power plants stems from the huge concentration of nuclear energy in matter in comparison with the concentration of chemical energy in organic fuel. So, if during the combustion of one kilogram of diesel fuel about 42 MJ of heat is released, then the same amount of nuclear fuel gives two million times more heat. At the same time (which is especially important), the NPP does not need the supply of atmospheric air or other oxidizing agent, without which no thermal engine operating on fossil fuel can do.

AEU consists of two circuits. The water in the primary circuit, heated in the reactor core, enters the steam generators, where it gives off heat to the water in the secondary circuit, converting it into steam, which is supplied to the steam turbine section, which is not much different from those used in conventional ship steam power plants. Thus, in a nuclear power plant of the type under consideration, the coolant is water, and the working fluid is water vapor.

Work on the creation of submarines was carried out at an accelerated pace. In 1948, the NPP project was completed and a contract was signed for the design and construction of an experimental reactor, and in August 1949 the tactical and technical data of the first submarine were approved, which was laid down in June 1952 at the Groton shipyard and named Nautilus... January 21, 1954 in the presence of US President Eisenhower Nautilus was launched, and on January 18, 1955 he went out for tests and the commander broadcasted in plain text "We are going under the atomic engine."

Nuclear submarine Nautilus

With a displacement Nautilus 3764/4040 t twin-shaft NPP with a total capacity of 9860 kW provided a speed of 20/23 knots. The submerged cruising range was 25 thousand miles with a consumption of 450 g of 235U per month. Thus, the duration of the voyage practically depended only on the proper operation of the means of air regeneration, the reserves of the crew's vital products and the endurance of the personnel.

The experience of creating the first submarine revealed many questions. The specific gravity of the nuclear power plant was very high - about 80 kg / kW, because of this, Nautilus it was not possible to establish part of the weapons and equipment envisaged by the project. The low specific mass indicators of the NPP are explained by the constructive specifics of its steam generating part, the mass of which is Nautilus accounted for about 85% of the mass of the entire nuclear power plant.

The main reason for making the installation heavier is biological shielding, which includes lead, steel and other materials. In this regard, another complication arises. Such a large mass (about 740 tons), concentrated in one compartment, is very difficult to reconcile with the geometry and mass of the submarine as a whole, which, after being equipped with all the standard loads, should not have a roll and trim.

In 1957, the second submarine was built in the USA. Seawulf with a displacement of 3765/4200 tons, the reactor of which operated on intermediate neutrons, and liquid sodium was used as a coolant - a metal with a very low melting point. Molten sodium circulated in the first loop of the nuclear power plant, which made it possible, at a relatively low pressure in the loop - about 600 kPa - to sharply raise the temperature in it and thereby significantly increase the steam parameters in the second loop, increasing the specific power of the nuclear power plant while reducing its specific gravity. Turbines Seewulf worked on superheated steam with a pressure of 4000-4800 kPa and a temperature of 410-442 ° C. For comparison, let us point out that the turbines Nautilus saturated steam was supplied with a pressure of 1500-2500 kPa and a temperature of 200-250 ° C.

The US Shipbuilding Administration hoped that the design, construction and operation of the first two boats with different types of nuclear power plants would make it possible to compare the installations and choose the best option. But the comparison failed. Molten sodium, like other alkali metals, is chemically aggressive. As a result, the pipelines of the primary circuit of the NPP Seewulf quickly corroded until fistulas appeared. The leakage of sodium from the primary circuit and its high radioactivity forced first to turn off the steam superheating system, which led to a decrease in the power of the installation to 80%, and later, to completely abandon the use of nuclear power plants with a liquid metal coolant on submarines. In 1959 g. Seawulf withdrawn from the fleet and reequipped for a nuclear power plant similar to that installed on Nautilus.

The nuclear power plant revolutionized diving, opening up a broad perspective for a significant improvement in the tactical and technical elements of submarines. Already the first submarines were submerged for about 80% of the sailing time, and up to 98% at individual crossings. The atomic installation has made it possible to significantly increase the power-to-weight ratio of the boats. Even on Nautilus With a nuclear power plant far from being perfect, the submerged power-to-weight ratio was 2.9 kW / t, while on US diesel-electric submarines at that time it did not exceed 1.6 kW / t.

Of course, the low specific mass indicators of nuclear power plants were a significant brake on their introduction into submarine shipbuilding. True, in the opinion of American experts, one should expect a significant decrease in the specific weight of nuclear power plants as they are improved. At the same time, it was indicated that for a nuclear power plant with a capacity of 33 thousand kW, the specific gravity can be 15-19 kg / kW, which will make it possible to place an installation more than three times more powerful than on Nautilus, in power compartments, in dimensions not exceeding those of the first submarine. But, as the future has shown, everything turned out to be much more complicated.

However, the very fact of creating nuclear power plants for submarines was impressive. A single engine for surface and submarine running has become a reality.