'Nuclear navy', or 'nuclear powered navy' consists of
ships powered by relatively small onboard
nuclear reactors known as
naval reactors. The concept was revolutionary for
naval warfare when first proposed, as it meant that these vessels did not need to stop for fuel like their conventional counterparts, being limited only by crew endurance and supplies.
Nuclear-powered aircraft carriers
The
United States Navy has by far the most nuclear-powered
aircraft carriers, with 11 in service.
France's latest aircraft carrier, the
FS ''Charles de Gaulle'', is nuclear powered. The
United Kingdom rejected nuclear power early in the development of its
''Queen Elizabeth''-class aircraft carriers on cost grounds.
[1] As currently envisaged, France's
new aircraft carrier would be a derivate of the UK design and therefore conventionally powered also.
Nuclear-powered submarines
The United States Navy operates the largest fleet of nuclear submarines.
[2] Only the United States Navy, France's ''
Marine Nationale'', and the
Royal Navy of the United Kingdom field an all-nuclear submarine force. By 1989, there were over 400 nuclear-powered submarines operational or being built
[3]. Some 250 of these submarines have now been scrapped and some on order cancelled, due to weapons reduction programs.
Russia and the
United States had over one hundred each, with the United Kingdom and France fewer than twenty each and
China six.
India is constructing a nuclear powered submarine called the
Advanced Technology Vessel and is reported to be leasing two additional nuclear submarines from Russia. The total number of nuclear subs today is about 160.
Other nuclear-powered vessels
The United States no longer has nuclear
cruisers, but they are still in use by Russia, the largest of which are the
''Kirov''-class battlecruisers. Russia also has eight
nuclear icebreakers in service or under construction.
The United States Navy
The U.S. Navy has accumulated over 5,400 "reactor years" of accident-free experience, and operates more than 80 nuclear-powered ships.
[4]
Admiral Hyman G. Rickover
Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, (
1900–
1986), of the United States Navy, known as "father of the nuclear navy"
[5] [6] [7] was an
electrical engineer by training, and was the primary architect who implemented this daring concept, and believed that it was the natural next phase for the way military vessels could be propelled and powered. The challenge was to reduce the size of a nuclear reactor to fit onboard a
ship or
submarine, as well as to encase it sufficiently so that
radiation hazards would not be a safety concern.
Soon after
World War II, Rickover was assigned to the
Bureau of Ships in September
1947 and received training in nuclear power at
Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In February
1949 he received an assignment to the
Division of Reactor Development,
U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and then assumed control of the United States Navy's effort as Director of the Naval Reactors Branch in the Bureau of Ships. This dual role allowed him to lead the efforts to develop the world's first nuclear-powered submarine,
USS ''Nautilus'' (SSN 571), which was launched in
1954. As
Vice Admiral, from 1958, for three decades Rickover exercised tight control over the
ships,
technology, and
personnel of the nuclear navy, even interviewing every prospective
officer for new nuclear powered navy vessels.
Philip Abelson
Leading nuclear physicist
Philip Abelson (
1913–
2004) turned his attention under the guidance of
Ross Gunn to applying
nuclear power to
naval propulsion. Their early efforts at
Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) provided an early glimpse at what was to become the nuclear Navy.
United States Naval reactors
Main articles: United States Naval reactor
At the present time, many important vessels in the United States Navy are powered by United States naval reactors. All submarines and all but one aircraft carrier are nuclear powered. Several cruisers were nuclear powered but these have all been retired.
[8]
United States naval reactors are given three-character designations consisting of a letter representing the ship type the reactor is designed for, a consecutive generation number, and a letter indicating the reactor's designer. The ship types are "A" for
aircraft carrier, "C" for
cruiser, "D" for
destroyer, and "S" for
submarine. The designers are "W" for
Westinghouse, "G" for
General Electric, "C" for
Combustion Engineering, and "B" for
Bechtel. Examples are S5W, D1G, A4W, and D2W.
Most information concerning United States naval reactors is not secret—see
Naval Nuclear Propulsion Information.
See also
★
JASON reactor
★
List of United States Naval reactors
★
Naval Reactors
References
1. Morrocco, John. "U.K. Launches Future Aircraft Carrier Studies" Aviation. ''Week and Space Technology.'' The McGraw-Hill Companies, 1999-02-01. Retrieved on 2007-07-28.
2. Bellona Environmental Foundation web site, Nuclear Naval Vessels web page, accessed October 22, 2006.
3. J. K. Shultis, R. E. Faw, Fundamentals of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Marcel Dekker, 2002, p. 340.
4. Statement of Admiral F. L. "Skip" Bowman, U.S. Navy Director, Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program before the House Committee on Science 29 October 2003.
5. Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr, , John, Jeffries, Fordham University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8232-2110-5 , p.162: 'Admiral Rickover', said Powell, '"father of the atomic submarine", is a a great naval officer... It is not equally clear that he is a careful and thorough student of American education.'"
6. "Submarine Range Called Unlimited; Rickover Says Atomic Craft Can Cruise Under Ice To North Pole and Beyond", ''The New York Times'', December 6, 1957, p.33: "The admiral, who is often called the 'Father of the Atomic Submarine'..."
7. Submarine Admiral: From Battlewagons to Ballistic Missiles, , I. J., Galantin, University of Illinois Press, 1997, ISBN 0-252-06675-8 ,p. 217: "Chet Holifield... member of the JCAE... said 'Of all the men I dealt with in public service, at least one will go down in history: Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, the father of the nuclear Navy.'
8. Federation of American Scientists, Military Analysis web site, accessed October 22, 2006.
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