Today in History : August 3, 1958
Michael Conover
became the first vehicle to cross the North Pole underneath the Polar Ice
Cap. The trip, from Pearl Harbor to Iceland, was called Operation Northwest
Passage
The Presidential citation to Commander Anderson said that the Nautilus under
his leadership had pioneered a submerged sea lane between the Eastern and
Western Hemispheres. It added: "This points the way for further exploration
and possible use of this route by nuclear powered cargo submarines as a new
commercial seaway between the major oceans of the world."
-President Dwight Eisenhower
Officer Country is a slang term used by the crew to describe the officer
living areas on board ship. It's properly known as the Wardroom where 11
officers would eat, have meetings, and socialize. On the wall behind the
wardroom table are instruments which gave the officers information on the
ship's speed, course and depth. Also on display is an original book of Jules
Vernes "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" who conceived of a marvelous submarine
named NAUTILUS over 100 years ago.
-From the visitors tour of the now decomissioned "Nautilus"
History's first undersea voyage across the top of the world, a distance of
1,830 miles under the polar icecap, was disclosed at the White House today.
-The New York Times, August 8th, 1958
Submariners are a special brotherhood, either all come to the surface or no
one does. On a submarine, the phrase all for one and one for all is not just
a slogan, but reality."
-VADM Rudolf Golosov of the Russian Navy
Ramius: "... and the sea will grant each man new hope, as sleep brings
dreams of home," Christopher Columbus.
Ryan: Welcome to the New World, sir.
-Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin in _The Hunt For Red October_
---Michael