Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Dark Waters: An Insider's Account of the NR-1, the Cold War's Undercover Nuclear Sub by Lee Vyborny, Don Davis ISBN: 0-451-20777-7 Publisher: New American Library Pub. Date: 07 January, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.75 (12 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Candy for Veteran Submariners-An Enlisted man speaks
Comment: "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.
Rating: 4
Summary: Interesting Story about an Odd Corner of the Cold War
Comment: 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.
Rating: 5
Summary: Fascinating little known story
Comment: 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.
 |
Title: Rising Tide: The Untold Story of the Russian Submarines That Fought the Cold War by Gary E. Weir, Walter J. Boyne ISBN: 0465091121 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 14 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
 |
Title: A Time to Die: The Untold Story of the Kursk Tragedy by Robert Moore ISBN: 0609610007 Publisher: Crown Publishers Pub. Date: 14 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
 |
Title: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Submarines by Michael DiMercurio, Michael Benson ISBN: 0028644719 Publisher: Alpha Books Pub. Date: 04 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
 |
Title: The Silent War: The Cold War Battle Beneath the Sea by John Pina Craven, John Pina Craven ISBN: 0684872137 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 15 March, 2001 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
 |
Title: Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage by Sherry Sontag, Christopher Drew, Annette Lawrence Drew ISBN: 006103004X Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 06 October, 1999 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
