Operation Sandblast
Encyclopedia
Operation Sandblast was the code name for the first submerged circumnavigation of the world executed by the U.S. Navy nuclear-powered radar picket submarine in 1960 while under the command of Captain Edward L. Beach, USN
. The New York Times described Tritons submerged circumnavigation of the world as "a triumph of human prowess and engineering skill, a feat which the United States Navy can rank as one of its bright victories in man's ultimate conquest of the seas."
The actual circumnavigation took place between 24 February and 25 April 1960, covering 26723 nmi (49,491 km; 30,752.4 mi) over 60 days and 21 hours. Operation Sandblast used the St. Peter and Paul Rocks, located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean near the Equator, as the starting point and terminus for the circumnavigation. During the course of the circumnavigation, Triton crossed the Equator four times while maintaining an average speed of advance (SOA) of 18 kn (35.3 km/h; 21.9 mph). Tritons overall navigational track during Operation Sandblast generally followed the same course for the first circumnavigation of the world led by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan
between 1519-1522.
While the initial impetus for this mission was to enhance American technological and scientific prestige prior to the May 1960 Paris Summit between U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower
and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev
, Operation Sandblast also provided a high-profile public demonstration of the capability of U.S. Navy nuclear-powered submarines to carry out long-range submerged operations independent of external support and undetected by hostile forces. Additionally, Operation Sandblast gathered extensive oceanographic, hydrographic, gravimetric, geophysical, and psychological data during Tritons circumnavigation.
Although official celebrations for Operation Sandblast were cancelled following the diplomatic furor arising from the shooting down of a CIA U-2 spy plane over the Soviet Union in early May 1960, the Triton did receive the Presidential Unit Citation in recognition of the successful completion of its mission, and Captain Beach received the Legion of Merit
for his role as Tritons commanding officer. In 1961, Beach received the Magellanic Premium
, the United States' oldest and most prestigious scientific award, from the American Philosophical Society in "recognition of his navigation of the U.S. submarine Triton around the globe."
William R. Anderson
, commanding officer of the first nuclear submarine, Nautilus
, before it was decided to attempt a submerged voyage under the North Pole
. Captain Aurand is credited with recommending that a successful submerged circumnavigation, timed to conclude just prior to the upcoming May 1960 Four Power Paris Summit between U.S. President
Dwight D. Eisenhower and Soviet Premier
Nikita Khrushchev, would provide a much needed boost to American prestige, and consequently this voyage, code-named
Operation Sandblast, reflected the highest priority within the Eisenhower administration. Captain Aurand outlined this proposed submerged around the world voyage, Project Magellan, to Admiral Arleigh Burke
, the Chief of Naval Operations
, in a memorandum dated 6 January 1960. Admiral Burke's classified response dated 18 January 1960 acknowledged the technical feasibility of Project Magellan while further noting that the "Magellan route" could be transited in "56 days at 20 kn (39.2 km/h; 24.4 mph) and 75 days at 15 kn (29.4 km/h; 18.3 mph)," with the latter option costing an additional $3.34 million USD in nuclear fuel consumed. Aurand forwarded his Project Magellan proposal and Burke's assessment to Press Secretary James C. Hagerty
in a memorandum dated 26 January 1960. Project Magellan was subsequently approved by President Dwight D. Eisenhower
, and USS Triton was specifically recommended by Aurand to undertake Project Magellan.
The U.S. Navy nuclear-powered radar picket
submarine Triton (pictured) was the largest, most powerful, and most expensive submarine
ever built at the time of her commissioning, costing $109,000,000 excluding the cost of her nuclear fuel and reactors. A unique submarine, she also had the distinction of being the only non-Soviet submarine to be powered by two nuclear reactors. Tritons high speed was derived from her twin-reactor nuclear propulsion plant, with a designed speed, surfaced and submerged, of 28 kn (34.1 mph; 54.9 km/h). On 27 September 1959, Triton achieved "well in excess of" 30 kn (36.5 mph; 58.8 km/h) during her initial sea trials. As originally designed, Tritons total reactor output was rated at 34000 hp, but she achieved 45000 hp during her sea trials (pictured), and her first commanding officer believed Tritons plant could have reached 60000 hp "had that been necessary."
Tritons first commanding officer was Captain Edward L. Beach, Jr.
(pictured), a highly decorated submarine officer who had participated in the Battle of Midway
and 12 combat patrols during World War II
, earning 10 decorations for gallantry, including the Navy Cross
. After the war, Beach served as the naval aide to the President of the United States
from 1953 to 1957, and he also was the best-selling author of the non-fiction Submarine! and a novel Run Silent, Run Deep, which was made into a 1958 movie of the same name. In his last interview prior to his death in 2002, Captain Beach recalled Triton and the background to her historical mission:
Following her commissioning on 10 November 1959, Triton was assigned to Submarine Squadron 10 (Subron 10), the U.S. Navy's first all-nuclear force, based at the U.S. Submarine Base in New London
, Connecticut
, under the command of Commodore Thomas H. Henry. Triton subsequently completed torpedo trials at Naval Station Newport
and conducted other special tests at the Norfolk Navy Base
before returning to Electric Boat on 7 December 1959 in order to install special communications equipment, including a prototype of the BRA-3 towed communications buoy system housed in a large fairing located on the after end of the main deck. Work on the Triton at Electric Boat was delayed as priority was given to completing the Navy's first two fleet ballistic missile
(FBM) submarines, and .
On 20 January 1960, Triton got underway to conduct an accelerated series of at-sea testing. Triton returned on 1 February as preparations continued for her forthcoming shakedown cruise
, scheduled for departure on 16 February 1960, which involved operating with the command ship
, flagship
of the U.S. Second Fleet, in northern European waters. On 1 February, Captain Beach received a message from Rear Admiral Lawrence R. Daspit, Commander Submarines Atlantic Fleet (COMSUBLANT)
, instructing Beach to attend a top secret meeting at The Pentagon
on 4 February.
in civilian attire to attend a top-secret, high-level meeting with Vice Admiral
Wallace M. Beakley, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations
for Fleet Operations and Readiness; Rear Admiral
Lawson P. Ramage
, Director of the Undersea Warfare Division, OPNAV; Captain Henry G. Munson, Director of the U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office, and staff representatives from the submarine type commands
for the Atlantic
and Pacific
fleets. It was announced Tritons upcoming shakedown cruise was to be a submerged world circumnavigation, code-named Operation Sandblast, which would generally follow the track of the first circumnavigation in 1519–1522 led by Ferdinand Magellan, departing 16 February, as scheduled, and arriving back home no later than 10 May 1960. The mission objectives for Operation Sandblast were summarized below:
According to Captain Beach, the Navy came up with the code name
of Sandblast because it was judged that taking his ship around the world submerged would "take a lot of sand" on the crew's part to be successful. Also, Sand served as Beach's personal code name during the mission. As the captain noted: ""Most beaches are full of sand, I was informed."
Beach and Henry arrived back in New London at 5:45 A.M. on 5 February. Later that morning, after breakfast, Beach briefed his officers, whom Beach had insisted needed to know, about their new shakedown orders and the mission objectives for Operation Sandblast. The officers and crew of Triton had just 12 days to complete preparations for their much more ambitious, but top secret, shakedown cruise. With the exception of Chief Quartermaster (QMC) William J. Marshall, the enlisted personnel did not initially know the true nature of their upcoming mission. A cover story was devised that, following the shakedown cruise, Triton would proceed to the Caribbean Sea
to undergo additional testing required by BuShips. The crew and civilian personnel were also instructed to file their federal income taxes
early and take care of all other personal finances that might arise through mid-May.
Lt. Commander
Will M. Adams, Tritons executive officer
, and Lt. Commander Robert W. Bulmer, her operations officer, along with Chief Quartermaster Marshall, prepared the precise, mile-by-mile track of their upcoming voyage in the secure chart room, located at COMSUBLANT headquarters. Lt. Commander Robert D. Fisher, Tritons supply officer, coordinated loading of stores sufficient for a 120-day voyage (pictured). Eventually, some 77613 lb (35,204.7 kg) of food were loaded onboard, including 16487 lb (7,478.4 kg) of frozen food, 6631 lb (3,007.8 kg) of canned meat, 1300 lb (589.7 kg) of coffee, and 1285 lb (582.9 kg) of potatoes. Vice Admiral Hyman G. Rickover
, the head of the U.S. Navy's Naval Reactors branch
, sent special power-setting instructions for Tritons reactors, allowing them to operate with greater flexibility and a higher safety factor.
A key personnel change occurred on 2 February when Tritons veteran chief engineering officer, Lt. Commander Leslie D. Kelly, left for duty at the Rickover's Naval Reactors branch of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. His relief was his former assistant engineering officer, Lt. Commander Donald G. Fears.
Also, a number of supercargo personnel
joined Triton for her shakedown cruise, with none aware of the top-secret nature of Operation Sandblast. Joseph Baynor Roberts was a well-known photographer from the National Geographic Magazine
, and as a Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve, he was recalled to active duty to serve as the press pool
for the voyage with the U.S. Navy Office of Information
. Additionally, Roberts and First Class Photographer's Mate (PH1) William R. Hadley, USN, detached from Naval Air Force U.S. Atlantic Fleet
, would coordinated the photo-reconnaissance aspects of Operation Sandblast.
The other civilian personnel included Dr.
Benjamin B. Weybrew, a psychologist
at U.S Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory
, would carry out a battery of psychological studies with volunteers from the crew. Geophysicist Michael Smalet, civil engineer
Gordon E. Wilkes, and oceanographer Nicholas R. Mabry coordinated the various scientific and technical aspects of Operation Sandblast for the U.S. Navy's Hydrographic Office
. Eldon C. Good monitored the Ship Inertial Navigation System (SINS)
prototype, newly installed onboard Triton by the Sperry Gyroscopic Company. Frank E. McConnell was the Electric Boat guaranty representative assigned to Tritons shakedown cruise.
On 15 February 1960, Triton went to sea to do a final check of all shipboard equipment. Except for a malfunctioning wave-motion sensor, she was deemed ready for her shakedown cruise.
Triton departed New London on 16 February 1960 for what was announced as her shakedown cruise (pictured). Triton shaped course to the south-east (134 degrees true). At dawn on 17 February, Triton performed her first morning star-sighting using the built-in sextant
in her No. 1 periscope during the nightly ventilation of the shipboard atmosphere. The inboard induction valve was closed after the removal of a rusted flashlight that had prevented its closure.
Captain Beach announced the true nature of their shakedown cruise (pictured):
Regarding the upcoming voyage, Beach adopted a decidedly non-traditional command style:
For the shakedown cruise, Beach adopted a specific weekly shipboard routine. Mondays and Tuesdays involved regular activities, with drills, lectures, school of the ship, and class programs from the noon to 1600 watch. Wednesdays had the crew on reduced activities that is traditionally known as Rope Yarn Sunday. Thursdays saw a schedule of regular drills, and Fridays involved up keep and general maintenance activities known as Field Day. Saturdays had regular activities with afternoon drills, and Sundays had reduced activities with normal watches and religious observances.
Also, beginning on 17 February during the mid watch
, Triton came to periscope depth to take a nightly fix using the built-in sextant in her celestial periscope, ventilate and replenish her shipboard atmosphere using the snorkel
, and dispose of any shipboard garbage. Since Triton did not have a generator to extract oxygen from sea water, these nightly snorkeling activities were crucial to maintaining a suitable atmosphere. Beach maintained that the greatest challenge facing the crew was a seeming mundane activity, garbage disposal and cleaning: "It was 84 days of strenuous work just keeping the ship clean. It was amazing how much dirt we created, so I had a field day every weekend. The crew started objecting until they saw how much trash we kept getting rid of. Then they couldn't object." To remove trash without surfacing, Triton had a garbage disposal unit (GDU), a small inverted torpedo tube that ejected a weighted bag of refuse through the bottom of the ship. However, if the GDU was temporarily out of commission due to repairs, as it was on 22 February, the after torpedo tubes were used, a less than optimum solution.
Later that same day, 17 February 1960, Triton experienced a serious leak with a main condenser circulating water pump, and a reactor warning alarm tripped because of a defective electrical connection. Both incidents were handled successfully and did not affect the ship's performance.
On 18 February, Triton conducted her first general daily drill and, on 19 February, released her first twice-daily hydrographic bottles, used to study ocean current patterns. Also on 19 February, shipboard sensors detected a radiation leak. It was subsequently determined the radium
dials on three wristwatches were the cause for the alarm, and once removed, no radiation was detected for the balance of the voyage. On 23 February, Triton detected a previously uncharted seamount
with her fathometer.
On 24 February, Triton made her first landfall, reaching St. Peter and Paul Rocks (pictured) after traveling 3250 nmi (6,019 km; 3,740 mi). The Rocks served as the home plate for Tritons submerged circumnavigation. Photographic reconnaissance was carried out by Lt. Richard M. Harris, the CIC/ECM officer, and Chief Cryptologic Technician (CTC) William R. Hadley, who served as the ship's secondary photo-recon team for the voyage. Triton turned south and crossed the equator
for the first time later that day, passing into the Southern Hemisphere
, with ship's personnel participating in the crossing the line ceremony
(pictured).
On 1 March 1960, as Triton passed along the east coast of South America, a trio of crises threatened to end Operation Sandblast prematurely. The first was when Chief Radarman (RDC) John R. Poole began suffering from a series of kidney stone
s. The second was when the ship's fathometer went out of commission, with its loss meaning Triton could no longer echo-sound the sea floor, increasing the danger of grounding or collision as the ship traveled through poorly charted waters. Captain Beach observed:
Perhaps most critically, the third problem involved the readings on one of the reactors indicating a serious malfunction which requires its shutdown. As Captain Beach noted, "So far as Triton and the first of March were concerned, it seemed that troubles were not confined to pairs. On that day we were to have them in threes."
Later that day, Lt. Milton R. Rubb and his electronics technician team returned the fathometer to operational status, and the Chief Engineer Donald D. Fears, Reactor Officer Lt. Cmdr. Robert P. McDonald, and Tritons engineering crew repaired the malfunctioning reactor. Since Poole's symptoms were intermittent, Triton continued south, although there was a detour to the Golfo Nuevo
region when the ship investigated an unknown sonar contact. Contemporary news accounts reported the Argentine Navy
had been encountering numerous unknown submarine contacts in the Golfo Nuevo during early 1960, but Tritons contact turned out to be a school of fish.
On 3 March, Triton located the Falkland Islands
on her radar and prepared to conduct photoreconnaissance of Stanley Harbor
. Before they could visually sight the islands, Poole's condition worsened so much that–taking a calculated risk–Captain Beach reversed course, ordered flank speed
, and sent a radio message to headquarters describing the situation. From the ship's log on that date, Beach noted:
Fortunately, the heavy cruiser
, with Captain Reuben T. Whitaker in command, had been on a good-will cruise to South American ports since January as the flagship for Rear Admiral Edward C. Stephan, Commander Naval Forces South Atlantic (Task Force 138). Macon had been in Argentine waters in conjunction with US President Eisenhower's visit to Argentina from 26–29 February 1960. In the early hours of 5 March, Triton rendezvoused with Macon off Montevideo
, Uruguay, after a diversion of over 2000 nmi (3,704 km; 2,301.6 mi). Triton broached, exposing only her sail
. A boat-handling party led by Lieutenant George A. Sawyer, the ship's gunnery officer, transferred Poole to the waiting whaleboat, which then returned to Macon. Poole was the only crew member who did not complete the voyage. Chief Radarman Poole was subsequently examined by both the doctors aboard Macon and at a hospital in Montevideo, but his third attack of kidney stones, which prompted his transfer off Triton, proved to be his last–and he did not require kidney surgery.
After the rendezvous, Triton dove and turned back southwards. She subsequently passed west of the Falklands, and rounded Cape Horn (pictured) through Estrecho de le Maire (Drake Passage
) on 7 March. Captain Beach described his first impressions of this legendary lands-end of the Western Hemisphere as "bold and forbidding, like the sway-backed profile of some prehistoric sea monster." Captain Beach allowed all the crew an opportunity to view Cape Horn through the ship's periscope, requiring five reverses of Tritons course to keep the cape in sight.
and passed into the operational control of Rear Admiral Roy S. Benson
, Commander Submarine Force U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMSUBPAC), who had been Captain Beach's commanding officer while he served on the fleet submarine
in the Pacific War
. Tritons first Pacific visual landfall was Easter Island
, some 2500 nmi (4,630 km; 2,877 mi) away. On 8 March, Triton detected a seamount, registering a minimum depth of 350 fathom (640.1 m; 2,100 ft), with a total height of 7000 feet (2,133.6 m) above the ocean floor. Also on that day, Triton successfully conducted a drill simulating the emergency shutdown of both her reactors and loss of all power.
Two days later, the starboard propshaft seal sprung a major leak in the after engine room. A makeshift locking clamp was jury-rigged to contain the leak. On 12 March, the trouble-plagued fathometer ceased operation when its transducer header flooded, grounding out the entire system. Since the transducer head was located outside the boat's pressure hull, it could not be repaired except in drydock. Without an operational fathometer, Triton could be vulnerable to grounding or collision with uncharted submerged formations. It was subsequently determined the cabling to the Tritons fathometer head, located in the bulbous forefoot of her bow, had not been properly insulated, and the constant buffeting from Tritons high speed caused these cables to rupture, rendering the fathometer inoperable.
An alternative to the fathometer was devised involving the use of the ship's active forward search sonar in conjunction with the gravity meter installed in the combat intelligence center (CIC). By using both systems in tandem, underwater masses could be detected and avoided, although this approach lacked the capability of the fathometer to echo-sound the depth of the ocean floor.
On 13 March, Triton detected a submerged peak using active sonar and the gravity meter that confirmed the feasibility of this procedure. The Triton next spotted Easter Island
on that same day, first by radar, then by periscope. The northeastern coast of the island was photographed for two and a half hours before the statue that Thor Heyerdahl
had erected was spotted. The entire crew was invited to observe through the periscope before the Triton departed for her next visual landfall–Guam
, some 6734 nmi (12,471.4 km; 7,749.4 mi) distant.
A malfunctioning air compressor was repaired on 17 March. The repair required the complete re-wiring of the compressor's armature, a task ordinarily done aboard a submarine tender
or in a shipyard. Captain Beach was deeply impressed by "this spirit and outlook [that] permeated our crew." He was also "astonished" by two different makeshift fathometer sound transmitters created by the electronics and engineering crewmen. One was based on a general announcing speaker, while the other used a stainless steel cooking pot from the galley, with stainless steel rods and copper wiring. Beach noted in the ship's log: "I could only marvel at the ingenuity of the American sailor." On 19 March, Triton detected another submerged peak, using its sonar and gravity meter, and crossed the equator a second time–passing into the Northern Hemisphere
again. Another submerged peak was successfully detected on 20 March. Later that day, Triton made her closest approach to Pearl Harbor
, and the crew celebrated with a luau
.
Triton crossed the International Date Line
23 March, losing 24 March from her calendar. The next day, sonar indicated another rise from the ocean floor, previously uncharted, logged with a depth of 350 fathom (640.1 m; 2,100 ft). Two days later, 27 March, Triton passed the point of closest approach to the location where her namesake
was lost during World War II
, and a memorial service was held to commemorate the occasion. A submerged naval gun salute was fired to honor the lost crew when three water slugs were shot in quick succession from the forward torpedo tubes.
On the morning of 28 March, Triton spotted Guam and observed activity on shore. Petty Officer Edward Carbullido (pictured), who had been born on Guam but had not returned home for 14 years, was asked to identify his parents' house through the periscope while the boat remained submerged in Agat Bay. Triton then changed course for the Philippines
, the mid-point of her around-the-world voyage. Carbullido was able to go home to Guam for Christmas Day 1960 on a 60-day leave, with the cost of his flight paid for by selling a magazine article on Tritons circumnavigation written by Captain Beach, and with the assistance of Pan American Airways.
and began threading her way through the vast Philippine archipelago
, passing from the Philippine Sea
through the Surigao Strait
and then the Mindanao Sea, and finally through the Bohol Strait into the Camotes Sea
.
A special water sample was taken during Tritons transit of Surigao Strait; its recipient was the retired Vice Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf
, the task force commander whose battleships had defeated the Japanese Southern Force
during the Battle of Surigao Strait, history's last naval battle fought only by surface warships, during World War II. Captain Beach observed, "We think that Admiral Oldendorf will appreciate a sample of this body of water."
On 1 April, Triton spotted Mactan Island
, and shortly before noon, sighted the monument
commemorating the death of Ferdinand Magellan
at that site, thereby reaching the mid-point of her circumnavigation.
Later that same day, April Fool's Day, Triton was sighted by the only unauthorized person to spot the submarine during her top secret voyage–a young Filipino man in a small dugout canoe (pictured) about 50 yards (45.7 m) off Triton’s beam, staring at her raised periscope. Captain Beach later recorded his reactions to this unexpected encounter in his log:
The noted photographer Joseph Baynor Roberts of National Geographic magazine was able to snap several photos of this unexpected interloper (pictured) through the ship's periscope before Triton moved out of range. The November 1960 issue identified the fisherman as 19-year-old Rufino Baring of Punta Engano, Mactan Island
, who believed he had encountered a sea monster: "I was very frightened. I tried to get away as fast as I could."
Later on the afternoon of 1 April, Triton proceeded through Hilutangan Channel
into the Sulu Sea
via Bohol Strait.
On 2 April, Tritons gyroscopic
repeater
s, used to maintain the ship's navigational bearing
, began to experience sudden, severe oscillation
s, possibly caused by a malfunctioning synchro
amplifier
. The helm was shifted to direct gyro input, the synchro amplifiers were checked out, and the gyroscopic repeaters appeared to return to normal function. Later, while transiting the Pearl Bank Passage, a narrow channel lined with coral reefs, a periscope observation determined that Triton was off course, indicating a potentially hazardous helm error. Steering control was immediately shifted to the control room, with the helm using the master gyroscopic repeater. While the malfunction was detected in time and the ship was not in any immediate danger, the loss of navigational bearing could have been catastrophic, with Captain Beach noting that "the episode had a sobering effect."
Triton then proceeded through the Sibutu Passage
into the Celebes Sea
, leaving Philippine waters, and subsequently entered Makassar Strait
, crossing the equator a third time, on 3 April, and then, during 4 April, transited the Flores Sea
, bound for Lombok Strait, the gateway to the Indian Ocean.
via the Lombok Strait
. The transition proved dramatic. The change in salinity
and density of the seawater caused her to dive abruptly from periscope depth to 125 feet (38.1 m) in about 40 seconds. Captain Beach noted, "I had experienced changes in water density many times before, but never one of this magnitude." Triton returned to periscope depth and subsequently entered the Indian Ocean
.
While crossing the Indian Ocean, Triton conducted a sealed-ship experiment. Beginning 10 April, rather than refreshing the air in the ship by snorkeling each night, she remained sealed, using compressed air to make up for consumed oxygen
, as well as burning "oxygen candles" to replenish the ship's atmosphere. Also, starting on 15 April, the smoking lamp was extinguished, with no tobacco smoking
permitted anywhere aboard the ship.
During this smoking ban, Dr. Benjamin Weybrew carried out a battery of tests on crew volunteers, both smokers and non-smokers, to measure cardiovascular functions and psychological stress indices to determine the effects that the prohibition of tobacco had on individual and group performance of the test subjects. The objective of this experiment was to determine the advisability of prohibiting the use of tobacco from submarine operations given the extended submerged duration of missions involving nuclear-powered submarines.
The test results determined that smokers showed consistently higher mean oral temperature and pulse rate
, both at rest and following exercises, as well as significantly increased pulse rates over non-smokers, a marked decrease in alertness, and an increase in insomnia symptoms
. However, there was no significant difference in blood pressure
between smokers and non-smokers. Finally, smokers experienced "debilitative performance decrements" during the smoking prohibition, and as a consequence, this also affected the morale of non-smokers, both among the participants in the experiment as well as non-participants. Dr. Weybrew concluded smoking should be avoided because of its attendant health and relational issues, and not smoking enhances one's overall stress coping capacity (SCC).
At the 1963 convention of the Cigar Institute of America, Weybrew noted : "When a smoker is forbidden to smoke he just doesn't like it. The smokers in the test got irritable, ate too much, had trouble sleeping, and personal relationships began to deteriorate." On 8 April 2010, the U.S. Navy announced a permanent smoking ban onboard submarines effective 31 December 2010.
On Easter
Sunday, 17 April, Triton rounded the Cape of Good Hope
, South Africa
, and she entered the South Atlantic Ocean, returning to the fleet command of Rear Admiral Lawrence R. Daspit (COMSUBLANT).
The smoking lamp was re-lit on 18 April, with the three days of prohibition having taken a noticeable toll on crew morale. Rather than passing the word in a traditional manner, Captain Beach demonstrated the lifting of the ban by walking though the ship smoking a cigar
, blowing smoke in people's faces, and asking, "Don't you wish you could do this?" He recorded in his log that "it took some 37 seconds for the word to get around." On 20 April 1960, the Triton crossed the Prime Meridian
, and on 24 April, the sealed atmosphere experiment was terminated.
On the same day that the sealed atmosphere experiment was terminated, 24 April 1960, Triton experienced a major equipment casualty. In the after torpedo room, a hydraulic line to the stern plane mechanism burst. Through the prompt action by Torpedoman's Mate Third Class Allen W. Steele, aided by Engineman Third Class Arlan F. Martin, this potentially catastrophic event was successfully contained. Eventually, the main hydraulic system was restored with a control valve from the steering system, but the boat's steering controls remained on emergency mode for the rest of the voyage. It was subsequently determined that the pipe burst was caused by a fractured valve. For his quick and decisive actions in handling this emergency, Steele was presented the Navy Commendation Medal.
On 25 April, Triton crossed the Equator a final time, re-entering the Northern Hemisphere
, and shortly thereafter, she sighted the St. Peter and Paul Rocks, completing the first submerged circumnavigation
. As Captain Beach wrote, "We are not yet home, but we may be considered to have taken a long lead off third base."
, the Canary Islands
, arriving on 30 April, and thereafter setting course for Cadiz
, Spain, to complete two additional goals of Operation Sandblast. One was to honor the seaport where Ferdinand Magellan set sail from in 1519 to initiate the first global maritime circumnavigation, and the other was to deliver a plaque created to honor Magellan's and Tritons historic voyages when Triton rendezvoused with the destroyer off Cadiz on 2 May 1960. Afterward, Beach noted, "We are on the last leg of our trip enroute to the United States."
Triton returned to the United States, surfacing off the coast of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
, on 10 May 1960. Captain Beach was flown by helicopter (pictured) to Washington, D.C., where news of the Tritons submerged around-the-world voyage was announced by President Dwight D. Eisenhower
at the White House, with Vice Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, known as the "Father of the Nuclear Navy", in attendance. Beach flew back to his boat later that day, and the Triton arrived back at Groton, Connecticut, on 11 May 1960, completing her shakedown cruise and the first submarine circumnavigation of the earth.
The total mileage and duration of the first submerged circumnavigation of the earth are as follows:
Triton also crossed the Equator four times during its circumnavigation on the following dates and locations:
On her shakedown cruise, Triton was submerged a total of 83 days 9 hours, covering 35979.1 nmi (66,633.3 km; 41,404.1 mi). The total duration of the shakedown cruise was 84 days 19 hours 8 minutes, covering 36335.1 nmi (67,292.6 km; 41,813.8 mi).
Guinness World Records
lists Tritons submerged circumnavigation as 83 days, 9 hours, 54 minutes in duration, the total submerged portion of her shakedown cruise. When the British trimaran Cable & Wireless Adventurer
completed its 74-day circumnavigation in 1998, Guinness World Records recorded this as the fastest motorized maritime circumnavigation, beating the previous record held by Triton. When interviewed by travel author Clive Tully, retired Captain Tom B. Thamm, Tritons diving officer during Operation Sandblast, confirmed the actual duration of Tritons submerged circumnavigation was 60 days, 21 hours while further noting:
When Tully made inquiries regarding inconsistencies pertaining to the fastest motorized maritime circumnavition record, the Guinness World Records response was: "If the US Department of Defense would care to present us with all the facts, we'll look at it again." Tully noted that this information had been publicly available since the publication of Captain Beach's 1962 account of Operation Sandblast. Arguably, Tritons circumnavigation remains the fastest for a motorized sea vessel, beating Cable & Wireless Adventurers 1998 74-day voyage and Earthraces 2008 circumnavigation of 60 days, 23 hours, and 49 minutes.
Operation Sandblast also proved nuclear-powered submarines could undertake extended operations independent of any external support. Specifically, Triton tested a prototype ship inertial navigational system
(SINS) for submarine use, as well as being the first submarine to test the floating very low frequency (VLF) communications buoy system, with both systems being vital for the Navy's upcoming Polaris
fleet ballistic missile submarines (FBM) deterrence patrols. Finally, the psychological testing of Tritons crew members to determine the effects of long-term isolation was particularly relevant for the initial deployment of the Navy's fleet ballistic missile submarines
, as well as NASA's upcoming manned space program, Project Mercury
, with MIT engineers assuring NASA "that getting to the moon and back was simpler than guiding an antiballistic missile or circumnavigating the earth under water in a nuclear submarine."
Because of the public uproar over the U-2 Incident, which sparked a major Soviet-American diplomatic crisis that led to the collapse of the 1960 Paris Summit, most of the official celebrations for Tritons submerged circumnavigation were canceled. The voyage did receive extensive contemporary coverage by the news media, including feature magazine articles by Argosy
, Life
, Look
, National Geographic
, and the Saturday Evening Post as well as television and newsreels. Tritons commanding officer during Operation Sandblast, Captain Edward L. Beach, appeared on CBS
news program Face the Nation
on 15 May 1960 while several Triton crew members appeared on the What's My Line television game show. Tritons submerged circumnavigation was the subject of the ABC television series Expedition! broadcast on Tuesday, 14 February 1961.
The American government published an 82-page redacted version of Tritons log (pictured) following the submerged circumnavigation. It was described by the New York Times as "a literary product in its own right [that] rivals in spots the suspense and drama of an adventure from the pages of Captain Hornblower
."
Captain Beach wrote the lead article ("Triton Follows Magellan's Wake") on the circumnavigation for the November 1960 issue of National Geographic Magazine
, and he also wrote a book-length account, which was published in 1962. Beach also made public presentations of the accomplishments of Operation Sandblast before the National Press Club
(pictured), National Geographic Society
on 27 May 1960, the American Philosophical Society
on 22 April 1961, the Society of Non-Destructive Testing
on 8 May 1965, and the Eagle-Scout Recognition Dinner
in Chicago, Illinois
, on 4 November 1965.
Historian Bern Dibner
wrote Victoria and the Triton, a 1964 book about famous maritime circumnavigations, featuring the Victoria
, the Spanish carrack
that was the first ship to circumnavigate the world under Ferdinand Magellan, as well as Tritons submerged circumnavigation of 1960. Also, Beril Becker wrote a 1961 juvenile-market non-fiction account of Operation Sandblast, Around the World Underwater: Captain Edward L. Beach, with illustrations by Richard Modock. Finally, the feat of successfully completing the first submerged circumnavigation of the world by the submarine Triton was recognized as a significant scientific and technological achievement for the year 1960 in Bernard Grun's authoritative historical reference, The Timestables of History.
For the 50th anniverary of Operation Sandblast (see below), writer-historian Carl LaVO wrote "Incredible Voyage" for the June 2010 edition of Naval History magazine, and John Beach wrote "The First Submerged Circumnavigation" for the April 1960 issue of The Submarine Review, the official magazine of the Naval Submarine League. Mr. Beach is the nephew of Captain Edward L. Beach, the commanding officer of USS Triton during Operation Sandblast. Finally, the Naval Institute Press
published Beneath the Waves by Dr. Edward F. Finch, a 2010 biography of the late Captain Beach, which includes extensive coverage of Operation Sandblast. Finally, in a 1999 interview for All Hands
magazine, Captain Edward L. Beach paid tribute to his crew and their ship by noting:
, which was accepted by Chief Torpedoman's Mate Chester Raymond Fitzjarald, the chief of the boat
, on behalf of Tritons officers and crew. The citation reads:
Up to that time, this was only the second time that a U.S. Navy vessel had been awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for a peacetime mission, with the nuclear submarine receiving the first peacetime PUC in recognition of its voyage under the North Pole (Operation Sunshine) in 1958. To commemorate the first submerged circumnavigation of the world, all Triton personnel who made that voyage were authorized to wear their Presidential Unit Citation ribbon with a special clasp in the form of a golden replica of the globe (pictured).
Captain Edward L. Beach received the Legion of Merit
from President Eisenhower in a ceremony held in the Conference Room at the White House on 10 May 1960, with presidential naval aide Captain Evan P. Aurand reading the following citation:
Beach received the 1960 Giant of Adventure Award from Argosy magazine, which dubbed him the "Magellan of the Deep". Beach also received an honorary doctorate of science
(Sc.D) from the American International College
, whose citation reads:
In 1961, the American Philosophical Society
presented Beach with its Magellanic Premium
, the nation's oldest and most prestigious scientific award, in "recognition of his navigation of the U.S. submarine Triton around the globe."
In 2011, Operation Sandblast, the , and Captain Edward L. Beach, Jr.
, were included in the Technology for the Nucleat Age: Nuclear Propulsion display for the Cold War exhibit at the U.S. Navy Museum
in Washington, DC.
and moved into the ward room. Also on that date, the first-class petty officers George M. Bloomingdale; Richard R. Fickel; Joseph R. Flasco; Gene R. Hoke; Lonard F. Lehman; George W. Mather; J. C. Meaders; Russell F. Pion; Gerald R. Stott; and Robert R. Tambling were promoted to Chief Petty Officers and moved in the Chiefs' Quarters
.
Executive Officer Will Mont Adams, Jr., received notice of his promotion to full Commander on 30 April 1960, his birthday, effective 1 February 1960. Also on that date, Chief Engineering Officer Donald Gene Fears was promoted to Lieutenant Commander, effective 1 February 1960.
On 10 May 1960, William R. Hadley, Chief Communications Technician, was awarded his silver dolphin pin
, signifying that he was qualified to serve on submarines. Also on that date, enlisted men Lawrence W. Beckhaus; Fred Kenst; Wiliam A. McKamey; and James H. Smith, Jr., were awarded their silver dolphin pins.
In the eight days prior to Tritons departure on her around-the-world submerged voyage, Captain Beach approached Lt. Tom B. Thamm, Tritons Auxiliary Division Officer, to design a commemorative plaque for their upcoming voyage, as well as the first circumnavigation led by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan
. The plaque's eventual design consisted of a brass
disk about 23 inches (58.4 cm) in diameter, bearing a sailing ship reminiscent of Magellan's carrack, Trinidad, above the submarine dolphin insignia
with the years 1519 and 1960 between them, all within a laurel wreath
. Outside the wreath is the motto AVE NOBILIS DUX, ITERUM FACTUM EST ("Hail Noble Captain, It Is Done Again").
Commodore Henry, commanding Subron 10, supervised the completion of the plaque (pictured). The carving of the wooden form was done by retired Chief Electrician's Mate Ernest L. Benson at New London. The actual molding of the plaque was done by the Mystic Foundry.
During the homeward leg of her around-the-world voyage, Triton rendezvoused with the destroyer on 2 May 1960 off Cadiz, Spain, the departure point for Magellan's earlier voyage. Triton broached, and Weeks transferred the finished plaque to Triton for transport back to the United States. The plaque was subsequently presented to the Spanish government by John Davis Lodge
, the United States Ambassador to Spain
. Copies of the plaque are located at the City Hall in Sanlucar de Barrameda
, Spain
; the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut
; the Naval Historical Association
in Washington, DC; and two locations in Groton, Connecticut: the U.S. Navy Submarine School and the U.S. Navy Submarine Force Library and Museum. The plaque mounted on the wall of the city hall of Sanlucar de Barrameda
also has a marble slab memorializing the 1960 Triton submerged circumnavigation.
on the seawall of the United States Naval Academy (USNA)
in Annapolis, Maryland
, where the Severn River
meets Spa Creek and the Annapolis harbor. It was donated to the Academy and named for the Greek god by the United States Naval Academy
Class of 1945. The crew of Triton provided samples of water taken from the 22 sea
s through which their ship had passed during their submerged 1960 circumnavigation, which were used to fill a globe built into the Triton Light
along with a commemorative marker.
Beach Hall is the new headquarters for the United States Naval Institute
which was dedicated on 21 April 1999. The facility is named after Captain Edward L. Beach, Sr.
, who served as the Institute's secretary-treasurer, and his son, Captain Edward L. Beach, Jr.
(pictued), who commanded Triton during Operation Sandblast. Tritons dive wheel from its conning tower is on display in the lobby of Beach Hall.
Triton was the 2003 inductee into the Submarine Hall of Fame in recognition of executing the first submerged circumnavigation, following her nomination by the Tidewater chapter and Hampton Roads Base of the United States Submarine Veterans, Inc. (USSVI)
. A shadow box filled with Triton memorabilia was placed in Alcorn Auditorium of Ramage Hall located at the U.S. Navy Submarine Learning Center, Naval Station Norfolk
.
The future USS Triton Submarine Memorial Park (pictured) will be located along the Columbia River
in Washington. Its purpose is "to establish a permanent park in north Richland in recognition of all the decommissioned reactor cores off-loaded at the Port’s barge slip, transported and stored at the Hanford Site
." The park will feature Tritons sail superstructure
and an information display on the history of Triton. The park will also serve as a tourist attraction, especially due to its location, since Hanford is the resting place of spent reactor cores from several Navy ships. The park's tentative location is at the end of Port of Benton Boulevard in north Richland, Washington
. Planning called for the sail will to be cut up for transport and re-assembly at the park site. Ground-breaking was initially scheduled to take place on 3 April 2008, with the dedication ceremony set for 19 August 2008 and a Fall 2009 start-date for construction. On 23 October 2009, the Port of Benton encased Tritons conning tower in concrete at its new USS Triton Submarine Memorial Park in north Richland, Washington. In mid-December 2009, the final pieces of Tritons sail was welded together at the park's site. During the 11 August 2010 Port of Benton commission meeting, it was reported that bids for the first phase, which includes the park's electrical lighting system and the pouring the concrete around the Tritons sail, would be announced shortly by the port authority. The second phase would involve the park's landscaping, and the third phase would be the installation of a parking lot. The park is part of the Richland Riverfront Trail, a marked hiking trail that focuses on the state of Washington's contribution to the nuclear history of the United States, and it connects to the Sacagawea Heritage Trail. The USS Triton Submarine Memorial Park
is located off George Washington Way near the Columbia River
, and it will be formally dedicated on November 10, 2011, the 52bd anniversary of the commissioning of the USS Triton.
(pictured) and Around the World Under the Sea
, dramatized globe-circling submerged voyages similar to Operation Sandblast. The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart
comedy album included a sketch entitled "The Cruise of the U.S.S. Codfish" which was a monologue involving the final address by the captain to the crew of a nuclear-powered submarine after completing a two-year-long, around-the-world underwater voyage. Bob Newhart
noted in a 2006 interview that:
Captain Beach reportedly played "The Cruise of the U.S.S. Codfish" over the ship's public address system during Tritons first overseas deployment in the Fall of 1960. Finally, Antigua-Barbuda issued a commemorative stamp of Tritons 1960 submerged circumnavigation.
in Mashantuket
, Connecticut, with Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
(MCPON) Rick D. West
delivering opening remarks (pictured) to the 2,200 attendees. The U.S. Navy Submarine Force Library and Museum sponsored additional events and activities, entitled "9,000 Leagues Under the Sea," between April 10–12 and April 14–18, 2010.
Also, on April 9, 2010, retired Admiral Henry G. Chiles, Jr.
, who served in Triton from 1963–1966, was the keynote speaker at the graduation class of the Basic Enlisted Submarine School at the New London Naval Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut. The graduation class was named in honor of Triton, and each graduate received a certificate of course completion and a commemorative coin celebrating the 50th anniversary of Tritons submerged circumnavigation. The Dolphin Scholarship Foundation
used the 50th anniverary of Operation Sandblast to promote its Race Around the World fund-raising program to support its Dolphin Scholarship program. Finally, former members of the Tritons crew received commermorative souvenirs of the ship's pressure hull at their 2010 re-union.
Writer-historian Carl LaVO wrote "Incredibe Voyage" for the June 2010 edition of Naval History magazine, and John Beach wrote "The First Submerged Circumnavigation" for the April 1960 issue of The Submarine Review, the official magazine of the Naval Submarine League. Mr. Beach is the nephew of Captain Edward L. Beach, the commanding officer of USS Triton during Operation Sandblast. Also, the Naval Institute Press
published Beneath the Waves by Dr. Edward F. Finch, a 2010 biography of the late Captain Beach, which included extensive coverage of Operation Sandblast.
The legacy of Operation Sandblast on its 50th anniversary was summarized by retired Captain James C. Hay who had served on the Triton during its historic submerged around-the-world voyage. On the editorial page of the April 1960 issue of The Submarine Review, the official magazine of the Naval Submarine League, Captain Hay noted:
Edward L. Beach, Jr.
Edward Latimer Beach, Jr. was a highly-decorated United States Navy submarine officer and best-selling author....
. The New York Times described Tritons submerged circumnavigation of the world as "a triumph of human prowess and engineering skill, a feat which the United States Navy can rank as one of its bright victories in man's ultimate conquest of the seas."
The actual circumnavigation took place between 24 February and 25 April 1960, covering 26723 nmi (49,491 km; 30,752.4 mi) over 60 days and 21 hours. Operation Sandblast used the St. Peter and Paul Rocks, located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean near the Equator, as the starting point and terminus for the circumnavigation. During the course of the circumnavigation, Triton crossed the Equator four times while maintaining an average speed of advance (SOA) of 18 kn (35.3 km/h; 21.9 mph). Tritons overall navigational track during Operation Sandblast generally followed the same course for the first circumnavigation of the world led by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer. He was born in Sabrosa, in northern Portugal, and served King Charles I of Spain in search of a westward route to the "Spice Islands" ....
between 1519-1522.
While the initial impetus for this mission was to enhance American technological and scientific prestige prior to the May 1960 Paris Summit between U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
, Operation Sandblast also provided a high-profile public demonstration of the capability of U.S. Navy nuclear-powered submarines to carry out long-range submerged operations independent of external support and undetected by hostile forces. Additionally, Operation Sandblast gathered extensive oceanographic, hydrographic, gravimetric, geophysical, and psychological data during Tritons circumnavigation.
Although official celebrations for Operation Sandblast were cancelled following the diplomatic furor arising from the shooting down of a CIA U-2 spy plane over the Soviet Union in early May 1960, the Triton did receive the Presidential Unit Citation in recognition of the successful completion of its mission, and Captain Beach received the Legion of Merit
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
for his role as Tritons commanding officer. In 1961, Beach received the Magellanic Premium
Magellanic Premium
The Magellanic Premium, also known as the Magellanic Gold Medal and Magellanic Prize is awarded for major contributions in the field of navigation , astronomy, or natural philosophy....
, the United States' oldest and most prestigious scientific award, from the American Philosophical Society in "recognition of his navigation of the U.S. submarine Triton around the globe."
Mission overview—Project Magellan
Mission origins
The possibility of a submerged circumnavigation of the world by a U.S. Navy nuclear-powered submarine was initially discussed between Captain Evan P. Aurand, President Eisenhower's naval aide, and CommanderCommander (United States)
In the United States, commander is a military rank that is also sometimes used as a military title, depending on the branch of service. It is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Naval rank:In the United States...
William R. Anderson
William Anderson (naval officer)
William Robert Anderson was an officer in the United States Navy, and a U.S. Representative from Tennessee from 1965 to 1973.-Early life and naval career:...
, commanding officer of the first nuclear submarine, Nautilus
USS Nautilus (SSN-571)
USS Nautilus is the world's first operational nuclear-powered submarine. She was the first vessel to complete a submerged transit beneath the North Pole on August 3, 1958...
, before it was decided to attempt a submerged voyage under the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
. Captain Aurand is credited with recommending that a successful submerged circumnavigation, timed to conclude just prior to the upcoming May 1960 Four Power Paris Summit between U.S. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Dwight D. Eisenhower and Soviet Premier
Premier of the Soviet Union
The office of Premier of the Soviet Union was synonymous with head of government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics . Twelve individuals have been premier...
Nikita Khrushchev, would provide a much needed boost to American prestige, and consequently this voyage, code-named
Code name
A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage...
Operation Sandblast, reflected the highest priority within the Eisenhower administration. Captain Aurand outlined this proposed submerged around the world voyage, Project Magellan, to Admiral Arleigh Burke
Arleigh Burke
Admiral Arleigh Albert '31-knot' Burke was an admiral of the United States Navy who distinguished himself during World War II and the Korean War, and who served as Chief of Naval Operations during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations.-Early life and naval career:Burke was born in Boulder,...
, the Chief of Naval Operations
Chief of Naval Operations
The Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is a military adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy...
, in a memorandum dated 6 January 1960. Admiral Burke's classified response dated 18 January 1960 acknowledged the technical feasibility of Project Magellan while further noting that the "Magellan route" could be transited in "56 days at 20 kn (39.2 km/h; 24.4 mph) and 75 days at 15 kn (29.4 km/h; 18.3 mph)," with the latter option costing an additional $3.34 million USD in nuclear fuel consumed. Aurand forwarded his Project Magellan proposal and Burke's assessment to Press Secretary James C. Hagerty
James C. Hagerty
James Campbell Hagerty served as the only White House Press Secretary from 1953 to 1961 during the administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower.Hagerty attended Evander Childs High School in the Bronx, and was a graduate of Blair Academy, which he attended for his last two years in high school...
in a memorandum dated 26 January 1960. Project Magellan was subsequently approved by President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
, and USS Triton was specifically recommended by Aurand to undertake Project Magellan.
Radar picket
A radar picket is a radar-equipped ship, submarine, aircraft, or vehicle used to increase the radar detection range around a force to protect it from surprise attack. Often several detached radar units encircle a force to provide increased cover in all directions.-World War II:Radar picket ships...
submarine Triton (pictured) was the largest, most powerful, and most expensive submarine
Nuclear submarine
A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor . The performance advantages of nuclear submarines over "conventional" submarines are considerable: nuclear propulsion, being completely independent of air, frees the submarine from the need to surface frequently, as is necessary for...
ever built at the time of her commissioning, costing $109,000,000 excluding the cost of her nuclear fuel and reactors. A unique submarine, she also had the distinction of being the only non-Soviet submarine to be powered by two nuclear reactors. Tritons high speed was derived from her twin-reactor nuclear propulsion plant, with a designed speed, surfaced and submerged, of 28 kn (34.1 mph; 54.9 km/h). On 27 September 1959, Triton achieved "well in excess of" 30 kn (36.5 mph; 58.8 km/h) during her initial sea trials. As originally designed, Tritons total reactor output was rated at 34000 hp, but she achieved 45000 hp during her sea trials (pictured), and her first commanding officer believed Tritons plant could have reached 60000 hp "had that been necessary."
Tritons first commanding officer was Captain Edward L. Beach, Jr.
Edward L. Beach, Jr.
Edward Latimer Beach, Jr. was a highly-decorated United States Navy submarine officer and best-selling author....
(pictured), a highly decorated submarine officer who had participated in the Battle of Midway
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...
and 12 combat patrols during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, earning 10 decorations for gallantry, including the Navy Cross
Navy Cross
The Navy Cross is the highest decoration that may be bestowed by the Department of the Navy and the second highest decoration given for valor. It is normally only awarded to members of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard, but can be awarded to all...
. After the war, Beach served as the naval aide to the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
from 1953 to 1957, and he also was the best-selling author of the non-fiction Submarine! and a novel Run Silent, Run Deep, which was made into a 1958 movie of the same name. In his last interview prior to his death in 2002, Captain Beach recalled Triton and the background to her historical mission:
As I was reporting to the Triton, I remember saying, "This ship is an unusual one. We've got to do something special with it. What could it be?" We talked about it a little bit, and nobody had any ideas. Finally, I got an idea. We'll do a stunt. We'll go around the world from North Pole to South Pole. That was my brainstorm. If you take a look at a map of the world, you'll see that's not a very easy way to go. So we didn't do that. But I do remember thinking of it. And I made a speech to the crew, advising them of my thinking—that we were going to put this ship on the map. Well, that died out. Suddenly ... a phone call came, asking me if I could be in Washington tomorrow.
Following her commissioning on 10 November 1959, Triton was assigned to Submarine Squadron 10 (Subron 10), the U.S. Navy's first all-nuclear force, based at the U.S. Submarine Base in New London
Naval Submarine Base New London
Naval Submarine Base New London is the United States Navy's primary submarine base, the "Home of the Submarine Force", and "the Submarine Capital of the World".-History:...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, under the command of Commodore Thomas H. Henry. Triton subsequently completed torpedo trials at Naval Station Newport
Naval Station Newport
The Naval Station Newport is a United States Navy base located in the towns of Newport and Middletown, Rhode Island. Naval Station Newport is home to the Naval War College and the Naval Justice School...
and conducted other special tests at the Norfolk Navy Base
Naval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Virginia, is a base of the United States Navy, supporting naval forces in the United States Fleet Forces Command, those operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean...
before returning to Electric Boat on 7 December 1959 in order to install special communications equipment, including a prototype of the BRA-3 towed communications buoy system housed in a large fairing located on the after end of the main deck. Work on the Triton at Electric Boat was delayed as priority was given to completing the Navy's first two fleet ballistic missile
Ballistic missile submarine
A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine equipped to launch ballistic missiles .-Description:Ballistic missile submarines are larger than any other type of submarine, in order to accommodate SLBMs such as the Russian R-29 or the American Trident...
(FBM) submarines, and .
On 20 January 1960, Triton got underway to conduct an accelerated series of at-sea testing. Triton returned on 1 February as preparations continued for her forthcoming shakedown cruise
Shakedown cruise
Shakedown cruise is a nautical term in which the performance of a ship is tested. Shakedown cruises are also used to familiarize the ship's crew with operation of the craft....
, scheduled for departure on 16 February 1960, which involved operating with the command ship
Command ship
Command ships serve as the flagships of the Commander of a fleet. They provide communications, office space, and accommodations for a fleet commander and his staff, and serve to coordinate fleet activities....
, flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
of the U.S. Second Fleet, in northern European waters. On 1 February, Captain Beach received a message from Rear Admiral Lawrence R. Daspit, Commander Submarines Atlantic Fleet (COMSUBLANT)
ComSubLant
Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic is the type commander for U.S. submarines in the Atlantic Fleet. Established on 7 December 1941, Rear Admiral Richard S. Edwards was assigned as the first Force Commander. U.S. submarine operations in the Atlantic, however, go back to before the First World War...
, instructing Beach to attend a top secret meeting at The Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
on 4 February.
Mission objectives
On 4 February 1960, Captain Edward L. Beach and Commodore Thomas H. Henry of Subron 10 arrived at the PentagonThe Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
in civilian attire to attend a top-secret, high-level meeting with Vice Admiral
Vice admiral (United States)
In the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, and the United States Maritime Service, vice admiral is a three-star flag officer, with the pay grade of...
Wallace M. Beakley, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations
Chief of Naval Operations
The Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is a military adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy...
for Fleet Operations and Readiness; Rear Admiral
Rear admiral (United States)
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. The uniformed services of the United States are unique in having two grades of rear admirals.- Rear admiral :...
Lawson P. Ramage
Lawson P. Ramage
Lawson Paterson "Red" Ramage was a vice admiral in the United States Navy and a noted submarine commander. During his career, Ramage was decorated with the Medal of Honor, two Navy Crosses, two Distinguished Service Medals, the Silver Star and the Bronze Star.-Early life and career:Taking his...
, Director of the Undersea Warfare Division, OPNAV; Captain Henry G. Munson, Director of the U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office, and staff representatives from the submarine type commands
U.S. Navy type commands
U.S. Navy type commands perform vital administrative, personnel, and operational training functions for a "type" of weapon system within a fleet organization.-Overview:...
for the Atlantic
ComSubLant
Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic is the type commander for U.S. submarines in the Atlantic Fleet. Established on 7 December 1941, Rear Admiral Richard S. Edwards was assigned as the first Force Commander. U.S. submarine operations in the Atlantic, however, go back to before the First World War...
and Pacific
ComSubPac
Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet is the principal advisor to the Commander, United States Pacific Fleet for submarine matters. The Pacific Submarine Force includes attack, ballistic missile and auxiliary submarines, submarine tenders, floating submarine docks, deep submergence...
fleets. It was announced Tritons upcoming shakedown cruise was to be a submerged world circumnavigation, code-named Operation Sandblast, which would generally follow the track of the first circumnavigation in 1519–1522 led by Ferdinand Magellan, departing 16 February, as scheduled, and arriving back home no later than 10 May 1960. The mission objectives for Operation Sandblast were summarized below:
For purposes of geophysical and oceanographic research and to determine habitability, endurance and psychological stress – all extremely important to the Polaris programUGM-27 PolarisThe Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fuel nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile built during the Cold War by Lockheed Corporation of California for the United States Navy....
– it had been decided that a rapid round-the-world trip, touching the areas of interest, should be conducted. Maximum stability of the observing platform and unbroken continuity around the world were important. Additionally, for reasons of the national interest it had been decided that the voyage should be made entirely submerged undetected by our own or other forces and completed as soon as possible. TRITON, because of her size, speed and extra dependability of her two-reactor plant, had been chosen for the mission.
According to Captain Beach, the Navy came up with the code name
Code name
A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage...
of Sandblast because it was judged that taking his ship around the world submerged would "take a lot of sand" on the crew's part to be successful. Also, Sand served as Beach's personal code name during the mission. As the captain noted: ""Most beaches are full of sand, I was informed."
Mission preparations
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
to undergo additional testing required by BuShips. The crew and civilian personnel were also instructed to file their federal income taxes
Income tax in the United States
In the United States, a tax is imposed on income by the Federal, most states, and many local governments. The income tax is determined by applying a tax rate, which may increase as income increases, to taxable income as defined. Individuals and corporations are directly taxable, and estates and...
early and take care of all other personal finances that might arise through mid-May.
Lt. Commander
Lieutenant commander (United States)
Lieutenant commander is a mid-ranking officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, with the pay grade of O-4 and NATO rank code OF-3...
Will M. Adams, Tritons executive officer
Executive officer
An executive officer is generally a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization.-Administrative law:...
, and Lt. Commander Robert W. Bulmer, her operations officer, along with Chief Quartermaster Marshall, prepared the precise, mile-by-mile track of their upcoming voyage in the secure chart room, located at COMSUBLANT headquarters. Lt. Commander Robert D. Fisher, Tritons supply officer, coordinated loading of stores sufficient for a 120-day voyage (pictured). Eventually, some 77613 lb (35,204.7 kg) of food were loaded onboard, including 16487 lb (7,478.4 kg) of frozen food, 6631 lb (3,007.8 kg) of canned meat, 1300 lb (589.7 kg) of coffee, and 1285 lb (582.9 kg) of potatoes. Vice Admiral Hyman G. Rickover
Hyman G. Rickover
Hyman George Rickover was a four-star admiral of the United States Navy who directed the original development of naval nuclear propulsion and controlled its operations for three decades as director of Naval Reactors...
, the head of the U.S. Navy's Naval Reactors branch
Naval Reactors
Naval Reactors is an umbrella term for the U.S. government office that has comprehensive responsibility for the continued safe and reliable operation of the United States Navy's nuclear propulsion program and thus for United States Naval reactors...
, sent special power-setting instructions for Tritons reactors, allowing them to operate with greater flexibility and a higher safety factor.
A key personnel change occurred on 2 February when Tritons veteran chief engineering officer, Lt. Commander Leslie D. Kelly, left for duty at the Rickover's Naval Reactors branch of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. His relief was his former assistant engineering officer, Lt. Commander Donald G. Fears.
Also, a number of supercargo personnel
Supercargo
Supercargo is a term in maritime law that refers to a person employed on board a vessel by the owner of cargo carried on the ship...
joined Triton for her shakedown cruise, with none aware of the top-secret nature of Operation Sandblast. Joseph Baynor Roberts was a well-known photographer from the National Geographic Magazine
National Geographic Magazine
National Geographic, formerly the National Geographic Magazine, is the official journal of the National Geographic Society. It published its first issue in 1888, just nine months after the Society itself was founded...
, and as a Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve, he was recalled to active duty to serve as the press pool
Press pool
Press pool refers to a group of news gathering organizations that combine their resources in the collection of news. A pool feed is then distributed to members of the broadcast pool who are free to edit it or use it as they see fit. In the case of print reporters, a written pool report is...
for the voyage with the U.S. Navy Office of Information
Public affairs (military)
Public Affairs is a term for the formal offices of the branches of the United States Department of Defense whose purpose is to deal with the media and community issues. The term is also used for numerous media relations offices that are created by the U.S. military for more specific limited purposes...
. Additionally, Roberts and First Class Photographer's Mate (PH1) William R. Hadley, USN, detached from Naval Air Force U.S. Atlantic Fleet
Commander, Naval Air Force U.S. Atlantic Fleet
Commander, Naval Air Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet is the aviation Type Commander for the United States Atlantic Fleet naval aviation units...
, would coordinated the photo-reconnaissance aspects of Operation Sandblast.
The other civilian personnel included Dr.
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
Benjamin B. Weybrew, a psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
at U.S Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory
Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory
The Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory is located on the New London Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut. The laboratory's mission is to protect the health and enhance the performance of United States War Fighters through focused submarine, diving, and surface research solutions.-History...
, would carry out a battery of psychological studies with volunteers from the crew. Geophysicist Michael Smalet, civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
Gordon E. Wilkes, and oceanographer Nicholas R. Mabry coordinated the various scientific and technical aspects of Operation Sandblast for the U.S. Navy's Hydrographic Office
Naval Oceanographic Office
The Naval Oceanographic Office , located at John C. Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi, comprises approximately 1,000 civilian, military and contract personnel responsible for providing oceanographic products and services to all elements within the Department of Defense.Valued by maritime...
. Eldon C. Good monitored the Ship Inertial Navigation System (SINS)
Inertial navigation system
An inertial navigation system is a navigation aid that uses a computer, motion sensors and rotation sensors to continuously calculate via dead reckoning the position, orientation, and velocity of a moving object without the need for external references...
prototype, newly installed onboard Triton by the Sperry Gyroscopic Company. Frank E. McConnell was the Electric Boat guaranty representative assigned to Tritons shakedown cruise.
On 15 February 1960, Triton went to sea to do a final check of all shipboard equipment. Except for a malfunctioning wave-motion sensor, she was deemed ready for her shakedown cruise.
Mission history—Around the world submerged 1960
Outward bound
Sextant
A sextant is an instrument used to measure the angle between any two visible objects. Its primary use is to determine the angle between a celestial object and the horizon which is known as the altitude. Making this measurement is known as sighting the object, shooting the object, or taking a sight...
in her No. 1 periscope during the nightly ventilation of the shipboard atmosphere. The inboard induction valve was closed after the removal of a rusted flashlight that had prevented its closure.
Captain Beach announced the true nature of their shakedown cruise (pictured):
Men, I know you’ve all been waiting to learn what this cruise is about, and why we’re still headed southeast. Now, at last, I can tell you that we are going on the voyage which all submariners have dreamed of ever since they possessed the means of doing so. We have the ship and we have the crew. We’re going around the world, nonstop. And we’re going to do it entirely submerged.
Regarding the upcoming voyage, Beach adopted a decidedly non-traditional command style:
Early on, I realized that what this particular crew needed from me was not pressure but the light touch. Once informed of our objective, their enthusiasm infected everything they did, and here and there might easily have caused stress-related dysfunction. Extended separation from home and family with no means of communications was not a problem — submariners are used to that — but bearing down too much on the job might be. My concern was about our performance in an emergency, being at the same time unable to predict what emergencies might be in store for us. It was important, I thought, to hold back on the pressure until a really tough problem came up. This happened several times, as I knew it would, and I was glad I had something in reserve.
For the shakedown cruise, Beach adopted a specific weekly shipboard routine. Mondays and Tuesdays involved regular activities, with drills, lectures, school of the ship, and class programs from the noon to 1600 watch. Wednesdays had the crew on reduced activities that is traditionally known as Rope Yarn Sunday. Thursdays saw a schedule of regular drills, and Fridays involved up keep and general maintenance activities known as Field Day. Saturdays had regular activities with afternoon drills, and Sundays had reduced activities with normal watches and religious observances.
Also, beginning on 17 February during the mid watch
Watchstanding
Watchstanding, or watchkeeping, in nautical terms concerns the division of qualified personnel to operate a ship continuously around the clock. On a typical sea going vessel, be it naval or merchant, personnel keep watch on the bridge and over the running machinery...
, Triton came to periscope depth to take a nightly fix using the built-in sextant in her celestial periscope, ventilate and replenish her shipboard atmosphere using the snorkel
Submarine snorkel
A submarine snorkel is a device which allows a submarine to operate submerged while still taking in air from above the surface. Navy personnel often refer to it as the snort.-History:...
, and dispose of any shipboard garbage. Since Triton did not have a generator to extract oxygen from sea water, these nightly snorkeling activities were crucial to maintaining a suitable atmosphere. Beach maintained that the greatest challenge facing the crew was a seeming mundane activity, garbage disposal and cleaning: "It was 84 days of strenuous work just keeping the ship clean. It was amazing how much dirt we created, so I had a field day every weekend. The crew started objecting until they saw how much trash we kept getting rid of. Then they couldn't object." To remove trash without surfacing, Triton had a garbage disposal unit (GDU), a small inverted torpedo tube that ejected a weighted bag of refuse through the bottom of the ship. However, if the GDU was temporarily out of commission due to repairs, as it was on 22 February, the after torpedo tubes were used, a less than optimum solution.
Later that same day, 17 February 1960, Triton experienced a serious leak with a main condenser circulating water pump, and a reactor warning alarm tripped because of a defective electrical connection. Both incidents were handled successfully and did not affect the ship's performance.
On 18 February, Triton conducted her first general daily drill and, on 19 February, released her first twice-daily hydrographic bottles, used to study ocean current patterns. Also on 19 February, shipboard sensors detected a radiation leak. It was subsequently determined the radium
Radium
Radium is a chemical element with atomic number 88, represented by the symbol Ra. Radium is an almost pure-white alkaline earth metal, but it readily oxidizes on exposure to air, becoming black in color. All isotopes of radium are highly radioactive, with the most stable isotope being radium-226,...
dials on three wristwatches were the cause for the alarm, and once removed, no radiation was detected for the balance of the voyage. On 23 February, Triton detected a previously uncharted seamount
Seamount
A seamount is a mountain rising from the ocean seafloor that does not reach to the water's surface , and thus is not an island. These are typically formed from extinct volcanoes, that rise abruptly and are usually found rising from a seafloor of depth. They are defined by oceanographers as...
with her fathometer.
On 24 February, Triton made her first landfall, reaching St. Peter and Paul Rocks (pictured) after traveling 3250 nmi (6,019 km; 3,740 mi). The Rocks served as the home plate for Tritons submerged circumnavigation. Photographic reconnaissance was carried out by Lt. Richard M. Harris, the CIC/ECM officer, and Chief Cryptologic Technician (CTC) William R. Hadley, who served as the ship's secondary photo-recon team for the voyage. Triton turned south and crossed the equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
for the first time later that day, passing into the Southern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
, with ship's personnel participating in the crossing the line ceremony
Line-crossing ceremony
The ceremony of Crossing the Line is an initiation rite in the Royal Navy, U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Marine Corps, and other navies that commemorates a sailor's first crossing of the Equator. Originally, the tradition was created as a test for seasoned sailors to ensure their new shipmates...
(pictured).
Destination: Cape Horn
Kidney stone
A kidney stone, also known as a renal calculus is a solid concretion or crystal aggregation formed in the kidneys from dietary minerals in the urine...
s. The second was when the ship's fathometer went out of commission, with its loss meaning Triton could no longer echo-sound the sea floor, increasing the danger of grounding or collision as the ship traveled through poorly charted waters. Captain Beach observed:
Fortunately at the present time we are in an area where the water is deeper than normal for the Atlantic and for a number of hours there is [no] worry about unexpectedly scraping the top of any unsuspected submerged peak. But we will want that fathometer badly as we approach Cape Horn.
Perhaps most critically, the third problem involved the readings on one of the reactors indicating a serious malfunction which requires its shutdown. As Captain Beach noted, "So far as Triton and the first of March were concerned, it seemed that troubles were not confined to pairs. On that day we were to have them in threes."
Later that day, Lt. Milton R. Rubb and his electronics technician team returned the fathometer to operational status, and the Chief Engineer Donald D. Fears, Reactor Officer Lt. Cmdr. Robert P. McDonald, and Tritons engineering crew repaired the malfunctioning reactor. Since Poole's symptoms were intermittent, Triton continued south, although there was a detour to the Golfo Nuevo
Golfo Nuevo
Golfo Nuevo is a body of water formed by the Península Valdés and Punta Ninfas in the province of Chubut in the Argentine Patagonia. It is located 650 miles southwest of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Puerto Madryn is its major seaport. From May to December, the Southern right whales migrate to Golfo...
region when the ship investigated an unknown sonar contact. Contemporary news accounts reported the Argentine Navy
Argentine Navy
The Navy of the Argentine Republic or Armada of the Argentine Republic is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force....
had been encountering numerous unknown submarine contacts in the Golfo Nuevo during early 1960, but Tritons contact turned out to be a school of fish.
On 3 March, Triton located the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
on her radar and prepared to conduct photoreconnaissance of Stanley Harbor
Stanley, Falkland Islands
Stanley is the capital and only true cityin the Falkland Islands. It is located on the isle of East Falkland, on a north-facing slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2006 census, the city had a population of 2,115...
. Before they could visually sight the islands, Poole's condition worsened so much that–taking a calculated risk–Captain Beach reversed course, ordered flank speed
Flank speed
Flank speed is a nautical term referring to a ship's true maximum speed, beyond the speed that can be reached by traveling at full speed. Usually, flank speed is reserved for situations in which a ship finds itself in imminent danger, such as coming under attack by aircraft...
, and sent a radio message to headquarters describing the situation. From the ship's log on that date, Beach noted:
In the control and living spaces, the ship had quieted down, too. Orders were given in low voices; the men speak to each other, carrying out their normal duties, in a repressed atmosphere. A regular pall has descended upon us. I know that all hands are aware of the decision and recognize the need for it. Perhaps they are relieved that they did not have to make it. But it is apparent that this unexpected illness, something that could neither have been foreseen nor prevented, may ruin our submergence record.
Fortunately, the heavy cruiser
Baltimore class cruiser
The Baltimore class cruiser was a type of heavy cruiser in the United States Navy from the last years of the Second World War. Fast and heavily armed, ships like the Baltimore cruisers were mainly used by the Navy in World War II to protect the fast aircraft carriers in carrier battle groups...
, with Captain Reuben T. Whitaker in command, had been on a good-will cruise to South American ports since January as the flagship for Rear Admiral Edward C. Stephan, Commander Naval Forces South Atlantic (Task Force 138). Macon had been in Argentine waters in conjunction with US President Eisenhower's visit to Argentina from 26–29 February 1960. In the early hours of 5 March, Triton rendezvoused with Macon off Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
, Uruguay, after a diversion of over 2000 nmi (3,704 km; 2,301.6 mi). Triton broached, exposing only her sail
Sail (submarine)
In naval parlance, the sail or fin of a submarine is the tower-like structure found on the dorsal surface of submarines...
. A boat-handling party led by Lieutenant George A. Sawyer, the ship's gunnery officer, transferred Poole to the waiting whaleboat, which then returned to Macon. Poole was the only crew member who did not complete the voyage. Chief Radarman Poole was subsequently examined by both the doctors aboard Macon and at a hospital in Montevideo, but his third attack of kidney stones, which prompted his transfer off Triton, proved to be his last–and he did not require kidney surgery.
After the rendezvous, Triton dove and turned back southwards. She subsequently passed west of the Falklands, and rounded Cape Horn (pictured) through Estrecho de le Maire (Drake Passage
Drake Passage
The Drake Passage or Mar de Hoces—Sea of Hoces—is the body of water between the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn, Chile and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica...
) on 7 March. Captain Beach described his first impressions of this legendary lands-end of the Western Hemisphere as "bold and forbidding, like the sway-backed profile of some prehistoric sea monster." Captain Beach allowed all the crew an opportunity to view Cape Horn through the ship's periscope, requiring five reverses of Tritons course to keep the cape in sight.
Across the Pacific
On 7 March, Triton entered the Pacific OceanPacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
and passed into the operational control of Rear Admiral Roy S. Benson
Roy S. Benson
Roy Stanley Benson is a veteran submarine commander from World War II who later served as the Commander Submarine Force U.S. Pacific Fleet during the Cold War.-Naval career:...
, Commander Submarine Force U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMSUBPAC), who had been Captain Beach's commanding officer while he served on the fleet submarine
Gato class submarine
The United States Navy Gato class submarine formed the core of the submarine service that was largely responsible for the destruction of the Japanese merchant marine and a large portion of the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II...
in the Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
. Tritons first Pacific visual landfall was Easter Island
Easter Island
Easter Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people...
, some 2500 nmi (4,630 km; 2,877 mi) away. On 8 March, Triton detected a seamount, registering a minimum depth of 350 fathom (640.1 m; 2,100 ft), with a total height of 7000 feet (2,133.6 m) above the ocean floor. Also on that day, Triton successfully conducted a drill simulating the emergency shutdown of both her reactors and loss of all power.
Two days later, the starboard propshaft seal sprung a major leak in the after engine room. A makeshift locking clamp was jury-rigged to contain the leak. On 12 March, the trouble-plagued fathometer ceased operation when its transducer header flooded, grounding out the entire system. Since the transducer head was located outside the boat's pressure hull, it could not be repaired except in drydock. Without an operational fathometer, Triton could be vulnerable to grounding or collision with uncharted submerged formations. It was subsequently determined the cabling to the Tritons fathometer head, located in the bulbous forefoot of her bow, had not been properly insulated, and the constant buffeting from Tritons high speed caused these cables to rupture, rendering the fathometer inoperable.
An alternative to the fathometer was devised involving the use of the ship's active forward search sonar in conjunction with the gravity meter installed in the combat intelligence center (CIC). By using both systems in tandem, underwater masses could be detected and avoided, although this approach lacked the capability of the fathometer to echo-sound the depth of the ocean floor.
On 13 March, Triton detected a submerged peak using active sonar and the gravity meter that confirmed the feasibility of this procedure. The Triton next spotted Easter Island
Easter Island
Easter Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people...
on that same day, first by radar, then by periscope. The northeastern coast of the island was photographed for two and a half hours before the statue that Thor Heyerdahl
Thor Heyerdahl
Thor Heyerdahl was a Norwegian ethnographer and adventurer with a background in zoology and geography. He became notable for his Kon-Tiki expedition, in which he sailed by raft from South America to the Tuamotu Islands...
had erected was spotted. The entire crew was invited to observe through the periscope before the Triton departed for her next visual landfall–Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, some 6734 nmi (12,471.4 km; 7,749.4 mi) distant.
Submarine tender
A submarine tender is a type of ship that supplies and supports submarines.Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally do not have the ability to carry large amounts of food, fuel, torpedoes, and other supplies, nor to carry a full array of maintenance equipment and...
or in a shipyard. Captain Beach was deeply impressed by "this spirit and outlook [that] permeated our crew." He was also "astonished" by two different makeshift fathometer sound transmitters created by the electronics and engineering crewmen. One was based on a general announcing speaker, while the other used a stainless steel cooking pot from the galley, with stainless steel rods and copper wiring. Beach noted in the ship's log: "I could only marvel at the ingenuity of the American sailor." On 19 March, Triton detected another submerged peak, using its sonar and gravity meter, and crossed the equator a second time–passing into the Northern Hemisphere
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
again. Another submerged peak was successfully detected on 20 March. Later that day, Triton made her closest approach to Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, and the crew celebrated with a luau
Luau
A luau is a Hawaiian feast. It may feature food, such as poi, kalua pig, poke, lomi salmon, opihi, haupia, and beer; and entertainment, such as Hawaiian music and hula...
.
Triton crossed the International Date Line
International Date Line
The International Date Line is a generally north-south imaginary line on the surface of the Earth, passing through the middle of the Pacific Ocean, that designates the place where each calendar day begins...
23 March, losing 24 March from her calendar. The next day, sonar indicated another rise from the ocean floor, previously uncharted, logged with a depth of 350 fathom (640.1 m; 2,100 ft). Two days later, 27 March, Triton passed the point of closest approach to the location where her namesake
USS Triton (SS-201)
USS Triton , a Tambor-class submarine, was the first submarine and third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Triton. Her keel was down on 5 July 1939 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard. She was launched on 25 March 1940 sponsored by Mrs. Ernest J. King, wife of Rear Admiral King, and...
was lost during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and a memorial service was held to commemorate the occasion. A submerged naval gun salute was fired to honor the lost crew when three water slugs were shot in quick succession from the forward torpedo tubes.
On the morning of 28 March, Triton spotted Guam and observed activity on shore. Petty Officer Edward Carbullido (pictured), who had been born on Guam but had not returned home for 14 years, was asked to identify his parents' house through the periscope while the boat remained submerged in Agat Bay. Triton then changed course for the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, the mid-point of her around-the-world voyage. Carbullido was able to go home to Guam for Christmas Day 1960 on a 60-day leave, with the cost of his flight paid for by selling a magazine article on Tritons circumnavigation written by Captain Beach, and with the assistance of Pan American Airways.
The Philippines
On 31 March, Triton crossed over the Philippine TrenchPhilippine Trench
The Philippine Trench is a submarine trench to the east of the Philippines. It has a length of approximately 1,320 km and a width of about 30 km from the centre of the Philippine island of Luzon trending southeast to the northern Maluku island of Halmahera in Indonesia...
and began threading her way through the vast Philippine archipelago
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, passing from the Philippine Sea
Philippine Sea
The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea east and north of the Philippines occupying an estimated surface area of 2 million mi² on the western part of the North Pacific Ocean...
through the Surigao Strait
Surigao Strait
Surigao Strait is a body of water in the Philippines located between the islands of Mindanao and Leyte. This strait connects the Bohol Sea with Leyte Gulf and is regularly crossed by ferries that transport goods and people between Visayas and Mindanao...
and then the Mindanao Sea, and finally through the Bohol Strait into the Camotes Sea
Camotes Sea
The Camotes Sea is a small sea within the Philippine archipelago, between the Eastern Visayas and the Central Visayas. It is bordered by the islands of Leyte to the north and east, Bohol to the south, and Cebu to the west. The sea is connected to the Visayan Sea to the northwest, and to the Bohol...
.
A special water sample was taken during Tritons transit of Surigao Strait; its recipient was the retired Vice Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf
Jesse B. Oldendorf
Jesse Bartlett "Oley" Oldendorf was an admiral in the United States Navy, famous for defeating a Japanese force in the Battle of Leyte Gulf during World War II...
, the task force commander whose battleships had defeated the Japanese Southern Force
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
during the Battle of Surigao Strait, history's last naval battle fought only by surface warships, during World War II. Captain Beach observed, "We think that Admiral Oldendorf will appreciate a sample of this body of water."
On 1 April, Triton spotted Mactan Island
Mactan Island
Mactan is an island located a few kilometres from Cebu Island in the Philippines. The island is part of Cebu Province and it is divided into Lapu-Lapu City and the municipality of Cordova...
, and shortly before noon, sighted the monument
Magellan shrine
The Magellan shrine is a large memorial tower erected in honor of the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. The spot is believed to be the area were Magellan was killed in the Battle of Mactan on 1521, Philippines. The monument measures 30 metres high and it is located in the place of Punta...
commemorating the death of Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer. He was born in Sabrosa, in northern Portugal, and served King Charles I of Spain in search of a westward route to the "Spice Islands" ....
at that site, thereby reaching the mid-point of her circumnavigation.
The noted photographer Joseph Baynor Roberts of National Geographic magazine was able to snap several photos of this unexpected interloper (pictured) through the ship's periscope before Triton moved out of range. The November 1960 issue identified the fisherman as 19-year-old Rufino Baring of Punta Engano, Mactan Island
Mactan Island
Mactan is an island located a few kilometres from Cebu Island in the Philippines. The island is part of Cebu Province and it is divided into Lapu-Lapu City and the municipality of Cordova...
, who believed he had encountered a sea monster: "I was very frightened. I tried to get away as fast as I could."
Later on the afternoon of 1 April, Triton proceeded through Hilutangan Channel
Hilutangan Channel
Hilutangan Channel is a deep water channel that separates Mactan Island from Olango Island....
into the Sulu Sea
Sulu Sea
The Sulu Sea is a body of water in the southwestern area of the Philippines, separated from the South China Sea in the northwest by Palawan and from the Celebes Sea in the southeast by the Sulu Archipelago. Borneo is found to the southwest and Visayas to the northeast.Sulu Sea contains a number of...
via Bohol Strait.
On 2 April, Tritons gyroscopic
Gyroscope
A gyroscope is a device for measuring or maintaining orientation, based on the principles of angular momentum. In essence, a mechanical gyroscope is a spinning wheel or disk whose axle is free to take any orientation...
repeater
Repeater
A repeater is an electronic device that receives asignal and retransmits it at a higher level and/or higher power, or onto the other side of an obstruction, so that the signal can cover longer distances.-Description:...
s, used to maintain the ship's navigational bearing
Bearing (navigation)
In marine navigation, a bearing is the direction one object is from another object, usually, the direction of an object from one's own vessel. In aircraft navigation, a bearing is the actual compass direction of the forward course of the aircraft...
, began to experience sudden, severe oscillation
Oscillation
Oscillation is the repetitive variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value or between two or more different states. Familiar examples include a swinging pendulum and AC power. The term vibration is sometimes used more narrowly to mean a mechanical oscillation but sometimes...
s, possibly caused by a malfunctioning synchro
Synchro
A synchro is a type of rotary electrical transformer that is used for measuring the angle of a rotating machine such as an antenna platform. In its general physical construction, it is much like an electric motor...
amplifier
Servomechanism
thumb|right|200px|Industrial servomotorThe grey/green cylinder is the [[Brush |brush-type]] [[DC motor]]. The black section at the bottom contains the [[Epicyclic gearing|planetary]] [[Reduction drive|reduction gear]], and the black object on top of the motor is the optical [[rotary encoder]] for...
. The helm was shifted to direct gyro input, the synchro amplifiers were checked out, and the gyroscopic repeaters appeared to return to normal function. Later, while transiting the Pearl Bank Passage, a narrow channel lined with coral reefs, a periscope observation determined that Triton was off course, indicating a potentially hazardous helm error. Steering control was immediately shifted to the control room, with the helm using the master gyroscopic repeater. While the malfunction was detected in time and the ship was not in any immediate danger, the loss of navigational bearing could have been catastrophic, with Captain Beach noting that "the episode had a sobering effect."
Triton then proceeded through the Sibutu Passage
Sibutu Passage
Sibutu Passage is a safe and deep channel some 18 miles wide that separates Borneo from the Sulu Archipelago. It has a deep sill allowing entry of deep water into the Sulu basin while connecting the Sulu Sea with the Sulawesi Sea that feeds from the Pacific Ocean by the Mindanao Current.At the...
into the Celebes Sea
Celebes Sea
The Celebes Sea of the western Pacific Ocean is bordered on the north by the Sulu Archipelago and Sulu Sea and Mindanao Island of the Philippines, on the east by the Sangihe Islands chain, on the south by Sulawesi, and on the west by Kalimantan in Indonesia...
, leaving Philippine waters, and subsequently entered Makassar Strait
Makassar Strait
Makassar Strait is a strait between the islands of Borneo and Sulawesi in Indonesia. To the north it joins the Celebes Sea, while to the south it meets the Java Sea.The Mahakam River of Borneo empties into the strait....
, crossing the equator a third time, on 3 April, and then, during 4 April, transited the Flores Sea
Flores Sea
The Flores Sea covers 93,000 square miles of water in Indonesia.- Geography :The seas that border the Flores Sea are the Bali Sea , Java Sea , and the Banda Sea ....
, bound for Lombok Strait, the gateway to the Indian Ocean.
Indian Ocean
On 5 April, Triton entered the Indian OceanIndian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
via the Lombok Strait
Lombok Strait
The Lombok Strait is a strait connecting the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean, located between the islands of Bali and Lombok in Indonesia. The Gili Islands are on the Lombok side....
. The transition proved dramatic. The change in salinity
Salinity
Salinity is the saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water. It is a general term used to describe the levels of different salts such as sodium chloride, magnesium and calcium sulfates, and bicarbonates...
and density of the seawater caused her to dive abruptly from periscope depth to 125 feet (38.1 m) in about 40 seconds. Captain Beach noted, "I had experienced changes in water density many times before, but never one of this magnitude." Triton returned to periscope depth and subsequently entered the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
.
While crossing the Indian Ocean, Triton conducted a sealed-ship experiment. Beginning 10 April, rather than refreshing the air in the ship by snorkeling each night, she remained sealed, using compressed air to make up for consumed oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
, as well as burning "oxygen candles" to replenish the ship's atmosphere. Also, starting on 15 April, the smoking lamp was extinguished, with no tobacco smoking
Tobacco smoking
Tobacco smoking is the practice where tobacco is burned and the resulting smoke is inhaled. The practice may have begun as early as 5000–3000 BCE. Tobacco was introduced to Eurasia in the late 16th century where it followed common trade routes...
permitted anywhere aboard the ship.
During this smoking ban, Dr. Benjamin Weybrew carried out a battery of tests on crew volunteers, both smokers and non-smokers, to measure cardiovascular functions and psychological stress indices to determine the effects that the prohibition of tobacco had on individual and group performance of the test subjects. The objective of this experiment was to determine the advisability of prohibiting the use of tobacco from submarine operations given the extended submerged duration of missions involving nuclear-powered submarines.
The test results determined that smokers showed consistently higher mean oral temperature and pulse rate
Pulse
In medicine, one's pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the heartbeat by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed against a bone, such as at the neck , at the wrist , behind the knee , on the inside of the elbow , and near the...
, both at rest and following exercises, as well as significantly increased pulse rates over non-smokers, a marked decrease in alertness, and an increase in insomnia symptoms
Insomnia
Insomnia is most often defined by an individual's report of sleeping difficulties. While the term is sometimes used in sleep literature to describe a disorder demonstrated by polysomnographic evidence of disturbed sleep, insomnia is often defined as a positive response to either of two questions:...
. However, there was no significant difference in blood pressure
Blood pressure
Blood pressure is the pressure exerted by circulating blood upon the walls of blood vessels, and is one of the principal vital signs. When used without further specification, "blood pressure" usually refers to the arterial pressure of the systemic circulation. During each heartbeat, BP varies...
between smokers and non-smokers. Finally, smokers experienced "debilitative performance decrements" during the smoking prohibition, and as a consequence, this also affected the morale of non-smokers, both among the participants in the experiment as well as non-participants. Dr. Weybrew concluded smoking should be avoided because of its attendant health and relational issues, and not smoking enhances one's overall stress coping capacity (SCC).
At the 1963 convention of the Cigar Institute of America, Weybrew noted : "When a smoker is forbidden to smoke he just doesn't like it. The smokers in the test got irritable, ate too much, had trouble sleeping, and personal relationships began to deteriorate." On 8 April 2010, the U.S. Navy announced a permanent smoking ban onboard submarines effective 31 December 2010.
On Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
Sunday, 17 April, Triton rounded the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, and she entered the South Atlantic Ocean, returning to the fleet command of Rear Admiral Lawrence R. Daspit (COMSUBLANT).
The Return to the St. Peter and St. Paul Rocks
Cigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
, blowing smoke in people's faces, and asking, "Don't you wish you could do this?" He recorded in his log that "it took some 37 seconds for the word to get around." On 20 April 1960, the Triton crossed the Prime Meridian
Prime Meridian
The Prime Meridian is the meridian at which the longitude is defined to be 0°.The Prime Meridian and its opposite the 180th meridian , which the International Date Line generally follows, form a great circle that divides the Earth into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.An international...
, and on 24 April, the sealed atmosphere experiment was terminated.
On the same day that the sealed atmosphere experiment was terminated, 24 April 1960, Triton experienced a major equipment casualty. In the after torpedo room, a hydraulic line to the stern plane mechanism burst. Through the prompt action by Torpedoman's Mate Third Class Allen W. Steele, aided by Engineman Third Class Arlan F. Martin, this potentially catastrophic event was successfully contained. Eventually, the main hydraulic system was restored with a control valve from the steering system, but the boat's steering controls remained on emergency mode for the rest of the voyage. It was subsequently determined that the pipe burst was caused by a fractured valve. For his quick and decisive actions in handling this emergency, Steele was presented the Navy Commendation Medal.
On 25 April, Triton crossed the Equator a final time, re-entering the Northern Hemisphere
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
, and shortly thereafter, she sighted the St. Peter and Paul Rocks, completing the first submerged circumnavigation
Circumnavigation
Circumnavigation – literally, "navigation of a circumference" – refers to travelling all the way around an island, a continent, or the entire planet Earth.- Global circumnavigation :...
. As Captain Beach wrote, "We are not yet home, but we may be considered to have taken a long lead off third base."
Homeward bound
During 28–29 April, Triton conducted engineering drills, then proceeded to TenerifeTenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
, the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
, arriving on 30 April, and thereafter setting course for Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
, Spain, to complete two additional goals of Operation Sandblast. One was to honor the seaport where Ferdinand Magellan set sail from in 1519 to initiate the first global maritime circumnavigation, and the other was to deliver a plaque created to honor Magellan's and Tritons historic voyages when Triton rendezvoused with the destroyer off Cadiz on 2 May 1960. Afterward, Beach noted, "We are on the last leg of our trip enroute to the United States."
Triton returned to the United States, surfacing off the coast of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
Rehoboth Beach is a city in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population is 1,327, a decrease of 11.2% from 2000...
, on 10 May 1960. Captain Beach was flown by helicopter (pictured) to Washington, D.C., where news of the Tritons submerged around-the-world voyage was announced by President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
at the White House, with Vice Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, known as the "Father of the Nuclear Navy", in attendance. Beach flew back to his boat later that day, and the Triton arrived back at Groton, Connecticut, on 11 May 1960, completing her shakedown cruise and the first submarine circumnavigation of the earth.
Mission accomplishments
Key facts & figures
- Nautical miles - 26723 nmi (49,491 km; 30,752.4 mi)
- Dates - 24 February to 25 April 1960
- Duration - 60 days and 21 hours
- Average speed of advance (SOA)Speed of advanceSpeed of advance is the speed a ship would travel through the water at any given shaft rotation, not taking into account any external forces such as set and drift....
- 18 kn (35.3 km/h; 21.9 mph)
Triton also crossed the Equator four times during its circumnavigation on the following dates and locations:
- 24 February 1960 - near St. Peter and Paul Rocks, mid-Atlantic Ocean (longitude 29° 32.'8 West)
- 19 March 1960 - near Christmas Island, mid-Pacific Ocean (longitude 155° 54'.8 West)
- 3 April 1960 - Makassar Strait (longitude 119° 05'.1 East)
- 25 April 1960 - near St. Peter and Paul Rocks, mid-Atlantic Ocean (longitude 28° 03'.0 West)
On her shakedown cruise, Triton was submerged a total of 83 days 9 hours, covering 35979.1 nmi (66,633.3 km; 41,404.1 mi). The total duration of the shakedown cruise was 84 days 19 hours 8 minutes, covering 36335.1 nmi (67,292.6 km; 41,813.8 mi).
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
lists Tritons submerged circumnavigation as 83 days, 9 hours, 54 minutes in duration, the total submerged portion of her shakedown cruise. When the British trimaran Cable & Wireless Adventurer
Ocean 7 Adventurer
MV Brigitte Bardot is a unique high-tech 35 m stabilized monohull twin diesel engine powered vessel designed by Nigel Irens. Construction of the Adventurer began in June 1997 and she was launched on 16 March 1998...
completed its 74-day circumnavigation in 1998, Guinness World Records recorded this as the fastest motorized maritime circumnavigation, beating the previous record held by Triton. When interviewed by travel author Clive Tully, retired Captain Tom B. Thamm, Tritons diving officer during Operation Sandblast, confirmed the actual duration of Tritons submerged circumnavigation was 60 days, 21 hours while further noting:
The Cable & Wireless Adventurer did not beat Tritons record if it took them 75 days to circumnavigate the earth. And if their route was 4752 statute miles (7647.6 km) shorter than ours, they simply aren't even close."
When Tully made inquiries regarding inconsistencies pertaining to the fastest motorized maritime circumnavition record, the Guinness World Records response was: "If the US Department of Defense would care to present us with all the facts, we'll look at it again." Tully noted that this information had been publicly available since the publication of Captain Beach's 1962 account of Operation Sandblast. Arguably, Tritons circumnavigation remains the fastest for a motorized sea vessel, beating Cable & Wireless Adventurers 1998 74-day voyage and Earthraces 2008 circumnavigation of 60 days, 23 hours, and 49 minutes.
Scientific & national security accomplishments
Operation Sandblast gathered extensive oceanographic, hydrographic, gravimetric, and geophysical data. Water samples were taken throughout Tritons circumnavigation, which were tested for differences in chemical composition, salinity, density, and temperature. Such samples were vital for submarine operations. Water salinity and density affects submerged trim, as well as sonar performance, while warmer water affects the efficiency of shipboard condensers and, consequently, ship speed. Measurements from the installed gravity meter provided a continuous record of variations in earth's gravity field throughout Tritons circumnavigation. This extensive gravity study assisted the Navy in developing navigational aids. Some 144 hydrographic bottles to track ocean currents were released during Operation Sandblast. Triton mapped uncharted seamounts, coral reefs, and other submerged topographic structures using its fathometer and sonar systems. This scientific data gathered during Operation Sandblast continued to be invaluable in providing information on oceanic changes, with Sydney Levitus, the director of NOAA's Ocean Climate Laboratory in Silver Spring, Maryland, characterizing Tritons data (pictured) as being "a very exciting set of observations."Operation Sandblast also proved nuclear-powered submarines could undertake extended operations independent of any external support. Specifically, Triton tested a prototype ship inertial navigational system
Inertial navigation system
An inertial navigation system is a navigation aid that uses a computer, motion sensors and rotation sensors to continuously calculate via dead reckoning the position, orientation, and velocity of a moving object without the need for external references...
(SINS) for submarine use, as well as being the first submarine to test the floating very low frequency (VLF) communications buoy system, with both systems being vital for the Navy's upcoming Polaris
UGM-27 Polaris
The Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fuel nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile built during the Cold War by Lockheed Corporation of California for the United States Navy....
fleet ballistic missile submarines (FBM) deterrence patrols. Finally, the psychological testing of Tritons crew members to determine the effects of long-term isolation was particularly relevant for the initial deployment of the Navy's fleet ballistic missile submarines
George Washington class submarine
The George Washington class was a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines deployed by the United States Navy. The Navy ordered a class of nuclear-powered submarines armed with long-range strategic missiles on 31 December 1957, and tasked Electric Boat with converting two existing...
, as well as NASA's upcoming manned space program, Project Mercury
Project Mercury
In January 1960 NASA awarded Western Electric Company a contract for the Mercury tracking network. The value of the contract was over $33 million. Also in January, McDonnell delivered the first production-type Mercury spacecraft, less than a year after award of the formal contract. On February 12,...
, with MIT engineers assuring NASA "that getting to the moon and back was simpler than guiding an antiballistic missile or circumnavigating the earth under water in a nuclear submarine."
Mission aftermath
Media coverage
Argosy (magazine)
Argosy was an American pulp magazine, published by Frank Munsey. It is generally considered to be the first American pulp magazine. The magazine began as a general information periodical entitled The Golden Argosy, targeted at the boys adventure market.-Launch of Argosy:In late September 1882,...
, Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
, Look
Look (American magazine)
Look was a bi-weekly, general-interest magazine published in Des Moines, Iowa from 1937 to 1971, with more of an emphasis on photographs than articles...
, National Geographic
National Geographic Magazine
National Geographic, formerly the National Geographic Magazine, is the official journal of the National Geographic Society. It published its first issue in 1888, just nine months after the Society itself was founded...
, and the Saturday Evening Post as well as television and newsreels. Tritons commanding officer during Operation Sandblast, Captain Edward L. Beach, appeared on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
news program Face the Nation
Face the Nation
Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer is an American Sunday-morning political interview show which premiered on the CBS television network on November 7, 1954. It is one of the longest-running news programs in the history of television...
on 15 May 1960 while several Triton crew members appeared on the What's My Line television game show. Tritons submerged circumnavigation was the subject of the ABC television series Expedition! broadcast on Tuesday, 14 February 1961.
The American government published an 82-page redacted version of Tritons log (pictured) following the submerged circumnavigation. It was described by the New York Times as "a literary product in its own right [that] rivals in spots the suspense and drama of an adventure from the pages of Captain Hornblower
Horatio Hornblower
Horatio Hornblower is a fictional Royal Navy officer who is the protagonist of a series of novels by C. S. Forester. He was later the subject of films and television programs.The original Hornblower tales began with the 1937 novel The Happy Return Horatio Hornblower is a fictional Royal Navy...
."
Captain Beach wrote the lead article ("Triton Follows Magellan's Wake") on the circumnavigation for the November 1960 issue of National Geographic Magazine
National Geographic Magazine
National Geographic, formerly the National Geographic Magazine, is the official journal of the National Geographic Society. It published its first issue in 1888, just nine months after the Society itself was founded...
, and he also wrote a book-length account, which was published in 1962. Beach also made public presentations of the accomplishments of Operation Sandblast before the National Press Club
National Press Club
The National Press Club is a professional organization and private social club for journalists. It is located in Washington, D.C. Its membership consists of journalists, former journalists, government information officers, and those considered to be regular news sources. It is well-known for its...
(pictured), National Geographic Society
National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...
on 27 May 1960, the American Philosophical Society
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
on 22 April 1961, the Society of Non-Destructive Testing
Nondestructive testing
Nondestructive testing or Non-destructive testing is a wide group of analysis techniques used in science and industry to evaluate the properties of a material, component or system without causing damage....
on 8 May 1965, and the Eagle-Scout Recognition Dinner
Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)
Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America . A Scout who attains this rank is called an Eagle Scout or Eagle. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men...
in Chicago, Illinois
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, on 4 November 1965.
Historian Bern Dibner
Bern Dibner
Bern Dibner was an electrical engineer, industrialist, and historian of science and technology.Dibner was born near Kiev, Ukraine in 1897. He moved to the United States with his family at the age of 7. In 1921, he graduated from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn with a degree in Electrical...
wrote Victoria and the Triton, a 1964 book about famous maritime circumnavigations, featuring the Victoria
Victoria (ship)
Victoria was a Spanish carrack and the first ship to successfully circumnavigate the world. The Victoria was part of a Spanish expedition commanded by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, and after his demise during the voyage, by Juan Sebastián Elcano...
, the Spanish carrack
Carrack
A carrack or nau was a three- or four-masted sailing ship developed in 15th century Western Europe for use in the Atlantic Ocean. It had a high rounded stern with large aftcastle, forecastle and bowsprit at the stem. It was first used by the Portuguese , and later by the Spanish, to explore and...
that was the first ship to circumnavigate the world under Ferdinand Magellan, as well as Tritons submerged circumnavigation of 1960. Also, Beril Becker wrote a 1961 juvenile-market non-fiction account of Operation Sandblast, Around the World Underwater: Captain Edward L. Beach, with illustrations by Richard Modock. Finally, the feat of successfully completing the first submerged circumnavigation of the world by the submarine Triton was recognized as a significant scientific and technological achievement for the year 1960 in Bernard Grun's authoritative historical reference, The Timestables of History.
For the 50th anniverary of Operation Sandblast (see below), writer-historian Carl LaVO wrote "Incredible Voyage" for the June 2010 edition of Naval History magazine, and John Beach wrote "The First Submerged Circumnavigation" for the April 1960 issue of The Submarine Review, the official magazine of the Naval Submarine League. Mr. Beach is the nephew of Captain Edward L. Beach, the commanding officer of USS Triton during Operation Sandblast. Finally, the Naval Institute Press
United States Naval Institute
The United States Naval Institute , based at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, is a private, non-profit, professional military association that seeks to offer independent, nonpartisan forums for debate of national defense issues...
published Beneath the Waves by Dr. Edward F. Finch, a 2010 biography of the late Captain Beach, which includes extensive coverage of Operation Sandblast. Finally, in a 1999 interview for All Hands
All Hands
All Hands Magazine of the U.S. Navy is the title of a monthly published magazine of the United States Navy for its sailors . It is published since August 1922 under different names; the current title was established in 1945....
magazine, Captain Edward L. Beach paid tribute to his crew and their ship by noting:
I'm proud of Triton's around-the-world cruise, but I didn't really do that. That was done by my crew and the Navy - the ship the Navy built and put me in command of. That's not a personal achievement, although I was captain of the ship.
Public recognition
On 10 May 1960, Triton received the Presidential Unit Citation from Secretary of the Navy William B. FrankeWilliam B. Franke
William Birrell Franke was United States Secretary of the Navy from 1959 to 1961 under Dwight D. Eisenhower. Franke was born in Troy, New York and attended Pace College...
, which was accepted by Chief Torpedoman's Mate Chester Raymond Fitzjarald, the chief of the boat
Chief of the boat
Chief of the Boat is an enlisted sailor on board a U.S. Navy submarine or Cyclone Class Coastal Patrol Ships, who serves as the senior enlisted advisor to the commanding officer and executive officer, and assists with matters regarding the good order and discipline of the crew. The Chief of the...
, on behalf of Tritons officers and crew. The citation reads:
For meritorious achievement from 16 February 1960 to 10 May 1960. During this period the TRITON circumnavigated the earth submerged, generally following the route of Magellan’s historic voyage. In addition to proving the ability of both crew and nuclear submarine to accomplish a mission which required almost three months of submergence, TRITON collected much data of scientific importance. The performance, determination and devotion to duty of the TRITON’s crew were in keeping with the highest traditions of the naval service. All members of the crew who made this voyage are authorized to wear the Presidential Unit Citation ribbon with a special clasp in the form of a golden replica of the globe.
Up to that time, this was only the second time that a U.S. Navy vessel had been awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for a peacetime mission, with the nuclear submarine receiving the first peacetime PUC in recognition of its voyage under the North Pole (Operation Sunshine) in 1958. To commemorate the first submerged circumnavigation of the world, all Triton personnel who made that voyage were authorized to wear their Presidential Unit Citation ribbon with a special clasp in the form of a golden replica of the globe (pictured).
Captain Edward L. Beach received the Legion of Merit
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
from President Eisenhower in a ceremony held in the Conference Room at the White House on 10 May 1960, with presidential naval aide Captain Evan P. Aurand reading the following citation:
For exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service while serving on board the U.S.S. TRITON from 16 February 1960 to 10 May 1960. As Commanding Officer, Captain Edward L. Beach, United States Navy, led his crew with courage, foresight and determination in an unprecedented circumnavigation of the globe, proving man's ability under trying conditions to accomplish prolonged submerged missions as well as testing new and complex equipment in the world's largest submarine. This historic voyage took his ship into strange waters under difficult and frequently unknown conditions, as a result, the TRITON collected much valuable oceanographic information. Captain Beach's sound judgment, masterful leadership, professional skill and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the naval service.
Beach received the 1960 Giant of Adventure Award from Argosy magazine, which dubbed him the "Magellan of the Deep". Beach also received an honorary doctorate of science
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
(Sc.D) from the American International College
American International College
American International College is a private, co-educational liberal-arts college located in the Mason Square neighborhood of Springfield, Massachusetts.-History:...
, whose citation reads:
- Your most recent exploit in commanding the largest submarine in existence during an historic submerged voyage around the globe has won for you and your crew the admiration of the world you circled.
In 1961, the American Philosophical Society
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
presented Beach with its Magellanic Premium
Magellanic Premium
The Magellanic Premium, also known as the Magellanic Gold Medal and Magellanic Prize is awarded for major contributions in the field of navigation , astronomy, or natural philosophy....
, the nation's oldest and most prestigious scientific award, in "recognition of his navigation of the U.S. submarine Triton around the globe."
In 2011, Operation Sandblast, the , and Captain Edward L. Beach, Jr.
Edward L. Beach, Jr.
Edward Latimer Beach, Jr. was a highly-decorated United States Navy submarine officer and best-selling author....
, were included in the Technology for the Nucleat Age: Nuclear Propulsion display for the Cold War exhibit at the U.S. Navy Museum
U.S. Navy Museum
The National Museum of the United States Navy, or U.S. Navy Museum for short, is the flagship museum of the United States Navy and is located in the former Breech Mechanism Shop of the old Naval Gun Factory on the grounds of the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., USA.The U.S...
in Washington, DC.
Promotions & qualifications
On 11 April 1960, the chief petty officers Hugh M. Bennett, Jr.; Joseph H. Blair, Jr.; Harry W. Hampson; Herbert F. Hardman; and Lynn S. Loveland were announced for promotion to ensignEnsign
An ensign is a national flag when used at sea, in vexillology, or a distinguishing token, emblem, or badge, such as a symbol of office in heraldry...
and moved into the ward room. Also on that date, the first-class petty officers George M. Bloomingdale; Richard R. Fickel; Joseph R. Flasco; Gene R. Hoke; Lonard F. Lehman; George W. Mather; J. C. Meaders; Russell F. Pion; Gerald R. Stott; and Robert R. Tambling were promoted to Chief Petty Officers and moved in the Chiefs' Quarters
Goat locker
In navy jargon, the goat locker is a lounge, sleeping area and galley on board a naval vessel which is reserved for the exclusive use of Chief Petty Officers...
.
Executive Officer Will Mont Adams, Jr., received notice of his promotion to full Commander on 30 April 1960, his birthday, effective 1 February 1960. Also on that date, Chief Engineering Officer Donald Gene Fears was promoted to Lieutenant Commander, effective 1 February 1960.
On 10 May 1960, William R. Hadley, Chief Communications Technician, was awarded his silver dolphin pin
Submarine Warfare insignia
The Submarine Warfare Insignia is a uniform breast pin worn by enlisted men and officers of the United States Navy to indicate that they are qualified in submarines. The Submarine Warfare Insignia is considered one of the Navy's three major warfare pins along with the Surface Warfare Badge and...
, signifying that he was qualified to serve on submarines. Also on that date, enlisted men Lawrence W. Beckhaus; Fred Kenst; Wiliam A. McKamey; and James H. Smith, Jr., were awarded their silver dolphin pins.
Mission legacy
Triton Plaque
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer. He was born in Sabrosa, in northern Portugal, and served King Charles I of Spain in search of a westward route to the "Spice Islands" ....
. The plaque's eventual design consisted of a brass
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
disk about 23 inches (58.4 cm) in diameter, bearing a sailing ship reminiscent of Magellan's carrack, Trinidad, above the submarine dolphin insignia
Submarine Warfare insignia
The Submarine Warfare Insignia is a uniform breast pin worn by enlisted men and officers of the United States Navy to indicate that they are qualified in submarines. The Submarine Warfare Insignia is considered one of the Navy's three major warfare pins along with the Surface Warfare Badge and...
with the years 1519 and 1960 between them, all within a laurel wreath
Laurel wreath
A laurel wreath is a circular wreath made of interlocking branches and leaves of the bay laurel , an aromatic broadleaf evergreen. In Greek mythology, Apollo is represented wearing a laurel wreath on his head...
. Outside the wreath is the motto AVE NOBILIS DUX, ITERUM FACTUM EST ("Hail Noble Captain, It Is Done Again").
Commodore Henry, commanding Subron 10, supervised the completion of the plaque (pictured). The carving of the wooden form was done by retired Chief Electrician's Mate Ernest L. Benson at New London. The actual molding of the plaque was done by the Mystic Foundry.
During the homeward leg of her around-the-world voyage, Triton rendezvoused with the destroyer on 2 May 1960 off Cadiz, Spain, the departure point for Magellan's earlier voyage. Triton broached, and Weeks transferred the finished plaque to Triton for transport back to the United States. The plaque was subsequently presented to the Spanish government by John Davis Lodge
John Davis Lodge
John Davis Lodge , was an American politician, and 79th Governor of Connecticut from 1951 to 1955. He was also an actor and U.S. Ambassador to Spain, Argentina and Switzerland.-Early life:Lodge was born in Washington, D.C....
, the United States Ambassador to Spain
United States Ambassador to Spain
-Ambassadors:*John Jay**Appointed: September 29, 1779**Title: Minister Plenipotentiary**Presented credentials:**Terminated mission: ~May 20, 1782*William Carmichael**Appointed: April 20, 1790**Title: Chargé d'Affaires...
. Copies of the plaque are located at the City Hall in Sanlucar de Barrameda
Sanlúcar de Barrameda
Sanlúcar de Barrameda is a city in the northwest of Cádiz province, part of the autonomous community of Andalucía in southern Spain. Sanlúcar is located on the left bank at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River opposite the Doñana National Park, 52 km from the provincial capital Cádiz and...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
; the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut
Mystic, Connecticut
Mystic is a village and census-designated place in New London County, Connecticut, in the United States. The population was 4,001 at the 2000 census. A historic locality, Mystic has no independent government because it is not a legally recognized municipality in the state of Connecticut...
; the Naval Historical Association
Naval Historical Foundation
The Naval Historical Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1926, has a broad mission to preserve and promote the naval history of the United States by supporting official Sea Services programs and institutions, meeting the needs of the public for naval history, and collecting historical...
in Washington, DC; and two locations in Groton, Connecticut: the U.S. Navy Submarine School and the U.S. Navy Submarine Force Library and Museum. The plaque mounted on the wall of the city hall of Sanlucar de Barrameda
Sanlúcar de Barrameda
Sanlúcar de Barrameda is a city in the northwest of Cádiz province, part of the autonomous community of Andalucía in southern Spain. Sanlúcar is located on the left bank at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River opposite the Doñana National Park, 52 km from the provincial capital Cádiz and...
also has a marble slab memorializing the 1960 Triton submerged circumnavigation.
Triton memorials
Triton Light is a navigational beaconLighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
on the seawall of the United States Naval Academy (USNA)
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
in Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
, where the Severn River
Severn River (Maryland)
The Severn River runs through Anne Arundel County in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is located south of the Magothy River, and north of the South River.-Geography:...
meets Spa Creek and the Annapolis harbor. It was donated to the Academy and named for the Greek god by the United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
Class of 1945. The crew of Triton provided samples of water taken from the 22 sea
Sea
A sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, it means a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean...
s through which their ship had passed during their submerged 1960 circumnavigation, which were used to fill a globe built into the Triton Light
Triton Light
The Triton Light is a navigational beacon on the seawall of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where the Severn River meets Spa Creek and the Annapolis harbor. It was donated to the Academy and named for the Greek god by the Class of 1945...
along with a commemorative marker.
Beach Hall is the new headquarters for the United States Naval Institute
United States Naval Institute
The United States Naval Institute , based at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, is a private, non-profit, professional military association that seeks to offer independent, nonpartisan forums for debate of national defense issues...
which was dedicated on 21 April 1999. The facility is named after Captain Edward L. Beach, Sr.
Edward L. Beach, Sr.
Edward Latimer Beach, Sr., was a career American naval officer and later author. He served in three of the United States' wars, ranging from the Spanish–American War up through World War I. He was the father of the future Captain Edward L. Beach, Jr...
, who served as the Institute's secretary-treasurer, and his son, Captain Edward L. Beach, Jr.
Edward L. Beach, Jr.
Edward Latimer Beach, Jr. was a highly-decorated United States Navy submarine officer and best-selling author....
(pictued), who commanded Triton during Operation Sandblast. Tritons dive wheel from its conning tower is on display in the lobby of Beach Hall.
Triton was the 2003 inductee into the Submarine Hall of Fame in recognition of executing the first submerged circumnavigation, following her nomination by the Tidewater chapter and Hampton Roads Base of the United States Submarine Veterans, Inc. (USSVI)
United States Submarine Veterans Inc. (USSVI)
The United States Submarine Veterans, Inc. was created by a group of men from the United States Submarine Veterans of World War II. They shared a belief in the need of an organization open to all United States Navy submariners, from the very beginning of the Submarine Service to the present and...
. A shadow box filled with Triton memorabilia was placed in Alcorn Auditorium of Ramage Hall located at the U.S. Navy Submarine Learning Center, Naval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Virginia, is a base of the United States Navy, supporting naval forces in the United States Fleet Forces Command, those operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean...
.
The future USS Triton Submarine Memorial Park (pictured) will be located along the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
in Washington. Its purpose is "to establish a permanent park in north Richland in recognition of all the decommissioned reactor cores off-loaded at the Port’s barge slip, transported and stored at the Hanford Site
Hanford Site
The Hanford Site is a mostly decommissioned nuclear production complex on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, operated by the United States federal government. The site has been known by many names, including Hanford Works, Hanford Engineer Works or HEW, Hanford Nuclear Reservation...
." The park will feature Tritons sail superstructure
Sail (submarine)
In naval parlance, the sail or fin of a submarine is the tower-like structure found on the dorsal surface of submarines...
and an information display on the history of Triton. The park will also serve as a tourist attraction, especially due to its location, since Hanford is the resting place of spent reactor cores from several Navy ships. The park's tentative location is at the end of Port of Benton Boulevard in north Richland, Washington
Richland, Washington
Richland is a city in Benton County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Washington, at the confluence of the Yakima and the Columbia Rivers. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 48,058. April 1, 2011 estimates from the Washington State Office of Financial Management put the...
. Planning called for the sail will to be cut up for transport and re-assembly at the park site. Ground-breaking was initially scheduled to take place on 3 April 2008, with the dedication ceremony set for 19 August 2008 and a Fall 2009 start-date for construction. On 23 October 2009, the Port of Benton encased Tritons conning tower in concrete at its new USS Triton Submarine Memorial Park in north Richland, Washington. In mid-December 2009, the final pieces of Tritons sail was welded together at the park's site. During the 11 August 2010 Port of Benton commission meeting, it was reported that bids for the first phase, which includes the park's electrical lighting system and the pouring the concrete around the Tritons sail, would be announced shortly by the port authority. The second phase would involve the park's landscaping, and the third phase would be the installation of a parking lot. The park is part of the Richland Riverfront Trail, a marked hiking trail that focuses on the state of Washington's contribution to the nuclear history of the United States, and it connects to the Sacagawea Heritage Trail. The USS Triton Submarine Memorial Park
is located off George Washington Way near the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
, and it will be formally dedicated on November 10, 2011, the 52bd anniversary of the commissioning of the USS Triton.
Cultural references
Two films of the period, Voyage to the Bottom of the SeaVoyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea is an American science fiction film, produced and directed by Irwin Allen, released by 20th Century Fox in 1961. The story was written by Irwin Allen and Charles Bennett. Walter Pidgeon starred as Admiral Harriman Nelson, with Robert Sterling as Captain Lee Crane...
(pictured) and Around the World Under the Sea
Around the World Under the Sea
Around the World Under the Sea is a 1966 science fiction film directed by Andrew Marton and starring Lloyd Bridges, with Marshall Thompson, Shirley Eaton, Gary Merrill, and David McCallum...
, dramatized globe-circling submerged voyages similar to Operation Sandblast. The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart
The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart
The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart is a 1960 live album by comedian Bob Newhart. The debut album by Newhart, the album was number one on the Billboard Pop Album chart, topping an album by Elvis Presley and the cast album of The Sound of Music....
comedy album included a sketch entitled "The Cruise of the U.S.S. Codfish" which was a monologue involving the final address by the captain to the crew of a nuclear-powered submarine after completing a two-year-long, around-the-world underwater voyage. Bob Newhart
Bob Newhart
George Robert Newhart , known professionally as Bob Newhart, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery, Newhart came to prominence in the 1960s when his album of comedic monologues The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was a worldwide...
noted in a 2006 interview that:
- You know, I think the Triton kind of, I think was a spur for that routine as I think back. Because I then imagined what a trip like that would have been like with a totally incompetent commander, and the cruise of USS Codfish was the final result.
Captain Beach reportedly played "The Cruise of the U.S.S. Codfish" over the ship's public address system during Tritons first overseas deployment in the Fall of 1960. Finally, Antigua-Barbuda issued a commemorative stamp of Tritons 1960 submerged circumnavigation.
50th anniversary of Operation Sandblast
The 50th anniversary of Operation Sandblast and Tritons submerged circumnavigation of the world was celebrated on April 10, 2010, during the 2010 Submarine Birthday Ball held at the Foxwoods Resort CasinoFoxwoods Resort Casino
Foxwoods Resort Casino is a hotel-casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, United States. Together with the MGM Grand at Foxwoods, it is one of the largest casino complexes in the world in terms of floor space for gaming. The entire resort comprises of space. The casino has over 380 gaming tables...
in Mashantuket
Mashantucket Pequot Tribe
The Mashantucket Pequot are a small Native American tribal nation of the Algonquian language community in the state of Connecticut. Within the tribe's Reservation, in Ledyard, New London County, Connecticut, the Mashantucket Pequot operate Foxwoods Resort Casino, the world's largest resort...
, Connecticut, with Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
The Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy is a unique non-commissioned rank in the United States Navy, which has a paygrade of E-9. The holder of this rank and post is the most senior enlisted member of the U.S...
(MCPON) Rick D. West
Rick D. West
Rick D. West is the 12th and current Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy . On December 12, 2008, West accepted the passing of the ceremonial cutlass from outgoing MCPON Joe R. Campa-Early life and naval career:...
delivering opening remarks (pictured) to the 2,200 attendees. The U.S. Navy Submarine Force Library and Museum sponsored additional events and activities, entitled "9,000 Leagues Under the Sea," between April 10–12 and April 14–18, 2010.
Also, on April 9, 2010, retired Admiral Henry G. Chiles, Jr.
Henry G. Chiles, Jr.
Henry Goodman Chiles, Jr. is a retired United States Navy four star admiral who served as Commander in Chief, United States Strategic Command , from 1994 to 1996, the first naval officer to command all of the strategic nuclear forces of the United States.-Education:Henry G. Chiles, Jr...
, who served in Triton from 1963–1966, was the keynote speaker at the graduation class of the Basic Enlisted Submarine School at the New London Naval Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut. The graduation class was named in honor of Triton, and each graduate received a certificate of course completion and a commemorative coin celebrating the 50th anniversary of Tritons submerged circumnavigation. The Dolphin Scholarship Foundation
Dolphin Scholarship Foundation
Dolphin Scholarship Foundation was established in 1960 to assist children of the U.S. Submarine Force with college scholarships through private fundraising and donations, as well as any dividends from its trust fund....
used the 50th anniverary of Operation Sandblast to promote its Race Around the World fund-raising program to support its Dolphin Scholarship program. Finally, former members of the Tritons crew received commermorative souvenirs of the ship's pressure hull at their 2010 re-union.
Writer-historian Carl LaVO wrote "Incredibe Voyage" for the June 2010 edition of Naval History magazine, and John Beach wrote "The First Submerged Circumnavigation" for the April 1960 issue of The Submarine Review, the official magazine of the Naval Submarine League. Mr. Beach is the nephew of Captain Edward L. Beach, the commanding officer of USS Triton during Operation Sandblast. Also, the Naval Institute Press
United States Naval Institute
The United States Naval Institute , based at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, is a private, non-profit, professional military association that seeks to offer independent, nonpartisan forums for debate of national defense issues...
published Beneath the Waves by Dr. Edward F. Finch, a 2010 biography of the late Captain Beach, which included extensive coverage of Operation Sandblast.
The legacy of Operation Sandblast on its 50th anniversary was summarized by retired Captain James C. Hay who had served on the Triton during its historic submerged around-the-world voyage. On the editorial page of the April 1960 issue of The Submarine Review, the official magazine of the Naval Submarine League, Captain Hay noted:
It is truly a cruise which tested the crew's mettle and proved the skipper'sEdward L. Beach, Jr.Edward Latimer Beach, Jr. was a highly-decorated United States Navy submarine officer and best-selling author....
tenacity. More than that, however, it again proved to all who cared to listen that the US Navy could go anywhere, at anytime, and do what ever was required. It's a good sea story about doing what had to be done. On the fiftieth anniversary of the First Submerged Circumnavigation it's a good thing to do to re-read about one of the forerunners of all we're done since.
See also
- 1966 Soviet submarine global circumnavigation1966 Soviet submarine global circumnavigationThe 1966 Soviet submarine global circumnavigation was announced to be the first submerged around-the-world voyage by a group of Soviet nuclear-powered submarines. The voyage was an early example of blue-water operations by the Soviet Navy's nuclear-powered submarine fleet, and it paved the way for...
- Operation Sea OrbitOperation Sea OrbitOperation Sea Orbit was the 1964 around-the-world cruise of the United States Navy's Task Force One, consisting of USS Enterprise , USS Long Beach , and USS Bainbridge . This all-nuclear-powered unit steamed 30,565 miles unrefuelled around the world for sixty-five days.The cruise began on July 31...
Published sources
|isbn=978-1-55750-215-5 | url= http://www.usni.org/store/item.asp?ITEM_ID=419 }}Multi-media sources
- "Beyond Magellan" (General Dynamics, 1960) - Running time - 30:00
- "USS Triton Trails Magellan" (National Geographic Society, 1960) - Running time - 40:00
- "Triton Launched: Giant Submarine First with Twin Nuclear Engines" (21 August 1958) Universal NewsreelUniversal NewsreelUniversal Newsreel was a series of 7- to 10-minute newsreels that were released twice a week between 1929 and 1967 by Universal Studios. A Universal publicity official, Sam B. Jacobson, was involved in originating and producing the newsreels...
narrated by Ed HerlihyEd HerlihyEdward Joseph "Ed" Herlihy was an American newsreel narrator for Universal-International. His voice was heard in countless films on every subject, making him one of the best-known voices in broadcast history...
(1:35) - "New Magellan: Triton Circles World Submerged" (12 May 1960) Universal NewsreelUniversal NewsreelUniversal Newsreel was a series of 7- to 10-minute newsreels that were released twice a week between 1929 and 1967 by Universal Studios. A Universal publicity official, Sam B. Jacobson, was involved in originating and producing the newsreels...
narrated by Ed HerlihyEd HerlihyEdward Joseph "Ed" Herlihy was an American newsreel narrator for Universal-International. His voice was heard in countless films on every subject, making him one of the best-known voices in broadcast history...
(1:11) - I Remember #1603: Host Jim Peck interviews Capt. Will M. Adams, Jr., USN (ret.). – WMVSWMVSWMVS is a public television station located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its signal covers most of southeastern Wisconsin, including the cities of Racine, Kenosha, Sheboygan, and Waukesha....
/WMVTWMVTWMVT is a public television station located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its signal covers most of southeastern Wisconsin, including the cities of Racine, Kenosha, Sheboygan, and Waukesha....
– Milwaukee Public TelevisionMilwaukee Public TelevisionFor information on Channels 10 and 36 individually, see WMVS and WMVTMilwaukee Public Television is the branding name for the alliance between two Milwaukee based Public Broadcasting Service public television affiliates: WMVS, Channel 10, and WMVT, Channel 36...
PBS - December 16, 2009 (28:16) - British Pathé:PathéPathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France.-History:...
- Around the World with Triton - 1960 (02:06)
- Tale of Two Ships - May 16, 1960 (01:51)
External links
- Around The World Submerged - Unofficial USS Triton website
- Operation Sandblast - American Submariner Magazine
- "USS Triton Made History With Underwater Trip Around the World" by David F. Winkler (March 2009) - Seapower magazine online - Navy League of the United StatesNavy League of the United StatesThe Navy League of the United States, commonly referred to as The Navy League, is a national association made up of former members of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, the United States Coast Guard and the United States Merchant Marine, and civilians interested in supporting the...
- "48th Anniversary of Epic Circumnavigation Voyage" - Naval Historical FoundationNaval Historical FoundationThe Naval Historical Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1926, has a broad mission to preserve and promote the naval history of the United States by supporting official Sea Services programs and institutions, meeting the needs of the public for naval history, and collecting historical...
- 24 April 2008 - "Special Supplement - 12,000 Leagues under the Sea" - All Hands onlineAll HandsAll Hands Magazine of the U.S. Navy is the title of a monthly published magazine of the United States Navy for its sailors . It is published since August 1922 under different names; the current title was established in 1945....
- July 1960, pp. 52–63 - Around the World Beneath the Sea: the USS Triton Retraces Magellan's Historic Circumnavigation of the Globe
- Around the World with Triton (1960) - British PathéPathéPathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France.-History:...
- USS Triton Circumnavigates the Globe - Naval History Blog - United States Naval InstituteUnited States Naval InstituteThe United States Naval Institute , based at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, is a private, non-profit, professional military association that seeks to offer independent, nonpartisan forums for debate of national defense issues...
& Naval History & Heritage Command