page_title: Operation Sandblast
section_title: 50th anniversary
hierarchical_section_title: Operation Sandblast / Mission legacy / 50th anniversary
caption_attribution_description: English: GROTON, Conn. (April 10, 2010) Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) Rick West delivers remarks at the 110th Submarine Birthday Ball at the MGM Grand. The ball celebrated the 50th anniversary of the submerged circumnavigation of the world by the nuclear-powered radar picket submarine USS Triton (SSRN 586) in 1960. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jennifer A. Villalovos/Released)
context_page_description: Operation Sandblast was the code name for the first submerged circumnavigation of the world, executed by the United States Navy nuclear-powered radar picket submarine USS Triton in 1960 under the command of Captain Edward L. Beach Jr.. The New York Times described Triton's submerged circumnavigation of the Earth as "a triumph of human prowess and engineering skill, a feat which the United States Navy can rank as one of its bright victories in man's ultimate conquest of the seas."
  The circumnavigation took place between February 24 and April 25, 1960, covering 26,723 nautical miles over 60 days and 21 hours. The route began and ended at the St. Peter and Paul Rocks in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean near the Equator. During the voyage, Triton crossed the Equator four times while maintaining an average speed of 18 knots. Triton's overall navigational track during Operation Sandblast generally followed that of the first circumnavigation of the world led by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan from 1519 to 1522.
  The initial impetus for Operation Sandblast was to increase American technological and scientific prestige before the May 1960 Paris Summit between President Dwight D.
context_section_description: The 50th anniversary of Operation Sandblast and Triton's submerged circumnavigation was celebrated on April 10, 2010, during the 2010 Submarine Birthday Ball held at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantuket, Connecticut, with Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) Rick West delivering opening remarks (pictured) to the 2,200 attendees. The U.S. Navy Submarine Force Library and Museum sponsored additional events and activities, entitled "9,000 Leagues Under the Sea," between April 10–12 and April 14–18, 2010.
  Also, on April 9, 2010, retired Admiral Henry G. Chiles Jr., who served in Triton from 1963 to 1966, was the keynote speaker at the graduation class of the Basic Enlisted Submarine School at the New London Naval Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut.  The graduation class was named in honor of Triton, and each graduate received a certificate of course completion and a commemorative coin celebrating the 50th anniversary of Triton's submerged circumnavigation. The Dolphin Scholarship Foundation used the 50th anniversary to promote its "Race Around the World" fund-raising program to support its Dolphin Scholarship program. Finally, former members of Triton's crew received commemorative souvenirs of the ship's pressure hull at their 2010 re-union.
  On April 25, 2010, the University of Texas Marine Science Institute posted a radio program article on its Science and the Sea web site commemorating Operation Sandblast and USS Triton.
  Writer-historian Carl LaVO wrote "Incredible Voyage" for the June 2010 edition of Naval History magazine, and John Beach wrote "The First Submerged Circumnavigation" for the April 2010 issue of The Submarine Review, the official magazine of the Naval Submarine League. Mr. Beach is the nephew of Captain Edward L. Beach, the commanding officer of USS Triton during Operation Sandblast. Also, the Naval Institute Press published Beneath the Waves by Dr. Edward F. Finch, a 2010 biography of the late Captain Beach, which included extensive coverage of Operation Sandblast.
  The legacy of Operation Sandblast on its 50th anniversary was summarized by retired Captain James C. Hay, who had served on Triton during its historic submerged around-the-world voyage.  On the editorial page of the April 2010 issue of The Submarine Review, the official magazine of the Naval Submarine League, Captain Hay noted:
  It is truly a cruise which tested the crew's mettle and proved the skipper's tenacity.  More than that, however, it again proved to all who cared to listen that the US Navy could go anywhere, at anytime, and do what ever was required.  It's a good sea story about doing what had to be done.  On the fiftieth anniversary of the First Submerged Circumnavigation it's a good thing to do to re-read about one of the forerunners of all we've done since.
caption: MCPON West at the 110th Submarine Ball (April 10, 2010)
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