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Navy Should Keep Little Sub That Could
Without intervention,the one-of-a-kind NR-1 submarine will be reduced to scrap iron.
By theday.com Published on 8/20/2008
The Navy should preserve for posterity its only nuclear-powered, deep-diving engineering and research submarine. A place of honor beside the historic USS Nautilus at the Submarine Force Library & Museum is the appropriate destination.
Navy plans, however, now call for the NR-1, launched in Groton on Jan. 25, 1969, to be taken out of service at the end of the year, inactivated and eventually sent to the scrap heap.
So top secret are the details of many NR-1 missions, they may forever remain undisclosed. Its participation in the recovery of the disintegrated space shuttle Challenger in 1986 and retrieval of the engines from Egyptair Flight 990 following its crash in 1999 are just two of the important jobs the submarine conducted during a nearly 40-year career.
The ability of this one-of-a-kind, 146-foot submarine to dive almost a half-mile also allowed it to play an important role in oceanographic research.
Many people in southeastern Connecticut would like to see the NR-1 retired to Groton, and the Navy and Congress should work to make that happen. Without intervention, the submarine will be sent to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in New Hampshire to remove its fuel, and then to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Washington state to cut out its nuclear reactor, reduce the ship to scrap and bury its pieces.
A better choice is to remove the nuclear reactor at the back of the ship, but preserve the forward spaces, where its crew lived and worked, and send it back to Groton as an exhibit. A combination of federal funding and private donations could pay the costs.
Save the NR-1, not just for southeastern Connecticut, but for all Americans. This little submarine is a national treasure
Navy Should Keep Little Sub That Could
Without intervention,the one-of-a-kind NR-1 submarine will be reduced to scrap iron.
By theday.com Published on 8/20/2008
The Navy should preserve for posterity its only nuclear-powered, deep-diving engineering and research submarine. A place of honor beside the historic USS Nautilus at the Submarine Force Library & Museum is the appropriate destination.
Navy plans, however, now call for the NR-1, launched in Groton on Jan. 25, 1969, to be taken out of service at the end of the year, inactivated and eventually sent to the scrap heap.
So top secret are the details of many NR-1 missions, they may forever remain undisclosed. Its participation in the recovery of the disintegrated space shuttle Challenger in 1986 and retrieval of the engines from Egyptair Flight 990 following its crash in 1999 are just two of the important jobs the submarine conducted during a nearly 40-year career.
The ability of this one-of-a-kind, 146-foot submarine to dive almost a half-mile also allowed it to play an important role in oceanographic research.
Many people in southeastern Connecticut would like to see the NR-1 retired to Groton, and the Navy and Congress should work to make that happen. Without intervention, the submarine will be sent to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in New Hampshire to remove its fuel, and then to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Washington state to cut out its nuclear reactor, reduce the ship to scrap and bury its pieces.
A better choice is to remove the nuclear reactor at the back of the ship, but preserve the forward spaces, where its crew lived and worked, and send it back to Groton as an exhibit. A combination of federal funding and private donations could pay the costs.
Save the NR-1, not just for southeastern Connecticut, but for all Americans. This little submarine is a national treasure