The NR-1
The NR-1 was a submarine that was never officially named or commissioned but was rather known as “Nerwin.” It was the smallest nuclear submarine ever put into the operation. The submarine was built by the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics and was launched on January 25, 1969. The missions of this submarine remain as mysterious as its lack of name and official commission.
The NR-1 was built as an engineering and research submarine with missions that generally included search, oceanographic research, object recovery, geological survey and the installation and maintenance of underwater equipment. The NR-1 has the unprecedented ability to remain in one spot and completely map an area with an unmatched degree of accuracy. This made it an invaluable asset on a number of secret missions.
The NR-1 was equipped with a claw that was able to rake the sea bed and pull up objects. When the Challenger space shuttle exploded in 1986, the NR-1 was called to search for fragments that fell into the water. To this day that is one of the few missions that is known about the submarine. The 10-man crew that was on board the NR-1 during the Cold War remains sworn to absolute secrecy to this day. They were told that they could not even tell their wives where they were or what they were doing.
The submarine had no weapons but it could dive deeper than any other vessels. It was dismantled after it exited service but some parts of the submarine were reassembled to put on display. Toby Warson commanded the small sub from 1970 to 1973 and earned a service medal for “hazardous military operation” for an operation in the Mediterranean code-named Racoon Hook. He remains unable to tell what he earned the medal for and has since stopped wearing it to avoid questions he is forbidden to answer.