USS Triton (SSRN-586)

USS Triton (SSRN/SSN-586), the only member of her class, was a nuclear powered radar picket submarine in the United States Navy. She was the only Western submarine powered by two nuclear reactors. Triton was the second submarine and the fourth vessel of the United States Navy to be named for the Greek god Triton. This naming convention was unusual at the time; U.S. Navy submarines were usually named for various species of fish. At the time of her commissioning in 1959, Triton was the largest, most powerful, and most expensive submarine ever built at $109 million (equivalent to $ billion in ) excluding the cost of nuclear fuel and reactors.

Triton shakedown cruise in early 1960 saw her become the first vessel to execute a submerged circumnavigation of the Earth, in Operation Sandblast. The voyage was made

under the command of Captain Edward L. "Ned" Beach Jr. Tritons mission as a radar picket submarine was made obsolete after two years by the introduction of the carrier-based Grumman WF-2 Tracer airborne early warning aircraft. She was converted to an attack submarine in 1962 and became the flagship for the Commander, Submarine Forces, U.S. Atlantic Fleet (COMSUBLANT) in 1964. She was decommissioned in 1969, the first U.S. nuclear submarine to be taken out of service.

Triton hull was moored at the St. Julien's Creek Annex of Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia as part of the reserve fleet until 1993, though she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register in 1986. In 1993, she was towed to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard to await the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program. Triton landed on the keel resting blocks in the drydock basin on 2007 to begin this recycling process, which was completed effective 30 November 2009. Tritons sail superstructure was saved from the recycling process and is now part of the USS Triton Submarine Memorial Park located on Port of Benton Boulevard in Richland, Washington.

Design history

General characteristics

Triton was a first-generation U.S. nuclear-powered submarine, along with , , , and (and her three sisters). While serving as fully operational units of the U.S. Navy, the vessels also played key developmental roles. Nautilus introduced the use of nuclear power for ship propulsion. Seawolf utilized a liquid-metal nuclear reactor using liquid sodium as an alternative heat exchange medium to pressurized water. Halibut was the first nuclear-powered submarine to perform a strategic nuclear deterrence patrol armed with Regulus cruise missiles. The Skate-class submarines were the first nuclear-powered submarine class with more than one boat built. Tritons unique contribution to the development of nuclear power for naval propulsion was her dual reactor plant, which provided the speed required for radar picket missions.

Radar picket submarines (Navy classification "SSR") were developed after World War Two to provide intelligence information, electronic surveillance, and fighter aircraft interception control for forward-deployed naval forces. Unlike destroyers used as radar picket ships during the war, these submarines could avoid attack by submerging if detected. The U.S. Navy's MIGRAINE

Nuclear power offered the only possible solution. Triton was designed in the mid-1950s as a radar picket submarine capable of operating at high speed, on the surface, in advance of an aircraft carrier task force. Tritons high speed came from her twin-reactor nuclear propulsion plant, with a designed speed, surfaced and submerged, of . On 27 September 1959, Triton achieved "well in excess of" during her initial sea trials.

thumb|left|Tritons Combat Information Center (CIC), displaying status board and radar consoles|alt=Men stand at various terminals scattered around a cramped room

To meet her radar picket role, Tritons main air search radar initially used the AN/SPS-26, the U.S. Navy's first electronically scanned, three-dimensional search radar which was laboratory tested in 1953. The first set was installed on board the destroyer leader prior to its installation on board Triton in 1959. Since it was scanned electronically in elevation, the AN/SPS-26 set did not need a separate height-finding radar. A submarine version of SPS-26, designated BPS-10, was under development, and it was slated for installation on Triton. To process her radar, electronic, and air traffic data, Triton had a Combat Information Center (CIC) located in a separate air control compartment, situated between Tritons reactor and operations compartments.

thumb|left|Cutaway drawing of a proposed nuclear-powered radar picket submarine, c. 1954|alt=A line drawing of a submarine. From the bow, the hull curves to be flat before reaching a long sail; it then flattens again and continues to the stern of the ship.

Design work on a nuclear-powered radar picket submarine (SSRN) began in 1954–1955. As initially designed, Triton had a three-level hull, with the Combat Information Center (CIC) (see image) located on the middle level.

Triton was to be the lead boat of a proposed class of nuclear-powered radar picket submarines. A December 1955 long-range naval planning report envisioned five carrier strike groups, each supported by two radar picket submarines. The total force included two non-nuclear Sailfish-class submarines and eight nuclear submarines. With construction costs for Triton escalating, this long-range requirement was revised in 1957 to provide four nuclear-powered radar picket submarines for a single nuclear-powered carrier group, with the four remaining conventionally powered carrier groups supported by two diesel-electric radar picket submarines each.

thumb|left|Contemporary cutaway (1959)|alt=A cutaway of Triton reveals some of the compartments within.

At the time of her construction, Triton was the largest submarine ever built. Her knife-like bow, with its bulbous forefoot, provided improved surfaced sea-keeping for her radar picket role. Her surface sea-keeping was further enhanced by high reserve buoyancy (30%), provided by 22 ballast tanks, the most ever in an American submarine. With an overall length of , Triton was the longest submarine in the history of the United States Navy until the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine was commissioned in 1981.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; width:99%;"

! style="width:20%;"| Characteristics

! style="text-align:center;"| Triton nuclear-powered radar picket submarine

! style="text-align:center;"| I-400 submarine aircraft carrier

! style="text-align:center;"| "underwater cruiser"

! style="text-align:center;"| mine-laying submarine

! Navy

| United States Navy

| Imperial Japanese Navy

| French Navy

| United States Navy

! Commissioning date

| 1959

| 1944

| 1934

| 1928

! Length

! Beam

! Draft

! Surface displacement

! Submerged displacement

! Notes

Propulsion

Triton was the only submarine outside of the Soviet Union designed with a two-reactor propulsion plant. Her S4G reactors were seagoing versions of the land-based S3G reactor prototype. Both reactors composed the Submarine Advanced Reactor (SAR) program, a joint venture between the U.S. Navy, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), and General Electric. As originally designed, Tritons total reactor output was rated at . However, Triton achieved during her sea trials (pictured), and her first commanding officer, Captain Edward L. Beach Jr., believed Tritons plant could have reached "had that been necessary". It is this enhanced reliability, redundancy, and dependability of a dual-reactor plant that was a key factor in the selection of Triton to undertake the first submerged circumnavigation of the world.

Tritons dual-reactor plant met a number of operational and engineering objectives, specifically the high speed requirement to meet her radar picket mission, which continues to be a source of speculation and controversy to this day. During the early 1950s, many engineers at Naval Reactors branch of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) were concerned about depending on single-reactor plants for submarine operations, particularly involving under-the-ice Arctic missions. The presence of two de-aerating feed tanks, which are used only on surface warships, suggested that Tritons twin-reactor plant may have served as a testbed for future multi-reactor surface warships. The SAR program was the first production naval reactor developed by General Electric for the U.S. Navy, and GE used this SAR experience for the High Power Reactor (HPR) program that led to the development of the D1G and D2G naval reactors used on ', ', ', and ' classes of nuclear-powered surface ships.

Finally, the U.S. Navy was debating the best approach to optimize performance, particularly underwater speed, for its nuclear submarine fleet. Triton achieved high speeds through brute horsepower, rather than the more hydrodynamically efficient teardrop-shaped hull form pioneered by which, when combined with nuclear power, allowed to achieve higher speed with less horsepower.

Fire control and electronics

Tritons main air search radar was the electronically scanned, three-dimensional AN/SPS-26. This system had a range of and was capable of tracking aircraft up to an altitude of . When not in use, the SPS-26 radar was lowered into its fairwater housing for stowage within Tritons massive sail (pictured).

Tritons long-range, passive detecting-ranging sonar was the AN/BQR-7, which had a listening range up to for surfaced or snorkeling submarines, optimized to , with target tracking capability within 5 degrees of accuracy. The chin-mounted AN/BQR-2 passive sonar array supplemented the active BQS-4, with a range up to and a bearing accuracy of 1/10 of degree, allowing the BQR-2 to be used for fire control in torpedo attacks. This automation greatly simplified a targeting solution for a plotting party. Previously targeting solutions were manually estimated target bearings which were then fed into the Torpedo Data Computer (TDC), a method used throughout the Pacific theater during World War 2. However, while entirely capable of providing efficient fire control solutions against post-war non-nuclear hunter-killer submarines, the Mark 101 proved to be less responsive to the rapid changes associated with nuclear submarine operations.

Construction history

thumb|right|Launch of USS Triton (19 August 1958)|alt=From an inclined launching slipway, Triton slides into the water, creating a large disturbance.

Authorization

The U.S. Navy ordered a "large radar picket using the advanced two-reactor system", designated SCB 132, in October 1955 under the United States Department of Defense appropriation for Fiscal Year 1956. This 1956 shipbuilding program was significant because it included authorization for the construction of eight submarines in total, the largest such order since World War II. Along with Triton, the FY-56 program included four additional nuclear-powered submarines – guided missile submarine Halibut, the lead ship for the , and the final two s, and . The 1956 program not only completed the final authorization for all of the U.S. Navy's first-generation nuclear submarines, but with Skipjack, it also marked the initial authorization for a second-generation nuclear submarine. Finally, the 1956 program included the three submarines of the Diesel-electric , the last non-nuclear attack submarines to be built for the U.S. Navy. Henceforth, the U.S. Navy submarine service would be a nuclear-powered force.

Keel-laying

Tritons keel was laid down on 29 May 1956 in Groton, Connecticut, by the Electric Boat Division of the General Dynamics Corporation. Her length presented Electric Boat with many problems during her construction. She was so long her bow obstructed the slipway's railway facility, used for transporting material around the yard. Consequently, the lower half of her bow was cut away to facilitate yard operations and was re-attached just days prior to her launch. Similarly, the last of her stern was built on an adjoining slip and attached to the rest of the hull before Tritons launch. Her sail was found to be too high to go under the scaffolding, so the top was cut away and re-attached later.

Even before her launch, there was considerable discussion of Tritons role beyond her radar picket mission. An internal Navy memorandum set forth four options for the submarine's extended use. These included configuration to serve as a command ship (SSCN) for a fleet or force commander, an advanced sonar scout for the fleet, a Regulus missile submarine (SSGN), or a minelaying submarine. However, with the exception of the command ship option, all of these proposed configurations required extensive modification of her original design.

Another potential mission was as an underwater tug, able to rescue disabled submarines under the Arctic ice pack. Tritons first commanding officer, Captain Edward L. Beach Jr., requested plans be drawn up for this modification, which he characterized as "easy and inexpensive". Although there was consideration for a deployment to Arctic waters, there is no evidence that Triton was ever employed as an underwater tug. Over 35,000 guests attended, the largest crowd to witness a submarine launching up to that time.

Fitting out

On 1 February 1959, Triton was provisionally accepted for service in the U.S. Navy, with Captain Beach, the Prospective Commanding Officer (PCO), now designated as Officer-in-Charge. Triton met several key milestones before her commissioning. On 8 February 1959, reactor No. 2 achieved initial criticality, while reactor No. 1 achieved this milestone on 3 April 1959.

Sea trials

Triton began her sea trials on 27 September 1959. Over the next five days, the boat's systems and equipment were thoroughly tested under the overall direction of Admiral Hyman G. Rickover of the Bureau of Ships' Naval Reactors branch and Captain A. C. Smith, the Supervisor of Shipbuilding at Electric Boat. Triton generated on sea trials, reaching her design surface speed of , and achieved a surface speed well in excess of . Triton subsequently executed a four-hour, full-power submerged run and a crash-back maneuver. The only significant problem encountered during her initial sea trials was the overheating of the lubricating oil system for the starboard propeller shaft spring bearing. At the recommendation of Admiral Rickover, a hose was rigged to spray the bearing housing with a steady stream of sea water to keep the shaft cool, as well as a special watch set to monitor the temperature of the lube oil.

Triton began her preliminary acceptance trials (PAT) on 20 September 1959. These trials were conducted under the supervision of Rear Admiral Francis Douglas McCorkle of the U.S. Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV). After three days of at-sea tests, Triton was passed by the INSURV as being ready to enter service as a U.S. naval vessel.

Operational history

Commissioning

thumb|right|Triton is [[ship commissioning|commissioned on 1959.|alt=A large number of people are gathered around a platform erected just in front of a submarine.]]

Triton was commissioned on 10 November 1959 with Captain Edward L. Beach Jr. in command. Vice Admiral Bernard L. Austin, the Deputy CNO for Plans and Policy, made the keynote address, noting:

<blockquote>As the largest submarine ever built, her performance will be carefully followed by naval designers and planners the world over. For many years strategists have speculated on the possibilities of tankers, cargo ships and transports that could navigate under water. Some of our more futuristic dreamers have talked of whole fleets that submerge. Triton is a bold venture into this field. presented the original ship's bell from the first Triton at the new commissioning ceremony. The late Admiral Lent had been the earlier Tritons first commanding officer. A watercolor painting of the submarine also was presented by the American Water Color Society. The final cost of building Triton, less her reactors, nuclear fuel, and other related costs paid by the AEC, was US$109,000,000, making Triton the most expensive submarine ever built at the time of her commissioning. Triton subsequently completed torpedo trials at Naval Station Newport and conducted other special tests at the Norfolk Navy Base before returning to Electric Boat on 7 December 1959 in order to install special communications equipment, including a prototype of the BRA-3 towed communications buoy system housed in a large fairing located on the after end of the main deck. Work on Triton at Electric Boat was delayed as priority was given to completing the Navy's first two fleet ballistic missile (FBM) submarines, and , with the objective for both vessels to start their first nuclear deterrence patrols before the end of 1960.

On 20 January 1960, Triton got underway to conduct an accelerated series of at-sea testing. Triton returned on 1 February as preparations continued for her forthcoming shakedown cruise, scheduled for departure on 16 February 1960, which involved operating with the command ship , flagship of the U.S. Second Fleet, in northern European waters. On 1 February, Captain Beach received a message from Rear Admiral Lawrence R. "Dan" Daspit (COMSUBLANT) instructing Beach to attend a top secret meeting at The Pentagon on 4 February 1960 that led to the execution of Operation Sandblast, the first submerged circumnavigation of the world.

Shakedown cruise

thumb|right|First Submerged Circumnavigation *1960* (GPO)|alt=Title cover for the published log book of Operation Sandblast, USS TRITON SSRN 586 FIRST SUBMERGED CIRCUMNAVIGATION 1960, which shows a world map depicting the navigation track taken by the nuclear submarine USS Triton.

thumb|right|Tritons circumnavigation track and milestones|alt=Map depicting the submerged navigational track of Triton during Operation Sandblast. The submarine began off the east coast of the United States, went around the southern tip of South America, passed north of Australia, passed around the southern tip of Africa, and arrived back on the eastern seaboard of the United States.

thumb|right|Captain Beach traces the route of Triton submerged circumnavigation.|alt=A balding man holding a small card titled "Ship's Position" writes a black line on a map of the Earth.

During her shakedown cruise, Triton successfully executed the first submerged circumnavigation of the world, code named Operation Sandblast, following the same track as the first circumnavigation led by Ferdinand Magellan. The mission's objectives were set forth in the published ship's log (pictured):

<blockquote>For purposes of geophysical and oceanographic research and to determine habitability, endurance and psychological stress – all extremely important to the Polaris program – it had been decided that a rapid round-the-world trip, touching the areas of interest, should be conducted. Maximum stability of the observing platform and unbroken continuity around the world were important. Additionally, for reasons of the national interest it had been decided that the voyage should be made entirely submerged undetected by our own or other forces and completed as soon as possible. TRITON, because of her size, speed and extra dependability of her two-reactor plant, had been chosen for the mission.</blockquote>

The actual mission was summarized by the U.S. Navy's Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships:

<blockquote>Triton put to sea on her shakedown cruise on 15 February 1960, bound for the South Atlantic. She arrived in the middle Atlantic off St. Peter and St. Paul Rocks on 24 February to commence a history-making voyage. Having remained submerged since her departure from the east coast, Triton continued on south towards Cape Horn, rounded the tip of South America, and headed west across the Pacific. After transiting the Philippine and Indonesian archipelagos and crossing the Indian Ocean, she rounded the Cape of Good Hope and arrived off the St. Peter and Paul Rocks on 25 April – 60 days and 21 hours after departing the mid-ocean landmark. Only once did her sail break the surface of the sea, when she transferred a sick sailor to USS Macon (CA-132) off Montevideo, Uruguay, on 6 March. She arrived back at Groton, Connecticut, on 10 May, having completed the first submerged circumnavigation of the earth.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Tritons globe-girdling cruise proved invaluable to the United States. Politically, it enhanced the nation's prestige. From an operational viewpoint, the cruise demonstrated the great submerged endurance and sustained high-speed transit capabilities of the first generation of nuclear-powered submarines. Moreover, during the voyage, the submarine collected reams of oceanographic data. At the cruise's conclusion, Triton received the Presidential Unit Citation and Captain Beach received the Legion of Merit from President Dwight D. Eisenhower.</blockquote>

Tritons commanding officer during Operation Sandblast, Captain Edward L. Beach, also provided a unique perspective on the circumnavigation in the published log:

The noted historian Bern Dibner placed the significance of Operation Sandblast into historical context:

Also, in his 2000 book Ships of Discovery And Exploration, historian Lincoln P. Paine further noted:

The actual submerged circumnavigation occurred between 24 February and 25 April 1960, covering in 60 days and 21 hours at the average speed of while crossing the Equator on four different occasions. Also, the total duration of Tritons shakedown cruise was 84 days 19 hours 8 minutes, covering , and Triton remained submerged for a total of 83 days 9 hours, covering during her maiden voyage.

Initial deployments

thumb|right|[[USS Skipjack (SSN-585)|Skipjack, Nautilus, Triton, and the submarine tender Fulton at State Pier – New London, Connecticut (1962)|alt=Three submarines are moored side by side to a large surface ship, which in turn is held to a dock in the background.]]

Following her post-shakedown availability (PSA), Triton assumed her duties as a radar picket submarine in August 1960. She deployed to northern European waters with the Second Fleet to participate in NATO exercises oriented around detecting and intercepting Soviet bombers overflying the Arctic. For 2 days during these NATO exercises, Rear Admiral Thomas H. Moorer and his flag lieutenant, Lt. William P. Lawrence, were aboard Triton to observe the submarine's radar-picket operations. At the time, Moorer was serving as Commander Carrier Division Six which included the carriers and . Triton completed her first overseas deployment with a port visit to Bremerhaven, West Germany, the first by a nuclear-powered vessel to a European port, from 2–9 October 1960, with an estimated 8,000 touring the boat during this port-call.

For the first half of 1961, Triton conducted operational patrols and training exercises with the Atlantic Fleet. She also deployed to monitor the Soviet 50-megaton hydrogen bomb initiation at Novaya Zemlya in the Arctic Ocean during late October 1961.

During this period, the rising threat posed by Soviet submarine forces increased the Navy's demands for nuclear-powered attack submarines with antisubmarine warfare (ASW) capability. Following the development of the carrier-based Grumman WF-2 Tracer airborne early warning aircraft, Tritons AN/SPS-26 3-D long-range air search radar was no longer needed, and the development of the submarine version of this 3-D radar system, the BPS-10, was canceled in 1960.

Because she subsequently served as COMSUBLANT's flagship following her overhaul, one area of continuing speculation is whether Triton was part of the National Emergency Command Post Afloat (NECPA) program. NECPA was tasked to provide afloat facilities for the President of the United States in case of an emergency or war, with the command cruisers and assigned to perform this mission.

Triton had a number of attributes that made her a potential NECPA platform. Her size allowed ample room for additional shipboard systems and personnel accommodations. Her designed speed provided the capability for rapid transit, and her nuclear power plant offered virtually unlimited endurance and range. The Combat Information Center (CIC) provided substantial command and control capabilities as did the communication buoy system that could receive and send radio transmissions while submerged. As she was a submarine, Triton offered superior protection against nuclear-biological-chemical (NBC) contaminants over surface ships or an airborne command centre. However, the record remains unclear if such an explicit NECPA conversion was ever undertaken for Triton.

Subsequent operations

In March 1964, upon completion of her overhaul, Tritons home port was changed from New London, to Norfolk. On 13 April 1964, she became the flagship for COMSUBLANT. Triton was relieved as COMSUBLANT's flagship by the on 1 June 1967. 11 days later, Triton was shifted to her original home port of New London, Connecticut.

From October 1968 through May 1969, she underwent preservation and deactivation processes, and she was decommissioned on 3 May 1969. On 6 May 1969, Triton departed New London under tow and proceeded to Norfolk, Virginia, where she was placed in the reserve fleet. She remained berthed at Norfolk or at the St. Julien's Creek Annex of Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia, into 1993. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Registry on 30 April 1986. The long delay in the disposal of ex-Triton has been attributed to the complexity of her dual reactor plant.

Honors and awards

{| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"

{|class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"

|Presidential Unit Citation with Operation Sandblast device

|Navy Unit Commendation

Presidential Unit Citation

On 10 May 1960, Secretary of the Navy William B. Franke presented the Presidential Unit Citation (PUC) to Triton for Operation Sandblast, the first submerged circumnavigation of the world. Chief Torpedoman's Mate Chester Raymond Fitzjarrald, the chief of the boat, accepted the PUC on behalf of Tritons officers and crew. The citation reads:

<blockquote>For meritorious achievement from 16 February 1960 to 10 May 1960. During this period the TRITON circumnavigated the earth submerged, generally following the route of Magellan's historic voyage. In addition to proving the ability of both crew and nuclear submarine to accomplish a mission which required almost three months of submergence, TRITON collected much data of scientific importance. The performance, determination and devotion to duty of the TRITON's crew were in keeping with the highest traditions of the naval service. All members of the crew who made this voyage are authorized to wear the Presidential Unit Citation ribbon with a special clasp in the form of a golden replica of the globe.</blockquote>

Up to that time, this was only the second time that a U.S. Navy vessel had been awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for a peacetime mission, with the nuclear submarine receiving the first peacetime PUC in recognition of Operation Sunshine, the first submerged voyage under the North Pole in 1958. To commemorate the first submerged circumnavigation of the world, all Triton personnel who made that voyage were authorized to wear their Presidential Unit Citation ribbon with a special clasp in the form of a golden replica of the globe (pictured).</blockquote>