The Navy Goes Nuclear! Operation Sea Orbit | Battle Stars

When the US Navy discovered that, rather than burning oil, nuclear power was one hell of a way to boil water, it pioneered the use of nuclear reactors to produce the steam needed to propel warships. In 1964, in Operation SEA ORBIT, the Navy’s first all-nuclear task force completed the remarkable feat of circling the world without replenishment.

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Credits: US National Archives, US Naval Institute, Naval History & Heritage Command, Naval Historical Foundation (now apart of USNI)

Sources:
1. Muir, Malcolm, Jr., Black Shoes and Blue Water: Surface Warfare in the United States Navy, 1945-1975. Contributions to Naval History, No. 6 (Washington, DC: Naval Historical Center, 1996).
2. Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships [online], “Enterprise VIII (CVAN-65), 1961-1965.”
3. Pawlowski, Gareth L., Flat-tops and Fledglings: A History of American Aircraft Carriers (NY: Castle Books, 1971).