Poster submarine USS Nautilus

The USS Nautilus (SSN-571), the third US Navy submarine to bear this name, is the first nuclear attack submarine and the first nuclear-powered ship in history.

Named in homage to Jules Verne's Nautilus, it was designed thanks to the work of physicist Philip Abelson, then commissioned by Harry S. Truman in 1951.

The Nautilus made its first sea trip in January 1955. It was 98.7 meters long for more than 3,533 tons of displacement in diving.

Nuclear propulsion gives it unprecedented autonomy (several weeks of immersion and up to 140,000 kilometers at “cruising” speed). The strategic and tactical advantages of nuclear propulsion go well beyond autonomy: it transcends the capabilities of the building. During the tests of the Nautilus and then the Seawolf, the US Navy was amazed by the tactical performance of its first two prototypes of nuclear attack submarines.

On August 3, 1958, at 11:15 a.m., commanded by William R. Anderson, she became the first vessel to navigate under the North Pole sea ice.

During the vast majority of his active service, his home port was Naval Base at New London, Connecticut.

She was withdrawn from active service in 1980, then designated as a historic site in 1982, before finally being transformed into a museum ship. He has since been stationed in Groton (Connecticut).