![]() ![]() The idea for a nuclear-powered submarine was first proposed in the United States Navy by the Naval Research Laboratory's physicist Ross Gunn in 1939. ![]() The smallest nuclear-powered submarine, the U.S. Radiation incidents have occurred within the Soviet submarines including serious nuclear and radiation accidents, but American naval reactors starting with the S1W and iterations of designs have operated without incidents since USS Nautilus (SSN-571) launched in 1954. The high cost of nuclear technology means that relatively few of the world's military powers have fielded nuclear submarines. The limited energy stored in electric batteries means that even the most advanced conventional submarine can only remain submerged for a few days at slow speed, and only a few hours at top speed, though recent advances in air-independent propulsion have somewhat ameliorated this disadvantage. The large amount of power generated by a nuclear reactor allows nuclear submarines to operate at high speed for long periods, and the long interval between refuelings grants a range virtually unlimited, making the only limits on voyage times being imposed by such factors as the need to restock food or other consumables. Nuclear propulsion, being completely independent of air, frees the submarine from the need to surface frequently, as is necessary for conventional submarines. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically diesel-electric) submarines. A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed.
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