Shooting USS Nautilus
I was reading peteralway often writes about models he's building. On a recent evening, his subject was the USS Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered submarine. He mentioned misgivings about the accuracy of the model's hull cross-section.
This made me wonder about finding reference photos online-- and, naturally, it led me to wonder whether Life had taken any photos of the Nautilus...
The answer is yes. Lots.
I posted a roundup of the in a comment on Peter's blog, but I may as well put it here.
The Nautilus was the most famous sub of the Atomic Age (granted, Jules Verne and Captain Nemo gave her PR a 90-year head start). Atomic power enabled her to cruise for weeks without surfacing. In 1958, she crossed the Arctic Ocean beneath the ice, becoming the first ship to reach the North Pole. She was the first of a new breed of subs that revolutionized naval power.
From Life:
The launching of the Nautilus in 1954. Good for hull details; all other shoots show her mostly covered by water.
(All these pictures are black-and-white If you know what color her underside was painted, contact Peter.)
A shoot by Robert W. Kelley, date unknown.
A shoot by Joe Scherschel in 1958
A shoot by Carl Mydans, year unknown, but there are welcoming New York fireboats and police helicopters, so possibly this is the return from the North Pole in 1958.
A shoot by Peter Stackpole, date unknown.
A shoot by Edward Clark: Ike Awards Order of Merit to Nautilus Commander. Zero pictures of the boat herself, but has shots of the commander pointing to a map showing the polar cruise.
A shoot by Hank Walker in 1956, featuring many shots of the New York skyline through the Nautilus's periscope.
A 1955 shoot by Ralph Morse, who later covered the space program.
Everything else, including a welder putting Harry Truman's stenciled autograph into the hull. Is this the oddest thing a President has ever autographed?
This made me wonder about finding reference photos online-- and, naturally, it led me to wonder whether Life had taken any photos of the Nautilus...
The answer is yes. Lots.
I posted a roundup of the in a comment on Peter's blog, but I may as well put it here.
The Nautilus was the most famous sub of the Atomic Age (granted, Jules Verne and Captain Nemo gave her PR a 90-year head start). Atomic power enabled her to cruise for weeks without surfacing. In 1958, she crossed the Arctic Ocean beneath the ice, becoming the first ship to reach the North Pole. She was the first of a new breed of subs that revolutionized naval power.
From Life:
The launching of the Nautilus in 1954. Good for hull details; all other shoots show her mostly covered by water.
(All these pictures are black-and-white If you know what color her underside was painted, contact Peter.)
A shoot by Robert W. Kelley, date unknown.
A shoot by Joe Scherschel in 1958
A shoot by Carl Mydans, year unknown, but there are welcoming New York fireboats and police helicopters, so possibly this is the return from the North Pole in 1958.
A shoot by Peter Stackpole, date unknown.
A shoot by Edward Clark: Ike Awards Order of Merit to Nautilus Commander. Zero pictures of the boat herself, but has shots of the commander pointing to a map showing the polar cruise.
A shoot by Hank Walker in 1956, featuring many shots of the New York skyline through the Nautilus's periscope.
A 1955 shoot by Ralph Morse, who later covered the space program.
Everything else, including a welder putting Harry Truman's stenciled autograph into the hull. Is this the oddest thing a President has ever autographed?