page_title: Operation Sandblast
section_title: Mission origins
hierarchical_section_title: Operation Sandblast / Mission overview—Project Magellan / Mission origins
caption_attribution_description: USS Triton (SSRN-886) during sea trials.
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 possibility of a submerged circumnavigation of the world by a U.S. Navy nuclear-powered submarine was initially discussed between Captain Evan P. Aurand, President Eisenhower's naval aide, and Commander William R. Anderson, commanding officer of the first nuclear submarine, Nautilus, before it was decided to attempt a submerged voyage under the North Pole. Captain Aurand is credited with recommending that a successful submerged circumnavigation, timed to conclude just prior to the upcoming May 1960 Four Power Paris Summit between U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, would provide a much needed boost to American prestige, and consequently this voyage, code-named Operation Sandblast, reflected the highest priority within the Eisenhower administration. Captain Aurand outlined this proposed submerged around the world voyage, Project Magellan, to Admiral Arleigh Burke, the Chief of Naval Operations, in a memorandum dated January 6, 1960. Admiral Burke's classified response dated January 18, 1960 acknowledged the technical feasibility of Project Magellan while further noting that the "Magellan route" could be transited in "56 days at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) and 75 days at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)," with the latter option costing an additional US$3.34 million in nuclear fuel consumed. Aurand forwarded his Project Magellan proposal and Burke's assessment to Press Secretary James C. Hagerty in a memorandum dated January 26, 1960.  Project Magellan was subsequently approved by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and USS Triton was specifically recommended by Aurand to undertake Project Magellan.
  The U.S. Navy nuclear-powered radar picket submarine Triton (pictured) was the largest, most powerful, and most expensive submarine ever built at the time of her commissioning, costing $109,000,000 excluding the cost of her nuclear fuel and reactors. A unique submarine, she also had the distinction of being the only non-Soviet submarine to be powered by two nuclear reactors.  Triton's high speed was derived from her twin-reactor nuclear propulsion plant, with a designed speed, surfaced and submerged, of 28 kn (32 mph; 52 km/h). On September 27, 1959, Triton achieved "well in excess of" 30 kn (35 mph; 56 km/h) during her initial sea trials. As originally designed, Triton's total reactor output was rated at 34,000 horsepower (25,000 kW), but she achieved 45,000 horsepower (34,000 kW) during her sea trials (pictured), and her first commanding officer believed Triton's plant could have reached 60,000 horsepower (45,000 kW) "had that been necessary."
  Triton's first commanding officer was Captain Edward L. Beach, Jr. (pictured), a highly decorated submarine officer who had participated in the Battle of Midway and 12 combat patrols during World War II, earning 10 decorations for gallantry, including the Navy Cross.  After the war, Beach served as the naval aide to the President of the United States from 1953 to 1957, and he also was the best-selling author of the non-fiction book Submarine! and a novel Run Silent, Run Deep, which was made into a 1958 movie of the same name. In his last interview prior to his death in 2002, Captain Beach recalled  Triton and the background to her historical mission:
  As I was reporting to the Triton, I remember saying, "This ship is an unusual one. We've got to do something special with it. What could it be?" We talked about it a little bit, and nobody had any ideas. Finally, I got an idea. We'll do a stunt. We'll go around the world from North Pole to South Pole. That was my brainstorm. If you take a look at a map of the world, you'll see that's not a very easy way to go.  So we didn't do that. But I do remember thinking of it. And I made a speech to the crew, advising them of my thinking—that we were going to put this ship on the map. Well, that died out. Suddenly ... a phone call came, asking me if I could be in Washington tomorrow.
  Following her commissioning on November 10, 1959, Triton  was assigned to Submarine Squadron 10 (Subron 10), the U.S. Navy's first all-nucle
caption: USS Triton (SSRN-586) during sea trials (September 27, 1959)
exif: {}