Nautilus to Columbia - 70 Years of the US Navy's Nuclear Submarines

Sub-titled 70 years of the US Navy’s nuclear submarines, the author, a retired USAF aviator with a self-declared passion for stealth vehicles, has produced a photo album of the USN nuclear submarine programme covering over 210 submarines. Quite properly the book starts with a tribute to Admiral Rickover – the father of the USN nuclear submarine programme. Two short opening sections cover the loss of the Thresher in 1963 and Scorpion in 1968 with all hands, but these are the only losses in nearly 70 years of operating nuclear boats. Heavily illustrated is an understatement for the over-1300 photos in the book, each with its own caption. The author has included montages of his own photos of the interior of the Seawolf and the missile control centre of the Ohio Class. Each submarine has its own section, starting with the Nautilus. The photos show the evolution of SSN design from the almost conventional submarine hull shape of the Nautilus to the modern hull design of the current Virginia Class. The Virginias are described by the author as having the “right balance of core military capabilities and affordability”. Other sections of the book include coverage of the 2 reactor Triton that completed the first submerged circumnavigation of the earth in 1961 taking 85 days, and a sequence of photos of the launch preparation for the Regulus missile of the Halibut, the first nuclear powered submarine to launch a missile. Looking at the classified use of the SSN, the Sturgeon-class Parche had a dive chamber for intercepting Soviet underseas telephone cables, while her successor, the Jimmy Carter has a 100ft payload extension to her hull hinting at her secret missions. Other classified subjects include the small NR-1 and the USN’s facility in land-locked Idaho to test submarine models (“the USN’s Area 51”). Coverage of the SSBNs includes the first, the George Washington of 1959; photos of the first live Polaris missile warhead test in 1962 from the Ethan Allen; and a DASO launch which failed with the missile landing on the Woodrow Wilson – the caption that the crew needed a special laundry call on return to port says it all. The book finishes with a look at the design of the Columbia Class and links to UK Dreadnought Class. The problem with this book is that there are too many photos – some are fascinating, but most are “standard “official photos with very little in the way of caption. Less photos and more text would have been a big improvement. In reality, this is a photo album and not a history of the 70 years of the USN nuclear submarines.