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Anuclear navy, ornuclear-powered navy, refers to the portion of anavy consisting ofnaval ships powered bynuclear marine propulsion. The concept was revolutionary fornaval warfare 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 theirdiesel engines 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.
Currently, only theUnited States andFrance possessnuclear-powered aircraft-carriers.[1]
TheUnited States Navy has by far the most nuclear-poweredaircraft carriers, with tenNimitz-class carriers and oneGerald R. Ford-class carrier in service. The last conventionally-powered aircraft carrier left the U.S. fleet as of 12 May 2009, when theUSSKitty Hawk was deactivated. France's latest aircraft carrier, theCharles de Gaulle, is nuclear-powered.[2] The United Kingdom rejected nuclear power early in the development of itsQueen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers on cost grounds, as even several decades of fuel use costs less than a nuclear reactor.[3] Since 1949 theBettis Atomic Power Laboratory nearPittsburgh, Pennsylvania has been one of the lead laboratories in the development of the nuclear navy. The plannedindigenous Chinese carriers also feature nuclear propulsion.[4]
The United States Navy operates the largest fleet of nuclear submarines.[5] Only the United States Navy, theRoyal Navy of the United Kingdom, and France'sMarine Nationale field an all-nuclear submarine force. By 1989, there were over 400 nuclear-powered submarines operational or being built.[6] Some 250 of these submarines have now been scrapped and some on order cancelled, due to weapons reduction programs.Russia and theUnited States had over one hundred each, with the United Kingdom and France fewer than twenty each andChina six. TheIndian Navy launched their first indigenousArihant-class nuclear-powered submarines on 26 July 2009.[7] India 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.[8]
The US had several nuclear cruisers. The cruisers were theUSSBainbridge,USSCalifornia,USSLong Beach,USSTruxtun,USSSouth Carolina,USSVirginia,USSTexas,USSMississippi, andUSSArkansas. TheLong 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 atPuget Sound Naval Shipyard. Currently the United States does not have any nuclearcruisers.[citation needed]
Russia has fourKirov-classbattlecruisers, though only one is active, the other three being laid up. Thecommand shipSSV-33 Ural, based on theKirov class, is also laid up. Seven civiliannuclear icebreakers remain in service: four of sixArktika-class icebreakers, the twoTaymyr-class icebreakersTaymyr andVaygach, and theLASH carrier andcontainer shipSevmorput.[citation needed]
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.[9]
Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, (1900–1986), of the United States Navy, known as "father of the nuclear navy"[10][11][12]was anelectrical engineer 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 aship orsubmarine, as well as to encase it sufficiently so thatradiation hazards would not be a safety concern.[citation needed]
Soon afterWorld War II, Rickover was assigned to theBureau of Ships in September 1947 and received training in nuclear power atOak Ridge, Tennessee. In February 1949 he received an assignment to theDivision 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,USS Nautilus, which was launched in 1954. AsVice Admiral, from 1958, for three decades Rickover exercised tight control over theships,technology, andpersonnel of the nuclear navy, even interviewing every prospectiveofficer for new nuclear-powered navy vessels.[citation needed]
Leading nuclear physicistPhilip Abelson (1913–2004) turned his attention under the guidance ofRoss Gunn to applyingnuclear power tonaval propulsion. Their early efforts atNaval Research Laboratory (NRL) provided an early glimpse at what was to become the nuclear Navy.[citation needed]
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.[13]
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" foraircraft carrier, "C" forcruiser, "D" fordestroyer, and "S" forsubmarine. The designers are "W" forWestinghouse, "G" forGeneral Electric, "C" forCombustion Engineering, and "B" forBechtel. Examples are S5W, D1G, A4W, and D2W.[citation needed]
Information concerning United States naval reactors may or may not be classified (seeNaval Nuclear Propulsion Information).[citation needed]
| Country | 1st PWR fabricated | 1st PWR acquired | 1st vessel | Commissioned | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 1953 | - | USS Nautilus (SSN-571) | 1955 | World's first nuclear submarine / vessel |
| USSR | 1958 | - | K-3 Leninsky Komsomol | 1958 | |
| United Kingdom | 1965 | 1962 | HMS Dreadnought (S101) | 1963 | HMS Dreadnought utilised an imported USS5W reactor, withHMS Valiant (S102) carrying the first UK builtRolls-Royce PWR, in 1966. |
| Germany | 1968 | - | Otto Hahn (ship) | 1968 | Commercial ship, scrapped in 2009 |
| France | 1970 | - | Redoutable (S611) | 1971 | |
| Japan | 1970 | - | Mutsu (nuclear ship) | 1972 | Decommissioned 1992 |
| China | 1973 | - | Han (S401) | 1974 | |
| Russia | 1992 | 1992 | K-419 Kuzbass | 1992 | The Russian navy inherited approximately 250 nuclear powered vessels from the Soviet navy, in January 1992. |
| India | 2016 | 1988 | INS Chakra | 1998 | Soviet submarine K-43, leased in 1988, andRussian submarine Nerpa (K-152), leased in 2012, have both carried the INS Chakra name.INS Arihant is India's first indigenously constructed nuclear submarine, commissioned in 2016. |
| Brazil | 2018 | - | Brazilian submarine Álvaro Alberto | exp. 2029 | Currently under construction the SN-10 Álvaro Alberto is to be the first nuclear vessel of the Brazilian navy, its reactor, theBrazilian Multipurpose Reactor, was launched in 2018[15] and is currently under trials, the hull will be an expanded version of theScorpène-class submarine. |
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