Today was reading Clancy's Submarine book, noted Triton first to go around the globe submerged. Believe Beach wrote about this in one of his books.

Anyhoo, found below through Google search. Can it possibly be true that she's still awaiting recycling?

On 30 April 1986, ex-Triton was stricken from the Naval Vessel Registry and the hulk was tied up at Bremerton, Washington, to await her turn through the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program. She is scheduled for a 15-year drydocked hull inspection in October 2007, after which it is expected that she will finally be recycled.

Interesting Facts: The USS Triton was the only Submarine fitted with a Presidential Suite.

No idea why it's taking so long to put her through the process unless the Navy is getting feelers about donating her as a museum ship. Of course, it took the Navy 30 years to finally decide what to do with Oriskany so perhaps it's just another example of bureaucracy in action.

BTW...Beach was Triton's first CO and took her on that little submerged cruise.

It takes a LONG time to recycle a nuke power ship. If you wait 25 years, the Co60 contamination is pretty much gone (5 half lives), makes it cheaper to dispose of the parts that way. Just my guess.

Trying to remeber...wasn't that the only boat (US) with 2 kettles (reactors)??

quote:

Originally posted by Sludgecat:
Trying to remeber...wasn't that the only boat (US) with 2 kettles (reactors)??

Correct. She was only in commission for ten years, actually.

Ned Beach, who was her skipper on the first submerged circumnavigation of the world, was a giant in the submarine force. His books, of course, are legendary: "Run Silent, Run Deep", 'Logarithmic Scales', and so on. He, himself was even more legendary. I met him right after his trip around the world. Amazing man. He could tell a story and write about the submarine 'experience' like no one I ever knew.

He had a fully-loaded combat patrol pin from Trigger and Tirante; and a Navy Cross from the latter. He served with such 'wild men' as 'Pigboat Benny' Benson (later an admiral and CSP when I was in SubPac) and 'Dusty' Dornin (later an admiral under whom I also served.) The curious thing is, he never made admiral. That's what tends to happen when you outshine your superiors. He was Ike's Naval Aide - one would think that would have 'done it' - but it didn't.

He was one of the fading breed, like many of us, who served in submersible scrap yard rejects; and who, for better or worse, absolutely loved it!

Enough reminiscing by an old man. Particularly when Louis Armstrong is singing 'Mack the Knife' in the background on my stereo.

"Mack the Knife"
CDR USN (Ret)

Capt Beach was here in Phoenix for a book signing just before he passed away. Sadly I missed the chance to meet him.

Part of the issue is developing the "plan" to take her down. The plan is moving forward as we speak to start this year at carving the big piece into many small ones. Another piece of the puzzle is the hazmat issue as this one is full of all manner of asbestos, PCB's, lead paint etc. Looking forward to the challenge of working on this one!

Wasn't Triton powered with a liquid sodium reactor?

No. That was Seawolf (SSN575). Narwhal had NCR and Lipscomb had direct electric drive. All reactors, save 575 were pressurized water. Triton had two of them.

"Mack the Knife"
CDR USN (Ret)

Narwhal's S5G plant was later refined by GE and became the S8G which powers the Trident submarines.

I did proto type on S5G and did time on S8G plants. The improvements were many, and made life MUCH better.

I went through Prototype on the S3G plant, which was Triton's plant. We had #2 Reactor and #1 Engineroom.

When I was on the Ohio while in the yards the first time, we managed to get on board the Triton while it was sitting in Bremerton. It was kinda like going home again. And this time I got to see the whole boat. Quite the difference between the teardrop hulls.

I believe it was Decommissioned in '68 or '69. There were still danger tags hanging that were dated from 1968!

quote:

Originally posted by egovreau:
There were still danger tags hanging that were dated from 1968!

Yeah, ships come and go, but CRUD hangs around forever...or so it seems.

"Mack the Knife"
CDR USN (Ret)

quote:

Yeah, ships come and go, but CRUD hangs around forever...or so it seems.

Well, 26.35 years or so.

5 half lives. That ought to about do it for Triton. There's bound to be some longer lived stuff, but the vast majority of the activity will have died off.

Yeah, I doubt that Crud is the controlling factor. The asbestos remediation - expensive and extensive - may be the reason. That would be my guess - having just remediated a gymnasium built in 1928. Asbestos and lead paint were everywhere. It sat idle for 5 years whilst the folks accumulated the time and money to do it.

"Mack the Knife"
CDR USN (Ret)

True. A boat of that age will be full of PCBs and other "nice" stuff of a non-nuke nature.

I seem to recall that at one point they were just cutting the hull into chunks, welding large FMEs on then burying them in the desert. Maybe that was just a sea story. Dunno.

Yep. The desert at Hanford is loaded with parts, pieces, hull sections, train locomotives, one whole train. Some from late 40's and onward to the submarine parts. Amazing amount of stuff down there. Next century, someone will have one heckuva 'museum'. Assuming, of course, well - never mind...

"Mack the Knife"
CDR USN (Ret)

If you do a google earth type search and look at overhead shots of Hanford you can see the "Pit" with over 100 RX's waiting to be covered at some future point.

She was being saved to be used as a museum peice, It takes a bunch of cash to clean up a nuke and I guess nobody couyld come forward with the funds

Good point - other than Nautilus, I can't think of another nuke used in a memorial. Can anyone think/know of another?

"Mack the Knife"
CDR USN (Ret)

As a former crew member of the good ship NARWHAL, I have to correct you on one thing.. NARWHAL was not electric drive (except her EPM). She was direct drive, but through a very large steam turbine. You are correct that no other nuclear ship has been made into a museum. NARWHAL was actually earmarked to become the centerpiece of the National Submarine Science Discovery Center in Newport, KY, but funding could not be raised and the plans fell through.