8. Rickover became an early supporter of nuclear power applied to submarines
When Rickover was assigned to the Army’s Oak Ridge laboratory to learn the science behind atomic power, he was skeptical regarding its use by the Navy. Navy research at the time focused on applying nuclear power to destroyers. In the post-war years, as the military reduced in size, the Navy forecast its future task forces centered around aircraft carriers, protected by destroyers. Atomic-powered destroyers would relieve the Navy of the burden of refueling them on extended missions, an activity which had proven difficult during operations in World War II. As Rickover learned more about the perceived benefits of nuclear power for marine uses, he grew to advocate its application in submarines. The United States had acquired several German U-boats as war prizes, and several of their innovations combined with nuclear power would give the United States Navy the world’s first true submarine.
A ship powered by a nuclear reactor could remain submerged almost indefinitely. A reactor did nothing more than create heat. It required no air intake for combustion, nor an exhaust system to remove gases. It produced heat, used to create steam. The steam could drive turbines to generate electricity, powering the ship’s engines and equipment. It also provided the life support systems for the crew, electricity for refrigeration, cooking, air conditioning, lighting. Oxygen generators could create air for the crew to breathe, while scrubbers and burners could remove the toxic gases caused by human respiration. A submarine designed to remain submerged indefinitely, its prime area of operations beneath the waves, could be designed with that mission in mind, rather than as a compromise between the surface and the depths, as had been all submarines to that time.