USS Nautilus (SSN-571)

Moored on the Thames River at Groton, USS Nautilus (SSN-571) presents the physical turning point between the diesel-electric era and the modern nuclear fleet. Laid down at Electric Boat in 1952 and commissioned in 1954, Nautilus was the first nuclear-powered submarine, driven by the pioneering S2W pressurized-water reactor developed under the tight technical oversight of Hyman G. Rickover’s Naval Reactors program. Her hull form drew on lessons from the German Type XXI U-boats but pushed them into a fully submerged, high-endurance concept that reshaped submarine design worldwide. Nautilus demonstrated what sustained underwater operations actually looked like in practice, culminating in the first submerged transit of the North Pole in 1958. Decommissioned in 1980 and designated a National Historic Landmark two years later, the boat now serves as the centerpiece of the Submarine Force Library and Museum. Seen in its original coastal industrial setting, the ship allows close inspection of early nuclear-age compromises in layout, habitability, and machinery arrangement that informed every subsequent American attack submarine.