August 3, 1958 – U.S. Nuclear-Powered Sub Makes First Undersea Voyage to the Geographic North Pole

In July of 1951, Congress authorized construction of the world’s first nuclear powered submarine. After nearly 18 months of construction, the USS Nautilus was launched on January 21, 1954. Eight months later, on September 30, 1954, the Nautilus became the first commissioned nuclear powered ship in the United States Navy.

On the morning of January 17, 1955, the first commanding officer ordered all lines cast off and signaled the memorable and historic message, “Underway On Nuclear Power.” Over the next several years, Nautilus shattered all submerged speed and distance records.

USS Nautilus

The vessel was the first submarine to complete a submerged transit of the North Pole on this day in history. As the online site of the USS Nautilus museum in Groton, Connecticut recounts:

On July 23, 1958, NAUTILUS departed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii under top secret orders to conduct “Operation Sunshine”, the first crossing of the North Pole by a ship. At 11:15 pm on August 3, 1958, NAUTILUS’ second Commanding Officer, Commander William R. Anderson, announced to his crew, “For the world, our country, and the Navy – the North Pole.” With 116 men aboard, NAUTILUS had accomplished the “impossible”, reaching the geographic North Pole – 90 degrees North.”

The Nautilus was decommissioned in 1980 after a 25-year career that included traveling more than a half-million miles. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1982. The submarine has been preserved as a museum ship at the Submarine Force Library and Museum in Groton, Connecticut, where the vessel receives around 250,000 visitors per year.