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Dark Waters: An Insider's Account of the NR-1, the Cold War's Undercover Nuclear Sub

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Dark Waters tells the story of the design, construction and early (late 1960s to late 1970s) operations of the U.S. Navy’s smallest and most classified nuclear submarine, NR-1. Co-written by “plankowner” crewmember, Lee Vyborny, and a professional journalist, Dark Waters tells the inside story of the delayed, far-over-budget initial construction, the crew’s selection and torment by the infamous Admiral Rickover and the difficulties of putting a totally unique vessel into operational service. NR-1, which is still in service, has a tiny 130 horsepower nuclear power plant, displaces a mere 409 tons (compared to 6,900 tons for the Navy’s Los Angeles Class SSNs), and operates with a crew of 12 or fewer. Its most unique aspect is an ability to operate and maneuver indefinitely at depths up to 3,000’ and search out and recover lost objects (e.g., a top secret missile from a sunken aircraft) or pry open our adversaries' military secrets (e.g., a Soviet underwater detection system in the Mediterranean).

During the ten year operational period Vyborny writes about, NR-1 suffered many “near-death” experiences due to equipment failures and the inherent hazards of operating a tiny submarine “on the edge” for extended periods. Several tales of the crew’s ability to get themselves out of tight jams (there was no way anyone on the surface could help them) are riveting, inspiring examples of men living up to the highest traditions of Naval service. These sailors’ little known “inner space” explorations are as intriguing and inspiring as many of NASA’s outer space exploits of the same era.

Unfortunately NR-1’s post-1970s operations are barely mentioned in Dark Waters. Likewise, reference is made to increased Navy-civilian NR-1 science operations, but few concrete examples are provided. Unfortunately the book contains some factual errors. For example, Vyborny asserts NR-1 “has become the oldest operational boat in the Navy.” Even assuming, which is not clear from the context, that by “boat” Vyborny means submarine, that is not a correct statement. USS Dolphin (AGSS 555) went into commission in 1968, several months before NR-1 was launched; despite a fire and near-sinking last year, the Navy so far has kept Dolphin in commission (DBF!).

As a former Navy Spook I sometimes cringe when books like Dark Waters, Blind Man’s Bluff, etc. disclosure formerly classified Cold War capabilities and operations. At the same time I’m proud of the heroic and inspired efforts, as well as willingness to endure danger and discomfort, that lead to our Cold War victory, and believe these stories need to be told. I recommend Dark Waters to anyone interested in submarine technology, deepwater exploration, nautical adventure and Cold War history.

As the Cold War has receded into history, we are learning more about the incredible feats of technology and human achievement that went on in that period. Joining the ranks of books (e.g., Sontag & Drew's "Blind Man's Bluff", Craven's "Silent War" and Tyler's "Running Critical") that deal with the role of the US Naval submarine force is "Dark Waters" by Vyborny & Davis. This book combines the story of the development and exploits of the NR-1 with the story of Vyborny's service aboard this submarine. As one of the "plank owners", Vyborny takes us through the long gestation period and the immense technical challenges of building a small, nuclear powered submarine capable of diving far deeper than its' larger sister SSNs. The unique abilities of this submarine to literally drive (on Goodyear truck tires!) along the ocean floor, and the varied uses it is put to during the time period described are fascinating. Vyborny's description of a "routine" short voyage by NR-1 out of Groton that turns into a seafarer's nightmare is vivid and chilling. Along the way we also get further insight into the driving force behind NR-1's development, one of the most fascinating and controversial characters in modern US Naval history, Adm. Rickover. The NR-1 is truly a national resource, and it is a delight to finally have an authoritative insight into the role it has played over the past thirty plus years. Although the book states on its' final page that the NR-1 has become the oldest operational boat in the Navy, I believe the correct statement is that it is the oldest operational submarine in the US Navy (carriers such as CVN 65, Enterprise, predate the NR-1)

I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in either submarine history and operations or the Cold War in general. My only reservation is that I wish the book were longer and had even more fascinating stories about this unique submarine and its' crew!

Groton Connecticut, 1966: The keel was laid for a radically new U.S. Navy nuclear submarine. She was to be small, dive deeper than any other, and roll along on the very bottom of the ocean using large tandem sand tires. Propelled by the world's smallest naval nuclear reactor, she would have extraordinary mission duration. She was to be built and to be operated in great secrecy. This was "Submarine NR-1". When she began her sea-trials in 1969, NR-1 was manned by a crew of 12 hand-selected officers and men of the U.S. Navy, joined by three highly trained civilian engineers.

The authors reveal that for the following 33 years, continuing to this day, NR-1 has carried out operations that were at times so secret, even many of the Navy's senior officers were only dimly aware of her existence and capabilities. Vyborny and Davis provide a fast-paced and compelling narrative. We really get to know the "Right Stuff" men who executed those hazardous yet crucially important missions.

"Dark Waters" is peopled with legendary characters like Admiral Hyman G. Rickover and Robert Ballard, the undersea explorer who found the gravesites of Titanic, Bismarck and PT-109. The book does a fine job of capturing the excitement and intrigue, the challenges and dangers of the Cold War as fought aboard NR-1. Reading the book was an engrossing, educational and nail-biting experience.

I recommend Dark Waters to anyone interested in 20th century military history, naval adventure, oceanography, archaeology, scuba diving, military intelligence, defense technology or even the U.S. Space Program.

Dark Waters (by Lee Vyborny and Don Davis) recounts the first ten years of the security-shrouded career of Submarine NR-1. While I don't know the author personally, I am well acquainted with the "star" of the story because I worked as a design engineer at the Electric Boat yard in the mid-1970's and was involved with NR-1 on a daily basis. I can say without hesitation that the authors have this story nailed.

One exciting chapter describes the perils faced by the crew during a reactor casualty and when a severed tow line fouled the screws -- all occurring amid a North Atlantic winter gale. I remember the time vividly, as we were back in the yard formulating contingency procedures in case they had to abandon the ship. Fortunately, the NR-1 crew overcame the problems.

This story is replete with great characters, both famous -- like the legendary Adm. Hyman Rickover -- and unknown to the general public but well remembered by we who were there. The latter include officers and men of the NR-1's crews, clearly the Navy's best and brightest, and managers and engineers from Electric Boat and Sperry whose unflagging efforts were essential to the creation and operation of this national asset.

I unhesitatingly recommend this book, not only to those interested in submarines, but to any reader with an interest in the long history of men, ships and the sea.

"An Insider's Account of the NR-1, the Cold-War's Undercover Nuclear Sub"
By Lee Vyborny and Don Davis
Published 2003 by New Amerian Library-243 pages/35 Photos

Lee Vyborny was an enlisted IC Nuke trained plank owner on this boat and tells an excellent story of the history of the boat, it's early financial appropriation problems and the construction of this very secret boat that was to become Rickover's "toy." It also tells of the training that he received prior to the very long design and construction of this boat that is a legend in the Submarine Service.

From the very first chapter right out of Blind Man's Bluff,
Lee tells the reader stories of the danger posed by the North Atlantic on this small wave swept boat and the harrowing recovery of a bomb from an F-14 and even mentions the nuclear warhead recovery and the search for Israel's lost boat Dakar in the Mediterranean. The terror of being trapped and stuck in the mud at great depths makes me wonder why they had any crew who stayed with the boat for any length of time/
From the first commanding officer, LCDR Dwaine Griffith to LCDR Toby Warson, who I served with in the 60's on the Patrick Henry, to the CO who bravely broached Rickover's reactor start-up procedures. He did this to save their lives. Right through to the design considerations for the NR-2, I found the book very well written. Someone mentioned the book was candy to veteran submariners and I concur.
Maybe it was because the book was written by an enlisted person is the reason I found the book really was aimed at my level and so exciting. I was thoroughly disappointed when I neared the end, in that I wanted more and more of this fabulous story.
I rate it a ***** of 5. The first "submarine" book I have ever rated this high. The book is chronologically right, militarily correct and contains stories of Admiral Rickover that are new to me.
BZ Lee and Don.

No one is quite sure when Admiral Rickover decided the Navy needed a small nuclear-powered submarine that could drive along the deepest depths of the ocean and be used for a variety of missions. The civilian world had been using deep-sea submersibles for some time, but it was not until the Thresher accident that everyone realized the need for a vessel that could remain underwater at the deepest depths for very long periods of time. It was developed and built under conditions of extreme secrecy and was never even designated a warship. It had a variety of bizarre features, including tires on the bottom of the hull that would literally permit it to drive along the bottom, and sideways thrusters fore and aft that allowed it to hover in one exact position.

Lee Vyborny was one of the original crew members on the tiny NR-1, a sub that contained a midget nuclear reactor, which developed a mere 130 horsepower, of which only 60 could be used for propulsion. The crew quarters were tiny, and there was no stateroom for the commander, who would usually sleep on the floor next to the control panel. The reactor was designed so it could be operated by one man because the crew never exceeded eight people, usually only four on duty at any given time.

In an uncharacteristic mistake, Rickover tried to keep the cost of development and building down and required that as many of the ship's components as possible be purchased off-the-shelf. He was under the mistaken impression that the commercial deep sea industry was well developed and the parts standardized. At the same time, he insisted on testing these parts under the most extreme conditions. They had never been designed for the role he intended, and the result was costly failures and time spent to develop alternatives. The early computer they used was a midget and capable of only fourteen simultaneous operations, in contrast to the original PC, which could do many thousands at once.

Rickover's presence was ubiquitous. Everyone was suitably cowed, but he knew the bureaucracy well and how to manipulate them. The story of the two dead mice is illustrative. A habitability team was due for an inspection. Their job was to verify that a new ship was liveable. The NR-1 had so many discomforts for the crew, Rickover knew he might be in trouble, so he sent out an aide to find two dead mice and to hide them in the boat. The habitability team was delighted to find a dead mouse, thinking they would be able to reprimand the famous admiral. Instead, they were the ones on the receiving end. He told them they had done a terrible job and didn't belong in the Navy. "I know there were two dead mice on that boat," he shouted, "I bought them! You only found one! Get out of here!"

When lambasted by the General Accounting Office for the NR-1's cost overruns and asked to explain the excess, Rickover replied with a sarcastic letter, reprinted in full in the book, suggesting their analysis was similar to a review of Lady Chatterly's Lover by Field and Stream magazine. The letter concluded, "A cursory review of the subject report leads me to conclude that its authors, likewise, lack comprehension in the manner of accomplishing research and development. Therefore, I believe no useful purpose would be served by detailed comments on my part."

In order to withstand the enormous pressures at depths to which the little sub was expected to go, the hull had to be perfectly round. The twelve-and-a-half-foot diameter hull could be out of round by no more than 1/16th of an inch. That required special manufacturing processes. The crew had to undergo special psychological tests to see whether they could stand being cooped up in tiny spaces for long periods. Submariners who had been successful at resisting the stresses of a regular submarine wound up in fistfights after just a few days when tested under the conditions expected on the NR-1.

The boat was expected to remain under water indefinitely, but practical considerations limited the length of the voyages: food and waste. The ship had no galley, so the crew subsisted on TV dinners purchased in large quantities and kept frozen until they were needed, and when the waste tank was full, they had to surface.

Ironically, the NR-1 has outlasted larger and more famous mega-submarines. According to the author, it continues to conduct classified missions in addition to being a valuable resource for many universities and research institutes for tamer exploratory searches of the ocean's depths.

Lots of details in this page-turner, half of which is a first-hand account from the author and the rest retold through others. Right up there with Blind Man's bluff.

The book is a gripping story of a submarine that few people knew. The accounts are just as I remembered living them.

Very entertaining history of the capable, unique NR-1, the only nuclear submersible yet built. The coauthors include journalist Don Davis and member of the first crew, Lee Vyborny. Mr. Vyborny tells some excellent stories from the years he spent during the NR-1's design, construction and early operating career. After Vyborny leaves the crew the boat's history is told in third person but the stories are no less interesting. For example, the interactions with Rickover are somehow written to be more amusing than irritating!

This book is similar to Blind Man's Bluff in its handling of covert cold war operations by the US Navy but the first person stories told by Lee Vyborny really pull the reader in and are very engaging.

Category: cold war nuclear submersible

Submarine(s): NR-1

Heroes: NR-1 crew and, for getting it built, Admiral Rickover

Technical content: average

The authors give us a very good picture of the demanding life a submariner lives. The experiences the fellows encounter are awesome. Fascinating reading, so much so that you don't want to miss a word.