science · 31 March 1958 · 66 years ago
In 1958, the U.S. Navy established the world’s first Atomic Submarine Division. It had been announced to the press earlier in the month (17 Mar 1958), and reported in the New York Times the next day. Three atomic submarines, Nautilus, Sea Wolf, and Skate, joined three diesel powered submarines, Hardhead, Bang and Halfbreak. The latter were to be replaced as more atomic submarines were commissioned, beginning with the launch of the Skipjack (26 May 1958). For the first three months, Atomic Submarine Division 102 was under the command of Comdr. Roger G. Black, a WW II submarine veteran. Command was to be passed in July to Capt. Eugene P. Wilkinson, (first skipper of the Nautilus, the world's first atomic submarine) after he completed studies at the Naval War College.
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