The National Iron & Steel Heritage Museum
USS Nautilus (SSN-571)
The world’s first operational nuclear-powered submarine. On August 3rd 1958 the vessel became the first submarine to complete a submerged transit of the North Pole. Because her nuclear propulsion allowed her to remain submerged far longer than diesel-electric submarines, she broke many records in her first years of operation, and traveled to locations previously beyond the limits of submarines.

  • Type: Nuclear Submarine 
  • Length: 320ft 
  • Displacement: 4,092 tons - submerged
  • Beam: 28 ft 
  • Launched: January 21, 1954