In 1958 USS Nautilus slipped beneath the Arctic ice on a secret second attempt, carried 116 people across the geographic North Pole and emerged near Greenland after nuclear propulsion solved the endurance problem that had stopped earlier submarines
For the 116 people aboard USS Nautilus, the Arctic Ocean offered no reliable way to surface, communicate, or turn around quickly. Thick ice sealed off the sea above them. In August 1958, the nuclear-powered submarine passed beneath that ceiling and reached the geographic North Pole, opening a route that had long resisted undersea travel. The…
