On its return, however, damage from storms and engine failure led the crew to scuttle the ship a few miles off the coast of Bergen, Norway. Although mechanical problems ruined any hope of reaching the pole, by late August, 1931, the Nautilus had maneuvered to the edge of the Arctic ice cap and was able to dive beneath a few floes. Although the crew did gather some useful information, the expedition was fated to suffer delays, accidents, and perhaps even sabotage. It was also designated a National Historic Landmark and named the official state ship of Connecticut.In 1931, the Nautilus, an O-12 class submarine, was fitted out to undertake an expedition to gather meteorological and oceanographical information while venturing beneath polar ice floes to the north pole.

He breathed his last on 25 th February, 2007.Īs for Nautilus, it received the President’s citation for outstanding achievement in completing the first voyage in history across the top of the world, by cruising under the Arctic ice cap from the Bering Strait to the Greenland Sea. For Anderson and his crew, it was pure adventure! Anderson received the Legion of Merit from President Eisenhower and he went on to become a renowned author and politician. The US government had undertaken this operation in order to explore a new trade route for carrying nuclear submarines. Only Commander Anderson and a select few knew about it. This mission was kept under wraps until after Nautilus had already reached open waters. Recorded position of Nautilus as it passed below the geographic North Pole After 96 hours and 1,590 nmi under the ice, Nautilus surfaced north east of Greenland, completing the first successful submerged voyage around the North Pole. The most difficult stretch of the journey was in the Bering Strait where the ice extended almost 60 feet below the sea level. The water temperature was 0 degree Celsius and the depth more than 13,000 feet (2,000 feet deeper than anticipated). It submerged in the Barrow Sea Valley on 1 st August, 1958 and two days later on 3 rd August, 1958 at 2315 hours (EDT) became the first watercraft to reach the geographic North Pole.

On 23 rd July, 1958 the wait was finally over and it set course again towards the North Pole. Nautilus arrived at Pearl Harbor on 28 th June, 1958 and waited for ideal ice conditions. Special Gyrocompass built by Sperry Rand was installed just before the journey began. An attempt to enter the open waters was made on 19 th June, 1958 but it had to be pulled back due to drift ice in the shallow waters. After stopping at San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle it left Seattle port on 9 th June, 1958. Anderson headed towards the West Coast starting from New London, Connecticut. The mission started on 25 th April, 1958, when USS Nautilus (SSN – 571), world’s first operational nuclear-powered submarine, commanded by Commander William R. One part of those developments was the Operation Sunshine – a submarine transit of the North Pole, ordered by President Eisenhower in 1958. On 4 th October, 1957 the Soviet Union launched Sputnik – the first artificial Earth Satellite and as expected it brought in new military, scientific and political developments and aspirations. While there were political agendas, scientific aspirations, and exploration possibilities, there were also the dreams of experiencing the ultimate adventure – being there where no man has set foot before! Many countries and governments had sent their expert teams to the far off lands both North and South of the equator.

Let’s start at the beginning! It was the period of Polar Exploration. Every action when looked at from different perspectives could mean different things! Same can be said for this historical adventure in which a 37 year old Navy Captain and his crew of 116 became the first people ever to complete the first successful submerged voyage around the North Pole.

Dec 1958 nautilus submarine photo