Of February 24, 1960, the USS Triton (SSRN/SSN 586) became the first vessel to execute a submerged circumnavigation of the Earth in Operation Sandblast. Triton accomplished this objective during her shakedown cruise while under the command of Captain Edward L. “Ned” Beach, Jr. Triton was the only member of her class and had the distinction of being the only Western submarine powered by two nuclear reactors.
Two days after leaving New London, Connecticut, Captain Edward L. “Ned” Beach, Jr. informs his crew of the Navy’s plans for the USS Triton (SSRN-586) to complete the first submerged circumnavigation of the earth. The mission took 60 days and 21 hours, from 24 February to 25 April 1960. Source: U.S. Naval Institute
Triton’s Combat Information Center (CIC), displaying status board and radar consoles.
When it was commissioned it was the most expensive submarine ever built. It was poorly designed and had two of the worst reactors ever made for a U.S. submarine. It became the first nuclear submarine to be decommissioned. Sodium cooled reactors designed for seagoing vessels are never a good idea. Rumor has it that Rickover joked that if the oceans were filled with liquid sodium, G.E. would have designed a water cooled reactor.
24 February 2021 at 11:15
The chart of its path around the world would have been nice.
Did it have a NSG DirSup team embarked?
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24 February 2021 at 17:39
Incredible.
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25 February 2021 at 02:51
When it was commissioned it was the most expensive submarine ever built. It was poorly designed and had two of the worst reactors ever made for a U.S. submarine. It became the first nuclear submarine to be decommissioned. Sodium cooled reactors designed for seagoing vessels are never a good idea. Rumor has it that Rickover joked that if the oceans were filled with liquid sodium, G.E. would have designed a water cooled reactor.
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