1959 -Testimony on Skipjack and Gold Medal Award to Rickover

The Congressional Joint Committee on Atomic Energy hearing was held on USS Skipjack on April 11, 1959. Skipjack was at sea while the submarine was establishing new records for speed an depth operation.

The hearing on April 15, 1959 was held in public to present Vice Admiral Rickover a special Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of his achievements. A picture of the medal is available on page 45 of the document. The hearing also included a review by Admiral Rickover of the NR Program.

Some interesting items from the Testimony:

• The hearing on Skipjack occurred 32 days after completing initial sea trails. This was also just over 4 years from The Joint Committee holding a hearing on Nautilus shortly after her sea trails. During those 4 years, 5 submarines went to sea (SeaWolf, Skate, Swordfish, Sargo, and Skipjack)

• Starting page 59 is a detailed early history of the CVR project, its cancellation, and shift of focus to Shippingport.

In 1959:

• NRHQ had 120 engineers and scientists

• Bettis + KAPL had 2000 engineers and scientists

• There were 5 operating prototypes

• Total cost of the nuclear power program up thru 1959 was $400m.

• NR R&D in 1959 was $100m (85% from AEC and 15% from Navy)

The digital file is available from HathiTrust and Google Books.