A nuclear navy, or nuclear-powered navy, refers to the portion of a

navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

consisting of

naval ship A naval ship (or naval vessel) is a military ship (or sometimes boat, depending on classification) that is used by a navy. Naval ships are differentiated from civilian ships by construction and purpose. Generally, naval ships are damage resili ...

s powered by

nuclear marine propulsion Nuclear marine propulsion is Marine propulsion, propulsion of a ship or submarine with heat provided by a nuclear reactor. The power plant heats water to produce steam for a turbine used to turn the ship's propeller through a Transmission (mechani ...

. The concept was revolutionary for

naval warfare Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. The Military, armed forces branch designated for naval warfare is a navy. Naval operations can be ...

when first proposed. Prior to nuclear power, submarines were powered by diesel engines and could only submerge through the use of batteries. In order for these submarines to run their

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s and charge their batteries they would have to surface or snorkel. The use of nuclear power allowed these submarines to become true submersibles and unlike their conventional counterparts, they became limited only by crew endurance and supplies.

Nuclear-powered aircraft carriers

Currently, only the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

possess nuclear-powered aircraft-carriers. The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

has by far the most nuclear-powered

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

s, with ten carriers and one carrier in service. The last conventionally-powered aircraft carrier left the U.S. fleet as of 12 May 2009, when the USS ''Kitty Hawk'' was deactivated. France's latest aircraft carrier, the , is nuclear-powered. The United Kingdom rejected nuclear power early in the development of its s on cost grounds, as even several decades of fuel use costs less than a nuclear reactor. Since 1949 the Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory near

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

has been one of the lead laboratories in the development of the nuclear navy. The planned indigenous Chinese carriers also feature nuclear propulsion.

Nuclear-powered submarines

The

operates the largest fleet of nuclear submarines. Only the United States Navy, the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and France's ''

Marine Nationale The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in the world recognised as being a blu ...

'' field an all-nuclear submarine force. By 1989, there were over 400 nuclear-powered submarines operational or being built. Some 250 of these submarines have now been scrapped and some on order cancelled, due to weapons reduction programs.

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and the

had over one hundred each, with the United Kingdom and France fewer than twenty each and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

six. The

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

launched their first indigenous nuclear-powered submarines on 26 July 2009.

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

is also operating one nuclear attack submarine with talks of leasing one more nuclear submarine from Russia. India plans to build six nuclear attack submarines and follow on to the Arihant class of ballistic missile submarines.

Nuclear-powered cruisers

The US had several nuclear cruisers. The cruisers were the USS ''Bainbridge'', USS ''California'', USS ''Long Beach'', USS ''Truxtun'', USS ''South Carolina'', USS ''Virginia'', USS ''Texas'', USS ''Mississippi'', and USS ''Arkansas''. The ''Long Beach'' was deemed too expensive and was decommissioned in 1995 instead of receiving its third nuclear refueling and proposed upgrade. It was sold for scrap in 2012 at

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, officially Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres (0.7 km2) on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington in uninterrupted ...

. Currently the United States does not have any nuclear

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

s. Russia has four s, though only one is active, the other three being laid up. The command ship ''SSV-33 Ural'', based on the ''Kirov'' class, is also laid up. Seven civilian

nuclear icebreaker A nuclear-powered icebreaker is an icebreaker with an Nuclear marine propulsion, onboard nuclear power plant that produces power for the vessel's propulsion system. Although more expensive to operate, nuclear-powered icebreakers provide a number ...

s remain in service: four of six s, the two ''Taymyr''-class icebreakers '' Taymyr'' and '' Vaygach'', and the LASH carrier and

container ship A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal ...

United States Navy

By 2003 the U.S. Navy had accumulated over 5,400 "reactor years" of accident-free experience, and operated more than 80 nuclear-powered ships.

Admiral Hyman G. Rickover

Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, (1900–1986), of the United States Navy, known as "father of the nuclear navy" was an

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

by training, and was the primary architect who implemented this daring concept, and believed that it was the natural next phase for the way military vessels could be propelled and powered. The challenge was to reduce the size of a nuclear reactor to fit on board a

ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

, as well as to encase it sufficiently so that

radiation In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or a material medium. This includes: * ''electromagnetic radiation'' consisting of photons, such as radio waves, microwaves, infr ...

hazards would not be a safety concern. Soon after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Rickover was assigned to the Bureau of Ships in September 1947 and received training in nuclear power at

Oak Ridge, Tennessee Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson County, Tennessee, Anderson and Roane County, Tennessee, Roane counties in the East Tennessee, eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, Knoxville. Oak Ridge's po ...

. In February 1949 he received an assignment to the Division of Reactor Development, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and then assumed control of the United States Navy's effort as Director of the Naval Reactors Branch in the Bureau of Ships. This dual role allowed him to lead the efforts to develop the world's first nuclear-powered submarine, , which was launched in 1954. As

Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

, from 1958, for three decades Rickover exercised tight control over the

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

, and

personnel Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...

of the nuclear navy, even interviewing every prospective

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

for new nuclear-powered navy vessels.

Philip Abelson

Leading nuclear physicist Philip Abelson (1913–2004) turned his attention under the guidance of Ross Gunn to applying

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...

to naval propulsion. Their early efforts at

Naval Research Laboratory The United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Located in Washington, DC, it was founded in 1923 and conducts basic scientific research, appl ...

(NRL) provided an early glimpse at what was to become the nuclear Navy.

United States Naval reactors

At the present time, many important vessels in the United States Navy are powered by nuclear reactors. All submarines and aircraft carriers are nuclear-powered. Several cruisers were nuclear-powered but these have all been retired. United States naval reactors are given three-character designations consisting of a letter representing the ship type the reactor is designed for, a consecutive generation number, and a letter indicating the reactor's designer. The ship types are "A" for

, "C" for

, "D" for

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

, and "S" for

. The designers are "W" for Westinghouse, "G" for

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

, "C" for Combustion Engineering, and "B" for

Bechtel Bechtel Corporation () is an American engineering, procurement, construction, and project management company founded in San Francisco, California in 1898, and headquartered in Reston, Virginia in the Washington metropolitan area. , the '' E ...

. Examples are S5W, D1G, A4W, and D2W. Information concerning United States naval reactors may or may not be classified (see Naval Nuclear Propulsion Information).

Accidents involving naval nuclear-powered vessels

United States

* (1963; ''Thresher''/''Permit''-class; sank, 129 killed) * (1968; ''Skipjack''-class; sank, 99 killed) :Both sank for reasons unrelated to their reactor plants and still lie on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

sea floor.

Russian or Soviet

* K-8 (1960; November-class submarine; loss of coolant) *

K-19 K19 may refer to: * K-19 (Kansas highway) * ''K-19: The Widowmaker'', an American historical drama film * K19 pipe, a diatreme in Northern Alberta, Canada * Albany Municipal Airport (Missouri) * Keratin 19, a human protein * , a Soviet submarine * S ...

(1961;

Hotel-class submarine The Hotel class is the general NATO reporting name, NATO classification for a type of nuclear marine propulsion, nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine that was launched by the Soviet Union around 1959. The Soviet designation was Project 658. ...

; two loss of coolant accidents, 27 killed due to one accident) * K-11 (1965; November-class submarine; two refueling criticalities) * K-159 (1965; November-class submarine; radioactive discharge) * ''Lenin'' (1965; ''Lenin''-class icebreaker; loss of coolant) * ''Lenin'' (1967; ''Lenin''-class icebreaker; loss of coolant) * K-140 (1968; Yankee-class submarine; power excursion) * K-8 (loss of coolant) (1970; November-class submarine; sank after fire, 52 killed) * K-320 (1970; Charlie I-class submarine; uncontrolled startup) * K-116 (1979; Echo II-class submarine; reactor accident) * K-122 (1980; Echo I-class submarine; fire, 14 killed) * K-222 (1980; Papa-class submarine; uncontrolled startup) * K-27 (1982; Modified November-class submarine; scuttled) * K-123 (1982; Alfa-class submarine; loss of coolant) * K-429 (1983; Charlie I-class submarine; sank due to improper work at shipyard, 16 killed) * K-431 (1985; Echo II-class submarine; refueling criticality, 10 killed) * K-429 (1985; Charlie I-class submarine; sank at moorings) * K-219 (1986; Yankee I-class submarine; sank, 6 killed) * K-278 ''Komsomolets'' (1989; Mike-class submarine; sank, 42 killed) * K-192 (1989; Echo II-class submarine; loss of coolant) * K-141 ''Kursk (2000; Oscar II-class submarine; sank, 118 killed) * K-159 (2003; November-class submarine; sank under tow, 9 killed) :While not all of these were reactor accidents, they have a major impact on nuclear marine propulsion and the global politics because they happened to nuclear vessels. Only four Soviet nuclear submarines accidentally sank with

nuclear weapons A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either nuclear fission, fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion, fusion reactions (thermonuclear weap ...

on board and remain on the sea floor to this day.Database of radiological incidents and related events
/ref>

Operator Timeline

References

External links

*http://www.nukestrat.com/pubs/nep7.pdf - 1994 paper highlighting limited, public-relations only value of all-nuclear task groups given continued dependence on conventionally fuelled escorts and continuous replenishment of supplies {{DEFAULTSORT:Nuclear Navy Navies by type Nuclear technology *