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Operation Sandblast

Operation Sandblast
Part of Cold War (1953–1962)
alt=Mercator projection map depicting the submerged navigational track of Triton during Operation Sandblast. The submarine began off the east coast of the United States, went around the southern tip of South America, passed north of Australia across the Pacific Ocean, headed south from Guam through the Philippine Island into the Indian Ocean, passed around the southern tip of Africa, and arrived back on the eastern seaboard of the United States.
Triton's navigational track and mission milestones
Type Nuclear submarine operations
Location World-wide
Planned by United States Navy
Objective First submerged circumnavigation of the world
Date 24 February 1960 to 25 April 1960
Executed by Crew of USS Triton (SSRN-586)
Outcome Successfully completed first submerged circumnavigation of the world
Casualties Chief Radarman (RDC) John R. Poole, Kidney Stones, forced brief resurface
External media
Images
Around the World Submerged at Submarine Force Library and Museum
9,000 Leagues Under the Sea at Submarine Force Library and Museum
Video
USS Triton: Beyond Magellan (1960), General Dynamics on the Internet Archive
New Magellan. Triton Circles World Submerged, 1960/05/12 (1960), Universal Studios on the Internet Archive

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 (SSRN-586) in 1960 under the command of Captain Edward L. Beach. 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 24 February and 25 April 1960, covering 26,723 nautical miles (49,491 km; 30,752 mi) 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 (33 km/h; 21 mph). 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 U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. It also provided a high-profile public demonstration of the capability of U.S. Navy nuclear-powered submarines to carry out long-range submerged operations independent of external support and undetected by hostile forces, presaging the initial deployment of the U.S Navy's Polaris ballistic missile submarines later in 1960. Finally, Operation Sandblast gathered extensive oceanographic, hydrographic, gravimetric, geophysical, and psychological data during Triton's circumnavigation.


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Wikipedia

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