1975 Rickover Testimony - Joint Committee on Atomic Energy

This is Rickover's annual testimony before the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy on March 5, 1975. Nimitz had just completed sea trials. 112 nuclear ships were operating and 36 more ships were authorized for construction and delivery.

Rickover covers the following topics:

• Status of nuclear- powered ships

• Cost of naval nuclear program

• U.S. nuclear attack submarines

• Soviet nuclear submarine force

• SSN-688 class submarines

• Funding for SSN-688 class submarines

• New design submarine propulsion plant

• Nimitz sea trials

• Two reactors vs. four or eight

• Young crewmen performed like veterans

• Trident

• Russian advantage in strategic submarines

• Cost of Trident program

• Advantages of Trident

• Alternatives to present Trident design

• Brussels Convention of 1962 - Importance of excluding warships

• NR-1

• NR-2

• Nuclear surface warships

• Size of U.S. Navy-

• Title VII

• Cost of oil

• Which ships should be nuclear

• Nuclear aircraft

• Cost of power

• Light water breeder reactor

  • Need for breeding

  • Development cost of LWBR_

  • LWBR will not breed plutonium

• Naval Reactors laboratories

• Advanced water breeder applications_.

• Nuclear trained naval personnel valuable to industry.

• Contribution of naval program to commercial nuclear industry

• Naval reactors amass over 1,250 reactor years of accident free operation

• Special safety precaution at Shippingport plant

  • Need for more than self- inspection

• Importance of keeping Naval Reactors in ERDA

• Radioactive discharges from nuclear propulsion program are insignificant

• Freedom of Information Act

  • Request for vast quantities of records

  • Letters from law center

  • Scope of recent request

  • Congressional concern over release of naval nuclear propulsion information

  • Professional people will quit

  • Freedom of Information Act being used to bypass normal legal procedures

The following previous testimonies before the JCAE are identified:

Feb. 25, 1974, hearing : "Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program-1974. "

Feb. 8, 1972, and Mar. 28, 1973, hearings : "Naval Nuclear Propulsion Pro- gram-1972-73. "

May 5, 1971-Sept. 30, 1972, hearing and subsequent inquiry of the Subcommittee

on Military Applications : "Nuclear Propulsion for Naval Warships. "

Mar. 10, 1971 , hearing : "Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program --1971 ."

Mar. 19, 20, 1970, hearings : "Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program-1970. "

April 23, 1969, hearing : "Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program-1969. "

July 25, 1968, hearing : "Nuclear Submarines of Advanced Design, " pt. 2.

June 21, 1968, hearing : "Nuclear Submarines of Advanced Design. "

Feb. 8, 1968 and Mar. 16, 1967, hearings : "Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program,

1967-68."

Jan. 26, 1966, hearing : "Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. "

June 26, 27, July 23, 1963, and July 1, 1964, hearings : "Loss of the U.S.S. Thresher."

December 1963, report : "Nuclear Propulsion for Naval Surface Vessels."

Oct. 30, 31, and Nov. 13, 1963, hearings : "Nuclear Propulsion for Naval Surface Vessels."

Mar. 31 and Apr. 1, 1962, hearings : "Tour of the U.S.S. Enterprise and Report

on Joint AEC-Naval Reactor Program. "

Apr. 9, 1960, hearing : "Naval Reactor Program and Polaris Missile Systems."

Apr. 11 and 15, 1959, hearings : "Review of Naval Reactor Program and Admiral Rickover Award."

Mar. 7 and Apr. 12, 1957, hearings : "Naval Reactor Program and Shippingport Project. "