During a recent visit to the Groton Ct. sub museum which is the site of the Nautilus
SSN 571 exhibit I noticed a display of its first set of propellers which were 5 bladed.
The caption states they were in service from 1955 to 1960. I believe the props were upgraded to a different number was 1960 the correct year ? Apparently if they were upgraded it still did little to quiet her. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Bruce, thanks for the ref.site good info on blade rate, and propeller influence.
Having seen the Nautilus multiple times in the 70's she was very easy to I.D.
My memory isn't what it used to be, but I seem to remember it having different props at that time. Going back to my question was 1960 the correct time for its prop blade number change ? Maybe this question is inappropriate for this site? Anyway thanks for the info.
I don't have a firm date for the NAUTILUS propellers switch but I do know there were still a lot of 5's around on recently constructed hulls in 1962. I suspect the backfit program really got going in the 63-65 time frame.
As I assume you know, the following discusses the museum display:
The propellers from USS Nautilus(SSN 571), the world's first nuclear submarine, are on display outdoors at the Submarine Force Museum in Groton, Connecticut. Much like the prop of a surface ship, it lacks the silencing technology of later screws.Courtesy of the Submarine Force Museum.
Thank you for your thoughts. I do find the Nautilus an interesting sub as it was a first.
In the 90's I attended a couple of centrifugal pump and mechanical shaft seal schools put on by a high end seal company the instructor was a former crew member on the SSN 571. He was an MM1 on the boat in 1958 when they went to the north pole, (operation sunshine). His sea stories were very interesting, one told of a covert purchase of Barrs stop leak being purchased on the QT by members of the crew and then added to the stam condensor to stop a leak of sea water, I questioned this (to myself) but I did note Barrs stop leak had a note on its label refering to this use! Anyway one cannot deny she is an interesting part of our history.
