List of ships named Nautilus
Much of the information in the US Naval ships named Nautilus
portion of this article is provided courtesy of the
United States Navy, Submarine Force Museum, Groton, Connecticut,
and Lieutenant-Commander Christopher Slauson, USN,
(Officer-in-charge, Historic Ship NAUTILUS)
Nautilus
The nautilus is a tropical mollusk, having a many-chambered, spiral shell with a pearly interior. Derived from a Greek word meaning "sailor" or "ship," Nautilus and its variants has been a common ship's name in several languages for centuries. Six ships of the United States Navy have been named USS Nautilus.
A popular misconception is that these ships were named for the fictional submarine in Jules Verne's 1870 novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, but Nautilus has been associated with proud fighting ships of the United States Navy long before Verne christened Captain Nemo's submarine, the Nautilus with it.
US Naval ships named Nautilus
Six ships of the U.S. Navy have been named USS Nautilus.
Nautilus first appeared on the Navy list in 1803 as a schooner of 12 guns. She had been launched as a merchant ship in 1799. Under the command of LT Richard Somers, she was with Commodore Preble's Squadron in the Mediterranean, during the campaign against the Tripolitan Pirates. Her battle plaque is inscribed with the names of Tripoli and Derne from this early war of our infant Navy. She continued in active service until she was captured by a British squadron at the outbreak of the War of 1812.
NAUTILUS next appeared in 1838 as a 76-foot schooner built specifically for hydrographic surveying of the U.S. coast. She was placed in service in 1847 for use in the Mexican War.
In 1911, NAUTILUS made her first appearance in the Submarine Force although later that year her name was changed to H-2. Built in San Francisco, the 150 foot, 467 ton diesel submarine saw service until 1922 when she was decommissioned.
During World War I the name and tradition were carried on by a 66 foot motor pleasure boat built at City Island, New York. She was commissioned in 1917 and assigned to patrol and escort duties of the New York City area for the remainder of World War I.
The USS O-12 (SS-73) was an O-11 class submarine of the United States Navy, commissioned 1918 October 18, with Lieutenant Commander J.E. Austin in command. She did not begin as Nautilus but was later re-christened.
Submarine O-12 spent much of her career as a unit of Submarine Division 1, based at Coco Solo, PanamaCanal Zone. In 1921, she was awarded a Battle Efficiency Pennant and trophy for gunnery (gun and torpedo).
Decommissioned 1924 June 17 and was placed in reserve at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where she remained until struck from the Naval Vessel Register 1930 July 29. She was converted by the Philadelphia Navy Yard for use on the Sir Hubert Wilkins Arctic Expedition of geophysical investigation -- during which the submarine bore the name Nautilus. Afterward she was returned to the Navy Department and was scuttled 1931 November 20 in a Norwegian fjord.
The Nautilus (SS168) was built at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in 1930 and was one of the largest submarines ever built for our Navy.
War in the Pacific
With the outbreak of the war in the Pacific, Nautilus quickly joined the fight and established the reputation, which was to characterize her throughout the next three years of combat. On her first war patrol, at the Battle of Midway, she sank the Japanese aircraft carrier Soryu that had been previously damaged by aerial attacks.
On her second patrol, she carried out the first of many special missions that her size particularly suited her for. Carrying a detachment of the Second Marine Raider Battalion and in company with the USS Argonaut she attacked and captured the enemy held island of Makin.
Presidential Unit Citation
On her third patrol, she accounted for three ships. For her distinguished service on these three war patrols she was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, the Navy's highest award to a fighting ship.
Finally in 1945, after fourteen war patrols, in which she sank seven ships and participated in the battles of Midway, Makin, Guadalcanal, Attu, Gilbert Islands and Leyte, she was retired from combat service and decommissioned on June 30.
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On 12 December 1951, the Navy Department announced that the world's first nuclear-powered submarine (SSN 571) would carry the name Nautilus. Authorized by the Congress in July 1951, her keel was laid at the Electric Boat Division, Groton, Connecticut by the Honorable Harry S. Truman, President of the United States, on June 14, 1952. A year and a half later, on January 21, 1954, Mrs. Dwight Eisenhower broke the traditional bottle of champagne on her bow as the ship slid down the ways into the Thames River.
"Underway on nuclear power"
On Jan. 17,1955, USS Nautilus put to sea for the first time and signaled her historic message "Underway on nuclear power." She steamed submerged 1,300 miles from New London to San Juan, Puerto Rico, in just 84 hours. The success of Nautilus ensured the future of nuclear power in the Navy.
Museum
Now a museum, after undergoing a five-month preservation at Electric Boat division of General Dynamics, at a cost of approximately $4.7 million. The historic ship Nautilus attracts some 250,000 visitors annually to her present berth near the the United States Naval Submarine Base New London, at Groton's Submarine Force Library and Museum in Groton Connecticut.
Other Ships named Nautilus
In addition to the US Naval ships and submarines, and the fictional Nautilus, other vessels have been christened Nautilus:
- Nautilus, the first practical submarine, invented by Robert Fulton in 1800.