46°33′54.8″N 119°31′09.7″W / 46.565222°N 119.519361°W / 46.565222; -119.519361
85-598: The D2G reactor was a naval reactor used by the United States Navy from 1962 to provide propulsion and electricity generation on warships . Ships powered by the reactor were decommissioned at around the end of the 20th century. The D2G designation stands for: Two of these nuclear reactors were installed on each of the Bainbridge , Truxtun , California , and Virginia classes of guided missile cruisers . The only nuclear-powered cruiser in
170-492: A rare personal interview with Diane Sawyer in 1984. In 1973, though his role and responsibilities remained unchanged, Rickover was promoted to the rank of four-star admiral . This was the second time (after Samuel Murray Robinson ) in the history of the U.S. Navy that an officer with a career path other than an operational line officer achieved that rank. Because his responsibilities did not include direct command and control of combatant naval units, technically Rickover
255-407: A basic text for the U.S. submarine service. On 17 July 1937, he reported aboard the minesweeper Finch at Qingdao , China , and assumed what would be his only ship command with additional duty as Commander, Mine Division Three, Asiatic Fleet. The Marco Polo Bridge Incident had occurred ten days earlier. In August, Finch stood out for Shanghai to protect American citizens and interests from
340-503: A congressional hearing Rickover testified that: I do not believe that nuclear power is worth it if it creates radiation. Then you might ask me why do I have nuclear powered ships. That is a necessary evil. I would sink them all. I am not proud of the part I played in it. I did it because it was necessary for the safety of this country. That's why I am such a great exponent of stopping this whole nonsense of war. Unfortunately limits—attempts to limit war have always failed. The lesson of history
425-573: A high regard for the quality of the education he received at Columbia, as demonstrated in this excerpt from a speech he gave at the university some 52 years after attending: Columbia was the first institution that encouraged me to think rather than memorize. My teachers were notable in that many had gained practical engineering experience outside the university and were able to share their experience with their students. I am grateful, among others, to Professors Morecroft, Hehre, and Arendt. Much of what I have subsequently learned and accomplished in engineering
510-507: A light as his neighbor operated a machine. Later, he delivered groceries. He graduated from grammar school at 14. Rickover attended John Marshall Metropolitan High School in Chicago and graduated with honors in 1918. He then held a full-time job as a telegraph boy delivering Western Union telegrams, through which he became acquainted with Congressman Adolph J. Sabath , a Czech Jewish immigrant. Sabath nominated Rickover for appointment to
595-449: A long-term Engineering Duty Officer such as Rickover. In keeping with Rickover's promotion to four-star admiral, those who were subsequently selected for assignment to Director, Naval Reactors are promoted to this same rank, but also on active duty status. Historian Francis Duncan, who for over eight years was granted generous access to diverse numbers and levels of witnesses—including U.S. presidents—as well as Rickover himself, came to
680-606: A longtime supporter of Rickover, later publicly associated a debilitating stroke suffered by the admiral to his having been censured and "dragged through the mud by the very institution to which he rendered his invaluable service." By the late 1970s, Rickover's position seemed stronger than it had ever been. Over many years, powerful friends on both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees ensured that he remained on active duty long after most other admirals had retired from their second careers. Jimmy Carter 's admiration for Rickover
765-428: A nuclear navy? Do you have any regrets?": I do not have regrets. I believe I helped preserve the peace for this country. Why should I regret that? What I accomplished was approved by Congress—which represents our people. All of you live in safety from domestic enemies because of security from the police. Likewise, you live in safety from foreign enemies because our military keeps them from attacking us. Nuclear technology
850-641: A number of contractors, then developed and tested at one of several Department of Energy -owned and prime contractor-operated facilities: Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania and its associated Naval Reactors Facility in Idaho , and Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in Niskayuna, New York and its associated Kesselring site in West Milton, New York , all under the management of
935-466: A part in determining who shall fail of selection for promotion (thus also violating the system), never before or since have pressures from outside the Navy overturned this form of career-termination. Regardless of the challenges faced in developing and operating brand-new technology, Rickover and the team did not disappoint: the result was a highly reliable nuclear reactor in a form-factor that would fit into
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#17327828816001020-735: A reactor accident, but has suffered at least one coolant loss accident, on the USS Guardfish . All nine of the U.S. Navy nuclear-powered cruisers (CGN) have now been stricken from the Naval Vessel Register , and those not already scrapped by recycling are scheduled to be recycled. While reactor accidents have not sunk any U.S. Navy ships or submarines, two nuclear-powered submarines, USS Thresher and USS Scorpion were lost at sea. The condition of these reactors has not been publicly released, although both wrecks have been investigated by Robert Ballard on behalf of
1105-680: A submarine hull with no more than a 28-foot (8.5 m) beam . This became known as the S1W reactor . Nautilus was launched and commissioned with this reactor in 1954. Later Rickover oversaw the development of the Shippingport Atomic Power Station , the first commercial pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant. Kenneth Nichols of the AEC decided that the Rickover-Westinghouse pressurized-water reactor
1190-612: A year at the Naval Postgraduate School and further coursework at Columbia. At the latter institution, he met Ruth D. Masters, a graduate student in international law, whom he married in 1931 after she returned from her doctoral studies at the Sorbonne in Paris. Shortly after marrying, Rickover wrote to his parents of his decision to become an Episcopalian , remaining so for the remainder of his life. Rickover had
1275-430: Is based on the solid foundation of principles I learned from them. Rickover preferred life on smaller ships, and he also knew that young officers in the submarine service were advancing quickly, so he went to Washington and volunteered for submarine duty. His application was turned down due to his age, at that time 29 years. Fortunately for Rickover, he encountered his former commanding officer from Nevada while leaving
1360-453: Is enabled by high uranium enrichment and by incorporating a " burnable neutron poison ", which is progressively depleted as non-burnable poisons like fission products and actinides accumulate. The loss of burnable poison counterbalances the creation of non-burnable poisons and result in stable long term fuel efficiency . Long-term integrity of the compact reactor pressure vessel is maintained by providing an internal neutron shield. (This
1445-547: Is in contrast to early Soviet civil PWR designs where embrittlement occurs due to neutron bombardment of a very narrow pressure vessel.) Reactor sizes range up to ~500 MWt (about 165 MWe) in the larger submarines and surface ships. The French Rubis -class submarines have a 48 MW reactor that needs no refueling for 30 years. The nuclear navies of the United States, the United Kingdom, and
1530-494: Is to cut the reactor section from the vessel for disposal in shallow land burial as low-level waste (see the Ship-Submarine Recycling Program ). Hyman G. Rickover Hyman G. Rickover (January 27, 1900 – July 8, 1986) was an admiral in the United States Navy . He directed the original development of naval nuclear propulsion and controlled its operations for three decades as director of
1615-461: Is when a war starts every nation will ultimately use whatever weapon it has available. ... Every time you produce radiation, you produce something that has a certain half-life, in some cases for billions of years. ... It is important that we control these forces and try to eliminate them. A few months later, following his retirement, Rickover spoke more specifically regarding the questions "Could you comment on your own responsibility in helping to create
1700-793: The A1W prototype at Naval Reactors Facility led to development of A2W reactors used in USS Enterprise . By 1962, the US Navy had 26 nuclear submarines operational and 30 under construction. Nuclear power had revolutionized the U.S. Navy. The technology was shared with the United Kingdom, while technological development in France, China and the Soviet Union proceeded separately. After the Skate -class vessels, reactor development proceeded and in
1785-626: The Idaho National Laboratory (INL, previously INEL). USS Nautilus was powered by the S2W reactor , and crew were trained on the land-based S1W reactor at INL. The second nuclear submarine was USS Seawolf , which was initially powered by a sodium-cooled S2G reactor , and supported by the land-based S1G reactor at the Kesselring site under Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory operated by General Electric . A spare S2G
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#17327828816001870-586: The Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock , both major nuclear ship contractors for the Navy. Secretary Lehman admonished him in a non-punitive letter and stated that Rickover's "fall from grace with these little trinkets should be viewed in the context of his enormous contributions to the Navy." Rickover released a statement through his lawyer saying his "conscience is clear" with respect to the gifts. "No gratuity or favor ever affected any decision I made." Senator William Proxmire of Wisconsin,
1955-499: The Oak Ridge National Laboratory ) to develop a nuclear electric generating plant. Realizing the potential that nuclear energy held for the Navy, Rickover applied. Rickover was sent to Oak Ridge through the efforts of his wartime boss, Rear Admiral Earle Mills, who became the head of the Navy's Bureau of Ships that same year. Rickover became an early convert to the idea of nuclear marine propulsion , and
2040-582: The Revolution of 1905 . They joined Abraham, who had made earlier trips there beginning in 1897 to become established. Rickover's family lived initially on the East Side of Manhattan but moved two years later to North Lawndale, Chicago , which was a heavily Jewish neighborhood at the time, where Rickover's father continued work as a tailor. Rickover took his first paid job at age nine, earning three cents an hour (equivalent to $ 1.02 in 2023) for holding
2125-566: The United States Naval Academy . Rickover was only a third alternate for appointment, but he passed the entrance exam and was accepted. Rickover's naval career began in 1918 at the Naval Academy; at this time, attending military academies was considered active duty service, due in part to World War I . On June 2, 1922, Rickover graduated 107th out of 540 midshipmen and was commissioned as an ensign . He joined
2210-670: The United States Navy aboard certain ships to generate the steam used to produce power for propulsion , electric power , catapulting airplanes in aircraft carriers , and a few minor uses. Such naval nuclear reactors have a complete power plant associated with them. All commissioned U.S. Navy submarines and supercarriers built since 1975 are nuclear powered , with the last conventional carrier, USS Kitty Hawk , being decommissioned in May 2009. The U.S. Navy also had nine nuclear-powered cruisers with such reactors, but they have since been decommissioned also. Reactors are designed by
2295-405: The destroyer La Vallette on September 5, 1922. Rickover impressed his commanding officer with his hard work and efficiency, and was made engineer officer on June 21, 1923, becoming the youngest such officer in the squadron . He next served on board the battleship Nevada before earning a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from Columbia University in 1930 by way of
2380-482: The submarine USS Nautilus , put to sea in 1955. USS Nautilus marked the beginning of the transition of submarines from relatively slow and short-ranged conventional submarines to ones capable of sustaining 20–25 knots (37–46 km/h; 23–29 mph) submerged for weeks on end. Much of the early development work on naval reactors was done at the Naval Reactors Facility on the campus of
2465-589: The 1940s. Research on developing nuclear reactors for the Navy was done at Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania starting in 1948. Under the long-term leadership of Admiral Hyman G. Rickover , the first test reactor plant, a prototype referred to as S1W , started up in U.S. in 1953 at the Naval Reactors Facility in Idaho . Bettis Laboratory and Naval Reactors Facility were operated initially and for many decades afterwards by Westinghouse . The first nuclear-powered vessel,
2550-625: The Bureau of Engineering in Washington, D.C. Once there, he took up his duties as assistant chief of the Electrical section of the Bureau of Engineering on August 15, 1939. On April 10, 1942, after America's entry into World War II , Rickover flew to Pearl Harbor to organize repairs to the electrical power plant of USS California . Rickover had been promoted to the rank of commander on January 1, 1942, and in late June of that year
2635-521: The Chief of Naval Operations, Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz , also a former submariner. Nimitz immediately understood the potential of nuclear propulsion in submarines and recommended the project to the Secretary of the Navy, John L. Sullivan . Sullivan's endorsement to build the world's first nuclear-powered vessel, USS Nautilus , later caused Rickover to state that Sullivan was "the true father of
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2720-500: The Manhattan Project, Mills was anxious to have a very determined man involved. He knew that Rickover was "not too easy to get along with" and "not too popular," but in his judgement Rickover was the man on whom the Navy could depend "no matter what opposition he might encounter". While his team and industry were completing construction of Nautilus , Rickover was promoted to the rank of rear admiral in 1953. However, this
2805-605: The Navy John Lehman was partly motivated to seek the agreement in order to continue to focus on achieving President Reagan 's goal of a 600-ship Navy . But Rickover was extremely bitter over the General Dynamics yard being paid hundreds of millions of dollars, and he lambasted both the settlement and Secretary Lehman. This was not Rickover's first clash with the defense industry; he was historically harsh in exacting high standards from defense contractors. It
2890-646: The Navy using remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). Congress has mandated that the U.S. Navy consider nuclear power as an option on all large surface combatants (cruisers, destroyers ) and amphibious assault ships . If proven cost-effective in a life cycle cost analysis during the Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) phase of preliminary ship design, new ship classes (e.g. CG(X)) could proceed with nuclear propulsion. Current U.S. naval reactors are all pressurized water reactors, which are identical to PWR commercial reactors producing electricity, except that: Long core life
2975-712: The Nuclear Navy." Subsequently, Rickover became chief of a new section in the Bureau of Ships , the Nuclear Power Division reporting to Mills. He began work with Alvin M. Weinberg , the Oak Ridge director of research, to initiate and develop the Oak Ridge School of Reactor Technology and to begin the design of the pressurized water reactor for submarine propulsion. In February 1949 he
3060-523: The Rickover problem. Rickover's legendary achievements were in the past. His present viselike grip on much of the navy was doing it much harm. I had sought the job because I believed the navy had deteriorated to the point where its weakness seriously threatened our future security. The navy's grave afflictions included loss of a strategic vision; loss of self-confidence, and morale; a prolonged starvation of resources, leaving vast shortfalls in capability to do
3145-588: The Russian Federation rely on steam turbine propulsion. Those of the French and Chinese use the turbine to generate electricity for propulsion. Most Russian submarines as well as all U.S. surface ships since Enterprise are powered by two or more reactors. U.S., British, French, Chinese and Indian submarines are powered by one. Decommissioning nuclear-powered submarines has become a major task for American and Russian navies. After defuelling, U.S. practice
3230-606: The Senate failed to give its usual perfunctory approval of the Navy admiral promotion list, and the press was outraged because Rickover's name was not on it. ... Ultimately an enlightened Secretary of the Navy, Robert B. Anderson , ordered a special selection board to sit. With some shuffling of feet it did what it had been ordered to do.... Ninety-five percent of Navy captains must retire regardless of how highly qualified because there are only vacancies for 5 percent of them to become admirals, and although vindictiveness has sometimes played
3315-537: The Soviet ones in the crucial area of stealth, and Rickover's obsessive fixation on safety and quality control gave the U.S. nuclear Navy a vastly superior safety record to the Soviet one. Given Rickover's single-minded focus on naval nuclear propulsion, design, and operations, it came as a surprise to many in 1982, near the end of his career, when he testified before the U.S. Congress that, were it up to him what to do with nuclear powered ships, he "would sink them all." At
3400-403: The U.S. Naval Reactors office. In addition, he oversaw the development of the Shippingport Atomic Power Station , the world's first commercial pressurized water reactor used for generating electricity. Rickover is also one of four people who have been awarded two Congressional Gold Medals . Rickover is known as the "Father of the Nuclear Navy," and his influence on the Navy and its warships
3485-500: The U.S. Navy's continuing record of zero reactor accidents (defined as the uncontrolled release of fission products to the environment resulting from damage to a reactor core). He made it a point to be aboard during the initial sea trial of almost every nuclear submarine completing its new-construction period. Following the Three Mile Island accident on March 28, 1979, Admiral Rickover was asked to testify before Congress in
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3570-424: The U.S. Navy. President Reagan was not in attendance. Rickover has been called "the most famous and controversial admiral of his era." He was hyperactive, blunt, confrontational, insulting, and a workaholic, always demanding of others without regard for rank or position. Moreover, he had "little tolerance for mediocrity, none for stupidity." Even while a captain, Rickover did not conceal his opinions, and many of
3655-789: The U.S. a single series of standardized designs was built by both Westinghouse and General Electric, with one reactor powering each vessel. Rolls-Royce built similar units as the PWR1 for Royal Navy submarines and then developed the design further to the PWR2. Numerous submarines with an S5W reactor plant were built. At the end of the Cold War in 1989, there were over 400 nuclear-powered submarines operational or being built. Some 250 of these submarines have now been scrapped and some on order canceled, due to weapons reduction programs. The Russian Navy and United States Navy had over one hundred each, with
3740-677: The United Kingdom and France less than twenty each and China six. The total today is about 160. The United States is the main navy with nuclear-powered aircraft carriers (10), while Russia has nuclear-powered cruisers. Russia has eight nuclear icebreakers in service or building. Since its inception in 1948, the U.S. Navy nuclear program has developed 27 different plant designs, installed them in 210 nuclear-powered ships, taken 500 reactor cores into operation, and accumulated over 5,400 reactor years of operation and 128,000,000 miles safely steamed. Additionally, 98 nuclear submarines and six nuclear cruisers have been recycled. The U.S. Navy has never disclosed
3825-646: The United States Navy not equipped with a D2G reactor was the world's first nuclear cruiser, the USS Long Beach (CGN-9) , which used two C1W reactors . It is known that USS Bainbridge 's reactors were refueled three times, and USS Truxtun 's were refueled twice. Each D2G reactor was rated for a maximum thermal output of 148 megawatts (198,000 hp), with two steam turbines which drove two shafts, each generating between 30,000 and 35,000 shaft horsepower (22,000 and 26,000 kW). Each reactor
3910-857: The United States national and global future," Rickover founded the Center for Excellence in Education following his retirement in 1983. Additionally, Rickover founded the Research Science Institute (formerly the Rickover Science Institute) in 1984, a summer science program hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for high school seniors from around the world. In the early 1980s, structural welding flaws in submarines under construction were covered up by falsified inspection records, and
3995-550: The United States, Rickover developed a decades-long and outspoken interest in the educational standards of the US as being a national security issue, particularly as compared during the Cold War era to Soviet Russia . An example of his passion for education from his 1959 Report on Russia in the context of comparative educational systems: There is no room here (in nuclear powerplant development) for lofty theories which do not work out in practice. We would not get anywhere if we had
4080-416: The admiral's nearly insubordinate stance against paying the General Dynamics submarine construction claims, as well as his advanced age and waning political leverage. On July 27, 1981, Lehman was handed the final impetus for ending Rickover's career by way of an operational error on the admiral's part: a "moderate" loss of ship control and depth excursion while performing a submerged "crash back" maneuver during
4165-893: The building, who interceded successfully on his behalf. From 1929 to 1933, Rickover qualified for submarine duty and command aboard the submarines S-9 and S-48 . While aboard S-48 he was addressed a letter of commendation from the Secretary of the Navy "for rescuing Augustin Pasis… from drowning at the Submarine Base, Coco Solo , Canal Zone ." While at the Office of the Inspector of Naval Material in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania in 1933, Rickover translated Das Unterseeboot ( The Submarine ) by World War I German Imperial Navy Admiral Hermann Bauer . Rickover's translation became
4250-542: The conclusion that the man was best understood with respect to a guiding principle that Rickover invoked foremost for both himself and those who served in the U.S. Navy's nuclear propulsion program: "exercise of the concept of responsibility." This is further evidenced by Rickover listing responsibility as his first principle in his final-years paper and speech, Thoughts on Man's Purpose in Life. Rickover's stringent standards are largely credited with being responsible for
4335-543: The conflict between Chinese and Japanese forces. On September 25, Rickover was promoted to lieutenant commander, retroactive to July 1. In October, his designation as an engineering duty officer became effective, and he was relieved of his three-month command of Finch at Shanghai on October 5, 1937. Rickover was assigned to the Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippines, and was transferred shortly thereafter to
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#17327828816004420-500: The end of the war he had won the rank of captain. He had also won a reputation as a man who gets things done. In December 1945, Rickover was appointed Inspector General of the 19th Fleet on the west coast, and was assigned to work with General Electric at Schenectady , New York , to develop a nuclear propulsion plant for destroyers. In 1946, an initiative was begun at the Manhattan Project 's Clinton Laboratory (now
4505-588: The general context of answering the question as to why naval nuclear propulsion had succeeded in achieving a record of zero reactor-accidents, as opposed to the dramatic one that had just taken place. The accident-free record of United States Navy reactor operations stands in some very stark contrast to those of the Soviet Union, which had fourteen known reactor accidents . As stated in a retrospective analysis in October 2007: U.S. submarines far outperformed
4590-409: The job; and too few ships to cover a sea so great, all resulting in cynicism, exhaustion, and an undercurrent of defeatism. The cult created by Admiral Rickover was itself a major obstacle to recovery, entwining nearly all the issues of culture and policy within the navy. Secretary Lehman eventually attained enough political clout to enforce his decision to retire Rickover. This was in part assisted by
4675-409: The longest-serving naval officer, as well as the longest-serving member of the U.S armed forces in history. Having become a naval engineering duty officer (EDO) in 1937 after serving as both a surface ship and submarine-qualified unrestricted line officer , his substantial legacy of technical achievements includes the United States Navy's continuing record of zero reactor accidents. Rickover
4760-523: The loose, hazy thinking you encounter when you bring out the obvious failures of the American educational system. ... there are times when it is irresponsible to avoid criticizing something which one knows to be wrong and dangerous for the Nation as a whole. I feel that every one who has a position of responsibility in this country and who can see and understand what is happening not only has the right, he has
4845-458: The obligation and the duty to speak. ... This is why I feel so strongly about education—about our failure to give our children as good an education as they deserve and need. ... It is my considered opinion that there is no problem that faces the Congress or the country that is as important. Rickover believed that US standards of education were unacceptably low. His first book centered on education
4930-598: The office of Naval Reactors . Sometimes there were full-scale nuclear-powered prototype plants built at the Naval Reactors Facility, Kesselring, and Windsor (in Connecticut ) to test the nuclear plants, which were operated for years to train nuclear-qualified sailors. Each reactor design is given a three-character designation consisting of: For example, a S9G reactor represents a submarine ( S ), ninth-generation ( 9 ), General Electric designed reactor ( G ). Conceptual analysis of nuclear marine propulsion started in
5015-532: The officers whom he regarded as unintelligent eventually rose to be admirals and were assigned to the Pentagon. Rickover frequently found himself in bureaucratic combat with these senior naval officers, to the point that he almost missed becoming an admiral; two selection boards passed him over for promotion, and it took the intervention of the White House, U.S. Congress, and the Secretary of the Navy before he
5100-509: The radio. According to former President Jimmy Carter , several weeks following his retirement, Rickover "was invited to the Oval Office and decided to don his full dress uniform. He told me that he refused to take a seat, listened to the president [Reagan] ask him to be his special nuclear advisor, replied 'Mr. President, that is bullshit,' and then walked out." The Navy's official investigation of General Dynamics' Electric Boat division
5185-719: The resulting scandal led to significant delays and expenses in the delivery of several submarines being built at the General Dynamics Electric Boat Division shipyard in Groton, Connecticut . The yard tried to pass on the vast cost overruns to the Navy, while Rickover demanded that the yard make good on its "shoddy" workmanship. The Navy settled with General Dynamics in 1981, paying out $ 634 million of $ 843 million in Los Angeles -class submarine cost overrun and reconstruction claims. Secretary of
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#17327828816005270-507: The sea trials of the newly constructed USS La Jolla . Rickover was the actual man-in-charge during this specific performance test, and his actions and inactions were judged to have been the causal factor. On January 31, 1982, five weeks after his 82nd birthday, Rickover was forced to retire from the Navy after 63 years of service under 13 presidents ( Woodrow Wilson through Ronald Reagan ). According to Rickover, he first learned of his firing when his wife told him what she heard on
5355-712: The spare S2W that was part of the USS Nautilus program. All subsequent U.S. naval reactors have been PWRs, while the Soviet Navy used mainly PWRs, but also used lead-bismuth cooled liquid metal cooled reactors (LMFR) of three types in eight submarines: K-27 and the seven-member Alfa class . Experience with USS Nautilus led to the parallel development of further ( Skate -class ) submarines, powered by single reactors, and an aircraft carrier , USS Enterprise , powered by eight A2W reactor units in 1960. A cruiser, USS Long Beach , followed in 1961 and
5440-495: The tens of thousands; over 14,000 interviews were with recent college-graduates alone. The interviewees ranged from midshipmen and newly commissioned ensigns destined for nuclear-powered submarines and surface combatants, to very senior combat-experienced Naval Aviator captains who sought command of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. The content of most of these interviews has been lost to history, though some were later chronicled in several books on Rickover's career, as well as in
5525-605: The war, his service as head of the Electrical Section in the Bureau of Ships brought him a Legion of Merit and gave him experience in directing large development programs, choosing talented technical people, and working closely with private industry. Time magazine featured him on the cover of its January 11, 1954 issue. The accompanying article described his wartime service: Sharp-tongued Hyman Rickover spurred his men to exhaustion, ripped through red tape, drove contractors into rages. He went on making enemies, but by
5610-527: Was "the best choice for a reactor to demonstrate the production of electricity" with Rickover "having a going organization and a reactor project under way that now had no specific use to justify it." This was a reference to the first core used at Shippingport originating from a cancelled nuclear-powered aircraft carrier . This was accepted by Lewis Strauss and the Commission in January 1954. Rickover
5695-476: Was 37 feet (11 m) long, 31 feet (9.4 m) wide, and weighed 1,400 tonnes (1,400 long tons; 1,500 short tons). One reactor was located in the aft of the hull, the other in the fore. The reactors of the California class ships were replaced by 165-megawatt (221,000 hp) D2W reactors in the early 1990s. United States naval reactors United States naval reactors are nuclear reactors used by
5780-486: Was a collection of essays calling for improved standards of education, particularly in math and science, entitled Education and Freedom (1959). In it, he stated that "education is the most important problem facing the United States today" and "only the massive upgrading of the scholastic standards of our schools will guarantee the future prosperity and freedom of the Republic." A second book, Swiss Schools and Ours (1962)
5865-422: Was a scathing comparison of the educational systems of Switzerland and America. He argued that the higher standards of Swiss schools, including a longer school day and year, combined with an approach stressing student choice and academic specialization produced superior results. Recognizing that "nurturing careers of excellence and leadership in science and technology in young scholars is an essential investment in
5950-644: Was already under development in other countries. My assigned responsibility was to develop our nuclear navy. I managed to accomplish this. When he was a child still living in Russian-occupied Poland, Rickover was not allowed to attend public schools because of his Jewish faith. Starting at the age of four, he attended a religious school where the teaching was solely from the Tanakh , i.e., Old Testament , in Hebrew . Following his formal education in
6035-439: Was also built but never used. USS Seawolf was plagued by superheater problems, with the result that USS Nautilus delivered far superior performance. This and the risks posed by liquid sodium in the event of an accident at sea led Admiral Rickover to select the pressurized water reactor (PWR) as the standard U.S. naval reactor type. The S2G was removed from USS Seawolf and replaced by the S2Wa reactor , using components from
6120-570: Was anything but routine, and occurred only after an extraordinary chain of events: [Rickover's] peers in the Navy’s engineer branch thought to get rid of him through failure of promotion above captain. This would entail automatic retirement at the thirty-year mark. But someone made the case to the U.S. Senate, charged by the Constitution with formal confirmation of military promotions. In that year, 1953, two years before Nautilus first went to sea,
6205-402: Was appointed to the grade of admiral on the retired list so as to provide some clarity on this issue. This was also done to avoid affecting the maximum-authorized number of admirals (O-10) on the "active list." As head of Naval Reactors, Rickover's focus and responsibilities were dedicated to reactor safety rather than tactical or strategic submarine warfare training. However, this extreme focus
6290-606: Was assigned to the Atomic Energy Commission 's Division of Reactor Development, and then assumed control of the Navy's effort within the AEC as Director of the Naval Reactors Branch. This twin role enabled him to lead the effort to develop Nautilus . The original selection of Rickover as head of development of the nation's nuclear submarine program ultimately rested with Admiral Mills. According to Lieutenant General Leslie Groves , director of
6375-601: Was born Chaim Gdala Rykower to Abraham and Rachel/Ruchla Lea (nee Unger) Rykower, a Polish Jewish family from Maków Mazowiecki in Vistula Land . His parents changed his name to "Hyman" which is derived from Chayyim , meaning "life". He did not use his middle name Godalia (a form of Gedaliah ), but he substituted "George" when at the Naval Academy. Rickover made passage to New York City with his mother and sister in March 1906, fleeing anti-Semitic Russian pogroms during
6460-450: Was ended shortly afterward. According to Theodore Rockwell, Rickover's Technical Director for more than 15 years, more than one source at that time stated that General Dynamics officials were bragging around Washington that they had "gotten Rickover." On February 28, 1983, a post-retirement party honoring Admiral Rickover was attended by all three living former U.S. Presidents at the time: Nixon , Ford , and Carter, all formerly officers in
6545-556: Was later publicly announced by a former General Dynamics employee on 60 Minutes with Mike Wallace that Rickover was right that General Dynamics was lying to the Navy, but by then Rickover's public image was already damaged. A Navy Ad Hoc Gratuities Board determined that Rickover had received gifts from General Dynamics over a 16-year period valued at $ 67,628, including jewelry, furniture, exotic knives, and gifts that Rickover had in turn presented to politicians. Charges were investigated that gifts were provided by General Electric and
6630-491: Was made a temporary captain . In late 1944 he appealed for a transfer to an active command. He was sent to investigate inefficiencies at the naval supply depot at Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania , then was appointed in July 1945 to command of a ship repair facility on Okinawa . Shortly thereafter, his command was destroyed by Typhoon Louise , and he subsequently spent some time helping to teach school to Okinawan children. Later in
6715-464: Was of such scope that he "may well go down in history as one of the Navy's most important officers." He served in a flag rank for nearly 30 years (1953 to 1982), ending his career as a four-star admiral. His years of service exceeded that of each of the U.S. Navy's five-star fleet admirals— Leahy , King , Nimitz and Halsey —all of whom served on active duty for life after their appointments. Rickover's total of 63 years of active duty service makes him
6800-529: Was powered by two C1W reactor units. USS Enterprise remained in service for over 50 years, and was inactivated in 2012. Full-scale land-based prototype plants in Idaho, New York, and Connecticut preceded development of several types (generations) of U.S. naval nuclear reactors, although not all of them. After initial construction, some engineering testing was done and the prototypes were used to train nuclear-qualified sailors for many years afterwards. For example,
6885-414: Was promoted to vice admiral in 1958, the same year that he was awarded the first of two Congressional Gold Medals . He exercised tight control for the next three decades over the ships, technology, and personnel of the nuclear Navy, interviewing and approving or denying every prospective officer being considered for a nuclear ship. Over the course of Rickover's career, these personal interviews numbered in
6970-466: Was promoted. Rickover's military authority and congressional mandate were absolute with regard to the U.S. fleet's reactor operations, but his controlling personality was frequently a subject of internal Navy controversy. He was head of the Naval Reactors branch, and thus responsible for signing off on a crew's competence to operate the reactor safely, giving him the power to effectively remove
7055-468: Was shown by the fact that the title of Carter's autobiography was based on a question that Rickover had asked Carter when the latter was in the Navy ("Why Not The Best?"). However, Secretary of the Navy John Lehman felt that Rickover was hindering the well-being of the navy. As Lehman stated in his book, Command of the Seas : One of my first orders of business as Secretary of the Navy would be to solve ...
7140-464: Was the driving force for shifting the Navy's initial focus from applications on destroyers to submarines. Rickover's vision was not initially shared by his immediate superiors: he was recalled from Oak Ridge and assigned "advisory duties" with an office in an abandoned ladies' room in the Navy Building. He subsequently went around several layers of superior officers, and in 1947 went directly to
7225-556: Was well known during Rickover's era as a potential hindrance to balancing operational priorities. One way that this was addressed after Rickover retired was that only the very strongest, former at-sea submarine commanders have held Rickover's now unique eight-year position as NAVSEA-08 , the longest chartered tenure in the U.S. military. From Rickover's first replacement, Kinnaird R. McKee , to today's head of Naval Reactors, William J. Houston , all have held command of nuclear submarines, their squadrons and ocean fleets, but none have been
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