Posted by Marc DeLamater A good starting point to find out more about this film is on its web page at the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) web site. Its URL is as follows: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0267626 This web page includes internal links to additional production information, links to off-side sources, and message boards. Because of its involvement in the production of this film, the National Georgraphic Society has a website devoted to K-19. Its URL is as follows: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/k19/ Although it is well done, this site concerntrates on submarine safety and sinkings to the exclusion of the other aspects of submarine operations during the period. This is quite surprising given National Georgraphic coverage of the voyages of the Nautilus, Skate, and Triton in its magazine. I have e-mailed National Georgraphic about my concerns, which I duplicate below. Marc DeLamater LETTER TO NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY: Thank you, National Geographic, for your numerous features involving the upcoming K-19 movie as well as the various associated features on your web site. The coverage is generally excellent. However, it would have been good if you had provided additional features beyond the safety concern of the disposal of naval reactors and submarine-related disasters from the Squalus to the Kursk. One feature could be about the evolution and operation of naval reactors, with an emphasis on the late Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, the father of the nuclear-powered submarine. I am also surprised that you did not touch on numerous exploits of nuclear submarines during this period, particularly since the National Geographic Society covered many of these voyages in its monthly magazine. For example, while you do mention that the Nautilus was the first submarine to travel underneath the North Pole in 1958 and that the Soviet November-class submarine Leninsky Komsomol duplicated this feat in 1962, you do not mention that the USS Skate performed extensive Arctic exploration during this period, including the first submarine surfacing at the North Pole in 1959. This mission was covered in an article written by Commander James M. Calvert, the Skate's commanding officer, which appeared in the National Geographic Magazine. Finally, you did not make mention of the voyage of the USS Triton, which successfully completed the first submerged circumnavigation of the world during her shakedown cruise in 1960. Triton sailed over 41,000 land miles in 84 days, which remains the fastest circumnavigation by any powered vessel to this day. This voyage was also covered in an article written by Captain Edward L. Beach, Triton's commanding officer that also appeared in the National Geographic Magazine. I also must add that this mission was photographed exclusively by Commander Joseph B. Roberts, USNR, for the National Geographic Society. It should be noted that Triton was the largest, longest, and most powerfully engined submarine built up to that time as well as the only non-Soviet submarine to operate a two-reactor propulsion plant. For her successful submerged circumnavigation, Triton received the Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), the highest combat award given any naval unit, and this was only the second time that a PUC was awarded to a naval vessel on a peacetime mission as well as the only time this has been awarded to a ship on her shakedown cruise. The first peacetime PUC was given to the Nautilus after its transit underneath the North Pole. Also, Captain Beach was personally awarded the Legion of Honor by President Dwight Eisenhower for leading this mission. Again, my congratulations to you for your coverage. I am suggesting that this material may be of interest to people wishing to gain a better insight into submarine operations beyond regrettable disasters such as what befell K-19, Thresher, Scorpion, and Kursk. Thank you! Marc DeLamater
on 7/15/2002, 9:21 am
The new motion picture K-19: The Widowmaker, staring Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson, is opening this week.
In fact, Skate and her sister ships were noted for their involvement in Arctic exploration. USS Sargo successfully charted an undersea Northwest Passage through arctic waters in 1960. And Skate-class submarines Seadragon and performed a successful at-sea rendezvous in the Arctic, which included surfacing through the pack ice, in 1962, the first such operation in history. It should also be noted that Skate and her three sister ships were the first nuclear submarine class to go into series production, as opposed to one-of-a-kind ships like the Nautilus, which represented a significant evolution in the technical development of the nuclear-powered submarine.
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