You probably won't hear much about this unless you live in CT, but this Tuesday will mark the 60th anniversary of the launching of SSN 571, better known as the Nautilus. I live almost directly across the river from the Nautilus Museum (worth a visit if you are ever in SE CT). In the 1950s one of my classmates at Quaker Hill Grammar School was Rodney Wilkinson, the youngest son of then Captain Eugene Wilkinson. When parents would come in to describe their jobs, it was almost surreal to see, standing before our class, Capt. Wilkinson explain how he was Captain of the first nuclear powered submarine. All of us thought it was very cool to have a guy in class who was on TV too. Our 3rd grade class was actually invited (with only permission slips from parents) to tour the Nautilus. Those were the days when law suits were few and playground equipment was really fun to use. Vice Admiral Wilkinson died this past July, but I remember the days when he lived up the road from us, like it was yesterday.
I don't think many of us kids fully appreciated the significance of the Nautilus until later in life. We did all realize we were the number two site for a Soviet nuclear attack in the 50s due to all the subs lined up across the river. Most of us thought about this during the "duck and cover" drills, although I'm not sure how many realized we would be turned into atoms ourselves if an attack ever happened. Anyhow, the world really changed in many ways after the Nautilus, those guys on board certainly had balls, especially when they headed under the North Pole. There are only a handful of the original crew left. Their accomplishments, however, will live forever.
I don't think many of us kids fully appreciated the significance of the Nautilus until later in life. We did all realize we were the number two site for a Soviet nuclear attack in the 50s due to all the subs lined up across the river. Most of us thought about this during the "duck and cover" drills, although I'm not sure how many realized we would be turned into atoms ourselves if an attack ever happened. Anyhow, the world really changed in many ways after the Nautilus, those guys on board certainly had balls, especially when they headed under the North Pole. There are only a handful of the original crew left. Their accomplishments, however, will live forever.
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