The Ice Diaries: Untold Story of USS Nautilus

USS Nautilus was the first nuclear-powered submarine. She was commissioned on 30 September 1954 and The Ice Diaries is the story of her second Captain, Commander William R. Anderson, and the crew that made this historic trip. Her orders were to transit from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic, in the process passing under the North Pole. The search for a Northwest Passage has been a centuries-old dream of mariners everywhere and the crew of Nautilus was certainly no exception. In addition, this trip occurred at the point in history where it appeared that the United States was definitely losing its pre-eminent place in technological development. Russia had recently launched Sputnik and quickly followed it with another.

Captain Anderson had proposed this type of underwater exploration shortly after taking command and was given permission to do a short test run under the Atlantic ice shelf which he hoped would let him get to the Pole although he had no definite orders to go that far. It was not to be on that trip but the amount of information the boat compiled made Captain Anderson and the Navy eager to try again.

This is a wonderful account of a gripping trip and a great accomplishment. Nautilus essentially explored unknown territory and came close to being stranded under the ice on several occasions. The second try had to be aborted and they were finally successful on the third attempt. The successful route approached from the Pacific side through the Bering Sea and Across. On all three attempts, they had to fight equipment failures, leaks, compass failures and, at on time, a fire onboard. They also had to accomplish it in secrecy. President Eisenhower wanted to announce a victory as a surprise and certainly did not want to publicize a failure. In the end, they triumphed. This story of the Captain and crew and the remarkable ways they coped in a new and hostile environment is fascinating.