In less than a century, the United States Navy has evolved greatly due to the ingenuity and audaciousness of naval leadership. Because of this, the United States has cemented itself as a global naval power. Nuclear technology has changed the United States Navy dramatically by enhancing the productivity of sea vessels and will continue to play a major role in the nation’s military dominance in the future. Interest in nuclear energy emerged in the 1940s and came into the forefront after the destruction of highly-populated Japanese cities caused by the atomic bombs “Little Boy” and “Fat Man,” which were dropped by the United States military in August of 1945. The devastation demonstrated the importance of atomic energy by proving that nations
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military aircraft or vessel was a project intended to create nuclear-powered jet engines. The operation proved that nuclear energy could power the engines, but in 1955 the project was cancelled due to a combination of public disapproval and safety concerns. However, research into implementing nuclear power into sea vessels was more productive. In July of 1951, Congress authorized the development of a nuclear propulsion plant. In 1953, the Naval Reactors Facility opened in Idaho under the leadership of Admiral Hyman G. Rickover. This prototype nuclear power plant was operated by Westinghouse Electric Company. Continued research and development in nuclear energy led to the birth of the first nuclear-powered vessel, the submarine USS Nautilus (SSN-571). The crew of the USS Nautilus was trained at the Naval Reactors Facility in Idaho, even though the reactor aboard the submarine differed from the land-based prototype reactor. This demonstrated the effectiveness of training crews on land-based reactors rather than on underway vessels and proved to be essential to sustaining a training pipeline for sailors that entered the nuclear …show more content…
The United States maintained a strong alliance with the United Kingdom with regard to the advancement of nuclear power for sea vessels, while Russia, France, and China progressed independently. The two nations aimed to profit from their technology. The alliance turned to developing merchant vessels and determined that diminishing refueling time led to cost-effective trade. However, the nuclear propulsion systems on these ships had to be small to fit the ship, which required highly enriched uranium. In the wrong hands, this uranium could have been used to create atomic weapons of mass destruction. Because of this, the Brussels Convention on the Liability of Operators of Nuclear Ships stressed that nuclear power should be limited to large military vessels. The United States turned back to developing its nuclear force in the military. In 1989, at the end of the Cold War, 400 nuclear submarines worldwide were either active or under construction. However, at least 300 of these submarines have been scrapped due to weapons reduction
military aircraft or vessel was a project intended to create nuclear-powered jet engines. The operation proved that nuclear energy could power the engines, but in 1955 the project was cancelled due to a combination of public disapproval and safety concerns. However, research into implementing nuclear power into sea vessels was more productive. In July of 1951, Congress authorized the development of a nuclear propulsion plant. In 1953, the Naval Reactors Facility opened in Idaho under the leadership of Admiral Hyman G. Rickover. This prototype nuclear power plant was operated by Westinghouse Electric Company. Continued research and development in nuclear energy led to the birth of the first nuclear-powered vessel, the submarine USS Nautilus (SSN-571). The crew of the USS Nautilus was trained at the Naval Reactors Facility in Idaho, even though the reactor aboard the submarine differed from the land-based prototype reactor. This demonstrated the effectiveness of training crews on land-based reactors rather than on underway vessels and proved to be essential to sustaining a training pipeline for sailors that entered the nuclear …show more content…
The United States maintained a strong alliance with the United Kingdom with regard to the advancement of nuclear power for sea vessels, while Russia, France, and China progressed independently. The two nations aimed to profit from their technology. The alliance turned to developing merchant vessels and determined that diminishing refueling time led to cost-effective trade. However, the nuclear propulsion systems on these ships had to be small to fit the ship, which required highly enriched uranium. In the wrong hands, this uranium could have been used to create atomic weapons of mass destruction. Because of this, the Brussels Convention on the Liability of Operators of Nuclear Ships stressed that nuclear power should be limited to large military vessels. The United States turned back to developing its nuclear force in the military. In 1989, at the end of the Cold War, 400 nuclear submarines worldwide were either active or under construction. However, at least 300 of these submarines have been scrapped due to weapons reduction