The Development of Nuclear Propulsion in the Royal Navy, 1946-1975

by Gareth Michael Jones

Overview

This book examines the development of nuclear propulsion in the Royal Navy from the first proposal in 1946 to the start-up of the last core improvement for the first submarine reactor power plant PWR 1 in December 1974. Drawing from unreleased records and archives, the book answers questions around three main themes. Political: what problems were encountered in transferring nuclear knowledge from the USA to the UK in the post-war period, and how much support was there for the development of nuclear propulsion? Military: why was there a requirement to develop nuclear propulsion, and in particular, why submarines? Technical: were the problems associated with nuclear energy fully appreciated, and did the UK have the technical and engineering capability to develop nuclear propulsion? Aside from the political considerations and military motives for developing nuclear propulsion in the Royal Navy, the author focuses on the technical problems that had to be overcome by all participants in theRoyal Navy’s development of nuclear propulsion, adding significantly to naval historiography. Providing a critical analysis of the political, technological, operational and industrial issues of introducing nuclear propulsion into the Royal Navy, the author situates his research in the context of the evolving Cold War, changing Anglo-American relations, the end of Empire and the relative decline of British power.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783031051289
Publisher:	Springer International Publishing
Publication date:	08/31/2022
Series:	Security, Conflict and Cooperation in the Contemporary World
Edition description:	1st ed. 2022
Pages:	287
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x (d)

About the Author

Gareth Michael Jones is a former CPO (WSM) Royal Navy submariner retiring from the service in 2003. He is currently working as a Project Engineer with Babcock International Group at Devonport Royal Dockyard. He is interested in the history of nuclear propulsion development and completed his PhD at the University of Plymouth in the UK.

Table of Contents

1 Introduction.- Overview.- Chapters.- Literature Review.- Nuclear Historiography.- The Nuclear Submarine in Context.- Summary.- 2 Improving the Submersible.- Introduction of World War II Submarine Developments.- The Soviet Submarine Threat.- Conversions to “Fast Battery Drive”.- HTP and Air-Independent Engines.- The Discovery of Nuclear Fission and Its Application to Submarines.- Discussions on the Development of the Nuclear “Engine”.- 3 The Nuclear Option.- Tube Alloys, US Cooperation and the McMahon Act.- Acquiring an Experienced Team.- Harwell and the Admiralty.- Initial Considerations.- The Mark I Enriched Reactor.- Metropolitan-Vickers and the Problem of Scale.- The End of the Beginning.- 4 The Pressurised Water Reactor.- The Reactor Technical Challenge.- The Brontosaurus in the Museum: Quality Assurance.- Industry Joins the Project.- Miracle Metals.- The Fuel Element Decision.- Neptune: The Zero Energy Experimental Reactor.- 5 HMS/m Dreadnought.- Admiral Hyman G. Rickover USN.-What Price Exchange of Information?.- The Offers to Purchase a US Submarine Reactor.- Choices and Decisions.- Mountbatten Corrections.- Management and Establishment of the Dreadnought Project Team.- Purchase of the S5W Reactor.- Final Adjustments.- 6 Nuclear Training and Dounreay.- Training Facilities.- Off to School.- Practical Training and Jason.- Dounreay Submarine Prototype (DS/MP).- Dounreay’s Future Questioned.- A Very Serious Snag.- HMS/m Valiant.- 7 Future Developments.- Refuelling Preparations.- The Strength of Steel.- Core Development.- Amended Access Agreements.- Core Development Programme (CORDEP).- Nuclear Development (Submarines): NuDe(S).- NuDe(S) II—FLIP—ANP.- Core Z.- Secondary Machinery Improvement.- Reporting the Nuclear Navy.- Project Cost.- 8 Conclusions.- Political Problems and Indifference.- Technical Considerations.- The Military Situation.- The Nuclear Propulsion Legacy.- Research in the “Secret (Nuclear) State”.- Appendix A.- Appendix B.- Glossary.- Bibliography.- Index.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“The nuclear enterprise, and its success or failure, was fundamental to the UK, and also the USA, maintaining the edge in the Cold War under the sea. It is a devilishly complex subject, full of twists and turns, but Gareth Jones manage to tell the story in a lucid fashion. He unravels the complexities and provides deep understanding of the technological, political, industrial and key personalities. It is a ripping yarn that anyone seeking to truly comprehend the great submarine rivalry between the Soviet Union and NATO should read.”

—Iain Ballantyne, author of 'Hunter Killers' and 'The Deadly Trade' and editor of Warships: International Fleet Review

“The development of nuclear-powered propulsion for the Royal Navy's submarines marked a vital leap forward in the capabilities of the Senior Service. Indeed, it was an essential development if the Royal Navy was to remain in the premier league of world navies in the midst of a Cold War arms race. This book, for the first time,examines and analyses the complexities, technical, personal and diplomatic, the intrigues and twists and turns, which lay at the heart of the development of the Royal Navy's Nuclear Propulsion Programme. It was a human story as well as a technical one, that sheds new light on Anglo-American defence relations in the post-war period. For naval and diplomatic historians, this is a good book and an important one.”

—Dr Harry Bennet, Associate Professor of History, University of Plymouth

“Taff has opened wide an important window into a notoriously closed subject. Naval history and dogged research at its best.”

—Dr Sam Willis, Broadcaster, Author and editor of Navy Records Online

“The post-war advent of ‘nuclear’ was a universal game-changer. For the Royal Navy, it led to the development of a nuclear-powered propulsion programme which transformed our capability and ambition. It enabled the Submarine Service to operate almost at will in the harshest of environments for long periods of time, and to compete against a foe blessed with mass. That we prevailed in the Cold War is down to professionalism and technical superiority. It was nuclear propulsion that enabled success. Whilst this important book should appear on every “Back Aftie’s” book-shelf, it will also hold a great appeal to those ‘passengers’ in nuclear submarines – including the author and me - who spent many years of their lives submerged but ‘forward of the tunnel.”

—Commodore Mike Walliker CBE, former Submarine Commanding Officer, HMS Tireless and HMS Astute

Editorial Reviews

The book is a model of primary-source historical research. Palgrave Macmillan has produced a handsome volume largely free of errors ... . the primary audiences for The Development of Nuclear Propulsion in the Royal Navy, 1946–1975 will be submariners (current and former) and scholars interested in nuclear history. The author deserves high praise for producing an outstanding book that deftly analyzes the technological, political, diplomatic, and industrial histories of the Royal Navy’s nuclear propulsion program.” (Timothy S. Wolters, Technology and Culture, Vol. 64 (4), October, 2023)

“The Development of Nuclear Propulsion in the Royal Navy, 1946-1975, is the first scholarly monograph to deal exclusively with this subject.Jones has done excellent work, having created a strikingly important book in its field.” (Brian Bertosa, The Northern Mariner, cnrs-scrn.org, Vol. 32 (3), 2022)

From the Publisher