The various quests to reach the North Pole were equal parts danger and glory, with scientists and thrill-seekers alike pushing the limits of human endurance and technology. While the explorers Frederick Cook in 1908, Robert Peary in 1909, and Richard E. Byrd in 1926 all claimed to have first reached the geographic North Pole on foot, and the 1926 journey of the Italian-built, semi-rigid airship Norge was the first verified craft to reach it by air, the USS Nautilus was the first sea vessel to accomplish the same feat in 1958. |
The USS Nautilus (SSN-571), a nuclear-powered submarine that was created from the ambitious mind of Admiral Hyman Rickover, challenged the limits of scientific innovation during Operation Sunshine in 1958. With ice year round, the North Pole was inaccessible by all ships. However the use of nuclear technology in compact, submersible vessels allowed the Nautilus to move faster and stay underwater up to seven times longer than previous submarines. According to the Nautilus deck log on August 3, the submerged ship “proceeded further north than any other previous ship in history” at 0812 hours. Then, at 1915 hours, it passed the North Pole and became the “first ship to do so under its own power.” |
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[Hyman Rickover in 1981] ADM Hyman G. Rickover, deputy assistant secretary for naval reactors, Department of Energy, speaks at the commissioning of the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine USS OHIO (SSBN-726), National Archives Identifier 6352639 |
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Nautilus (SSN-571) - August 1958, page 9, National Archives Identifier 181921919 |
Many more submarines have transited the geographic North Pole since then. One noteworthy example is the USS Skate (SSN-578), which at 1600 hours on March 17, 1959, breached the ice as it surfaced at the top of the world. |
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USS SKATE (SSN-578) IN ICE North Pole Area, National Archives Identifier 83024 |
Frontiers of human endurance and technology will always be broken. Ten years after the Nautilus and the Skate reached and breached the top of our planet, man’s first steps appeared on the moon. By foot, by sled, or by ship, what steps in our long march of history might appear tomorrow? Would you like to learn more about Polar Exploration? Check out these blog posts: |
