America’s Secret Submarine, by Lee Vyborny and Don Davis, tells the compelling story of NR-1, a very secret, very small nuclear powered submarine. The boat was never given a typical name, and although it did not carry weapons like its larger sisters, the missions conducted by the submarine and its fearless crew were vitally important. A few of these are unclassified now, but the majority of what the crew of NR-1 accomplished have not, and perhaps never will be made public.

The diminutive submarine was the brain child of Admiral Hyman Rickover, the father of America’s nuclear powered navy, and although the costs associated with the boat seemed out of control at best, he saw the value in the concept and bullied, begged and pushed through his dream.

After reading America’s Secret Submarine, the reader can’t help but wonder, if these are the operations we are allowed to know about, with all of their dangers and risks, what on earth took place that we may never know?
NR-1 is gone now, although her sail and a few other of her parts are now on display at the Submarine Force Library and Museum in Groton, Connecticut. Hopefully at some point in the future, more of this tiny boat’s exploits will be revealed, but with what little we know already, the men who operated NR-1 are clearly heroes.

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