Met a cool dude today.
 

I was at our local convenience store, in my truck and just getting ready
to leave when I saw an elderly guy with a long white beard leaving the
store. As he passed my truck I noticed he was wearing a old, worn Navy
ballcap that was embroidered "USS Nautilus SSN-571".

The Nautilus was the first nuclear powered sub (or vessel period) that
was nuclear powered.

We talked a bit and he told me he served on the Nautilus until 1961 when
he left the Navy. He was a crew member during "Operation Sunshine"
when the Nautilus made it's famous crossing of the North Pole under the
ice. He met Admiral Rickover on the sub and had interesting
remembrances of him the kindest being, "he was a *very* smart guy".

It was interesting because about a month ago I watched a couple of
documentaries about Admiral Rickover, the building of the Nautilus
and it's voyage under the ice to reach the North Pole.

He told me I should take a trip down to Groton, CT to see it and take
a tour on it. It's been designated as a National Historic Landmark

Met a cool dude today.
 

Way cool, Richard!

Met a cool dude today.
 

On 4/9/2018 6:11 PM, Keyser Soze wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:

I was at our local convenience store, in my truck and just getting ready
to leave when I saw an elderly guy with a long white beard leaving the
store. As he passed my truck I noticed he was wearing a old, worn Navy
ballcap that was embroidered "USS Nautilus SSN-571".

The Nautilus was the first nuclear powered sub (or vessel period) that
was nuclear powered.

We talked a bit and he told me he served on the Nautilus until 1961 when
he left the Navy. He was a crew member during "Operation Sunshine"
when the Nautilus made it's famous crossing of the North Pole under the
ice. He met Admiral Rickover on the sub and had interesting
remembrances of him the kindest being, "he was a *very* smart guy".

It was interesting because about a month ago I watched a couple of
documentaries about Admiral Rickover, the building of the Nautilus
and it's voyage under the ice to reach the North Pole.

He told me I should take a trip down to Groton, CT to see it and take
a tour on it. It's been designated as a National Historic Landmark


you might like a book called Nautilus 90 North by a former captain of that
boat who was the first to take her to the north pole. Guy by the name of
Anderson. Good read, I recall, from decades ago.



Thanks Harry. I'll check it out. I really enjoy reading about Naval
ships, their histories, their deployments, etc. Seems like the older
I get, the more I enjoy them. I wonder why? :-)

Met a cool dude today.
 

On 4/9/2018 6:13 PM, Keyser Soze wrote:
Keyser Soze wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:

I was at our local convenience store, in my truck and just getting ready
to leave when I saw an elderly guy with a long white beard leaving the
store. As he passed my truck I noticed he was wearing a old, worn Navy
ballcap that was embroidered "USS Nautilus SSN-571".

The Nautilus was the first nuclear powered sub (or vessel period) that
was nuclear powered.

We talked a bit and he told me he served on the Nautilus until 1961 when
he left the Navy. He was a crew member during "Operation Sunshine"
when the Nautilus made it's famous crossing of the North Pole under the
ice. He met Admiral Rickover on the sub and had interesting
remembrances of him the kindest being, "he was a *very* smart guy".

It was interesting because about a month ago I watched a couple of
documentaries about Admiral Rickover, the building of the Nautilus
and it's voyage under the ice to reach the North Pole.

He told me I should take a trip down to Groton, CT to see it and take
a tour on it. It's been designated as a National Historic Landmark


you might like a book called Nautilus 90 North by a former captain of that
boat who was the first to take her to the north pole. Guy by the name of
Anderson. Good read, I recall, from decades ago.


Always thought it was cool our first nuclear sub was named after Jules
Verne’s sub in 20,000 Leagues...



You can thank weird Admiral Rickover for that. Actually, in 1800
the American inventor Robert Fulton built a submarine he named
"Nautilus" and it was the inspiration for Jules Verne's sub in 20,000
Leagues Under the Sea.

There have been three vessels in the US Navy named "Nautilus" and a few
civilian vessels that share the name. The first Navy vessel was a
schooner in 1803. The second was a diesel electric (SS-168)
commissioned in 1930 and saw action in WWII. The nuke Nautilus is the
third and the name is retired from further Navy use.

Found this little tidbit of info on the name:

"A nautilus is actually the common name of a marine creature of the
cephalopod family, Nautilidae. You may have heard this creature more
commonly referred to as the chambered nautilus. This is in reference to
their shell which contains numerous rooms or "chambers." Since these
sea creatures have been around nearly unchanged for 500 million years,
they are often considered to be “living fossils.�