I visited the USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear-powered submarine. Take a look inside.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
- Commissioned in 1954, the USS Nautilus was the world's first nuclear-powered submarine.
- It was the first ship to visit the North Pole and participated in the Cuban missile crisis blockade.
- Nautilus is now an exhibit at the Submarine Force Museum in Groton, Connecticut.
On January 17, 1955, the USS Nautilus transmitted a historic message: "Underway on nuclear power."
As the world's first nuclear-powered submarine, Nautilus could remain submerged for two weeks at a time and travel at speeds of over 20 knots, or about 23 miles per hour.
Previously, World War II submarines powered by diesel engines and electric batteries could stay underwater for just 12 to 48 hours at a time. Since their batteries only charged while surfaced, diesel-electric US Navy vessels like the USS Cobia had to move at around 2 or 3 miles per hour to conserve power and hit maximum speeds of 9 knots, or about 10 miles per hour.
Nautilus is now part of the Submarine Force Museum in Groton, Connecticut. Visitors can walk through the historic nuclear submarine and see how its crew members lived and worked while submerged up to 700 feet below the surface.
I visited the museum in March to tour Nautilus. Take a look inside.

Bob Haswell/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Nautilus, which was commissioned in 1954, hosted the first-ever underwater legislative meeting when 13 members of Congress rode Nautilus in 1955.
Its nuclear power allowed Nautilus to sail under the polar ice cap and become the first ship to traverse the North Pole in 1958 in an expedition known as Operation Sunshine.
Nautilus also participated in the naval blockade of Cuba during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
After 26 years of service, Nautilus was decommissioned in 1980 and recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1982. It opened to the public as part of the Submarine Force Museum in Groton, Connecticut, in 1986.
In 2021, Nautilus underwent $36 million of preservation work and reopened in 2022.
The Submarine Force Museum is open Wednesday through Monday and is free to visit.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
I was amazed by the size of the submarine. As I climbed aboard, the deck provided gorgeous views of the Thames River.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
Here, crew members loaded torpedoes for firing.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
After the torpedoes were loaded, the tubes were flooded with water. When the command to fire was issued, high-pressure air from the submarine's ejection pump then forced the water and the torpedoes out of the tubes.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
Signs on the sink and mirror indicated that they were part of the submarine's original equipment.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
Handles on top of the doorways provided a grip to hold on to while stepping through.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
Nautilus had a crew of 11 officers and 105 enlisted service members.
A panel of instruments along the wardroom's wall indicated Nautilus' depth and speed.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
Officers ate the same meals as the rest of the crew members, but their food was brought up to the officers' pantry via a dumbwaiter to be reheated and served on Navy china.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
The walls of the narrow hallway were covered in wood paneling.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
The book was gifted to Nautilus' commanding officer, Commander William R. Anderson, in 1957 by the French Navy's chief of staff, Adm. Henri Nomy. The fictional submarine in the book is also named Nautilus.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
Fewer beds in a room indicated a higher rank.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
The executive officer, also known as the "XO," was the ship's second-in-command.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
The commanding officer used the stateroom as a workspace and living quarters.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
The yeoman managed the ship's correspondence and personnel records.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
The attack center contained periscopes to spot enemy ships and the controls to aim and fire torpedoes.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
On the diagram, Nautilus is represented by the bottom ship, and the top ship represents the target.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
The torpedo firing key, which was used to deploy the torpedoes, was indicated with a blue sign on the firing panel.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
The alarms were color-coded for different scenarios:
- Yellow: a fire or casualty
- Red: flooding or a collision
- Green: submerging or emergency surfacing
- Pink: a power plant casualty

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
The guns were used for security while the submarine was in port.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
Sonar stands for "sound navigation and ranging." Active sonar emitted sound pulses to locate targets, while passive sonar listened for underwater activity.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
Before that, ladders were used to climb from one level to another.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
Commands were issued in the control room by a crew member known as the diving officer of the watch, who received orders from the attack center.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
When the main ballast tanks filled with water, the submarine would submerge. When filled with air, the submarine would surface.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
The ESM bay's instruments could detect other ships' radars.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
The radio room was located just off the control room on the right.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
Here, crew members ate meals, worked, and spent their recreational time.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
Damage control personnel used OBAs if fires broke out on board while submerged. The hoses on the masks could be attached to the submarine's reserve air supply.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
Since there was no Navy chaplain on board the submarine, crew member volunteers conducted services for various faiths with items from the lay services box.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
Nautilus was mainly powered by its nuclear reactor, but the battery served as an auxiliary source of power in case of an emergency.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
Chief petty officers acted as liaisons between officers and crew members. Their living quarters were sometimes known as the "goat locker." There are a few possible explanations for the nickname:
- Chief petty officers used to be in charge of goats that were kept on ships to produce fresh milk
- Chief petty officers were nicknamed "old goats" because they were senior officers who had been in the Navy for a long time

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
A window connected the galley to the scullery, where crew members washed dishes.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
Nautilus had two crew quarters, one at the front of the submarine and one at the back.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
I swiveled the periscope until I could see my car sitting in the museum's parking lot, which was pretty cool.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
Just over 70 years after Nautilus was commissioned as the first nuclear-powered submarine in the world, all of the US Navy's submarines are now nuclear-powered, according to the Department of Defense.