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Nuclear Navy, 1946-1962
Nuclear Navy
477 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1974
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About the author
Richard G. Hewlett
7 booksRichard Greening Hewlett was an American public historian best known for his work as the Chief Historian of the United States Atomic Energy Commission.
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June 23, 2024
Great book about the development of nuclear propulsion for the US Navy in the early Cold War. The Navy had largely been left out of the Manhattan Project, but it made up for lost time after the war by developing nuclear propulsion for its fleet, first for submarines and later for surface ships. Submarines of World War II had effectively been surface ships that could operate for limited periods underwater (about 30 hrs max for most designs), but nuclear propulsion allowed for the creation of true submarines that could operate underwater for very long periods. This allowed such feats as operating under the arctic ice cap (USS Nautilus and USS Skate) or circumnavigating the world completely submerged (USS Triton).
This book focuses on the leadership of Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, the central figure of the Navy's nuclear propulsion program throughout the period covered by this book. He was a major informant for the authors while writing this book. The authors also had full access to naval records of the program, and they had academic freedom to draw their own conclusions (save for sharing military secrets).
This is a dense academic book, the kind that should be read piecemeal, focusing on the details you want to know about and skimming over other parts. It might be hard to find a print copy, but you can read it for free on Internet Archive (which is what I did). Highly recommended for those with serious interest in naval technology or organization of the early Cold War.
This book focuses on the leadership of Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, the central figure of the Navy's nuclear propulsion program throughout the period covered by this book. He was a major informant for the authors while writing this book. The authors also had full access to naval records of the program, and they had academic freedom to draw their own conclusions (save for sharing military secrets).
This is a dense academic book, the kind that should be read piecemeal, focusing on the details you want to know about and skimming over other parts. It might be hard to find a print copy, but you can read it for free on Internet Archive (which is what I did). Highly recommended for those with serious interest in naval technology or organization of the early Cold War.
Displaying 1 of 1 review