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Maritime, Collectible, Relic Souvenir, USS Nautilus Nuclear Submarine Launch, 1954

$725

USS Nautilus Nuclear Submarine
Ship Launch Relic Souvenir

American: 1954
Steel inset with bronze medals
7 x 4 x 1.5 inches
Provenance: Barbara C. & John B. McPherson, Old Lyme, Connecticut
$725

Commemorative souvenir of the launch of the USS Nautilus (SSN-571), the world’s first operational nuclear-powered submarine. It is comprised of two identical two-sided circular bronze medals (medallions) embedded in a piece of very heavy steel, the latter presumably a leftover relic from the boat’s construction which relied heavily on special steel alloys. The medals are placed side by side to show both sides to identify the steel. (Identical medals from this series were also issued to commemorate the launch of the ship and presented at the launching ceremony in 1954.).  On the right of the steel block, the embedded medal shows a design with a missile across an atomic symbol and the words “U.S.S. Nautilus/ World’s First Nuclear Powered Vessel.” On the left, showing the other side of the medal, is an image of a nautilus shell on top of a missile and of a General Dynamics emblem are accompanied by the text, “Electric Boat Division/ Launched January 21, 1954/ Sponsored by/ Mrs. Dwight D. Eisenhower/ General Dynamics Corporation.” The steel is basically rectangular, but has one shaped curved section in one corner of unknown function or significance. The size and density of this object make it well suited as a desk paperweight — probably its intended practical use. The souvenir previously belonged to an executive of General Dynamics who was working there in the 1950s and likely received it as a special, perhaps unique, souvenir.

Product description continues below.

Description

Nautilus’s keel was laid at the General Dynamics Boat Division, Groton, Connecticut, in 1952, and the sub launched to great fanfare in a 1954 ceremony sponsored by First Lady Mamie Eisenhower. The vessel was also the first submarine to complete a submerged transit of the North Pole on Aug. 3, 1958. It was decommissioned in 1980, and two years later, in recognition of its pioneering role in the practical use of nuclear power, it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1982. The ship is now open to the public as a museum of submarine history in New London, Connecticut.

The original owner of this item, John Bayard McPherson (1910-1987) was an electromechanical engineer employed by the General Dynamics Corporation Electric Boat Division; in a 1957 directory he is listed as its Chief of Ind. Sales. He was also an avid sailor and member of several New England yacht clubs.

Condition: Generally very good with the usual overall oxidation (particularly to the medals), wear, and handling.

References:

“Membership Roster, Institute of Aeronautical Sciences.” Aeronautical Engineering Review. September 1957. p. 354. Online at Google Books: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Aeronautical_Engineering_Review/xwgjAQAAMAAJ (14 April 2021).

“Nautilus (SSN-571).” Naval History and Heritage Command. 26 March 2021. https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/ships/submarines/uss-nautilus.html (14 April 2021).

“USS Nautilus (SSN-571).” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Nautilus_(SSN-571) (14 April 2021).

Additional information

Century

20th Century