Development of Nuclear Propulsion in the Royal Navy, 1946-1975

Gareth Michael Jones is a former CPO (WSM) Royal Navy submariner retiring from the service in 2003. He is currently working as a Project Engineer with Babcock International Group at Devonport Royal Dockyard. He is interested in the history of nuclear propulsion development and completed his PhD at the University of Plymouth in the UK.

• 1 Introduction.- Overview.- Chapters.- Literature Review.- Nuclear Historiography.- The Nuclear Submarine in Context.- Summary.- 2 Improving the Submersible.- Introduction of World War II Submarine Developments.- The Soviet Submarine Threat.- Conversions to “Fast Battery Drive”.- HTP and Air-Independent Engines.- The Discovery of Nuclear Fission and Its Application to Submarines.- Discussions on the Development of the Nuclear “Engine”.- 3 The Nuclear Option.- Tube Alloys, US Cooperation and the McMahon Act.- Acquiring an Experienced Team.- Harwell and the Admiralty.- Initial Considerations.- The Mark I Enriched Reactor.- Metropolitan-Vickers and the Problem of Scale.- The End of the Beginning.- 4 The Pressurised Water Reactor.- The Reactor Technical Challenge.- The Brontosaurus in the Museum: Quality Assurance.- Industry Joins the Project.- Miracle Metals.- The Fuel Element Decision.- Neptune: The Zero Energy Experimental Reactor.- 5 HMS/m Dreadnought.- Admiral Hyman G. Rickover USN.-What Price Exchange of Information?.- The Offers to Purchase a US Submarine Reactor.- Choices and Decisions.- Mountbatten Corrections.- Management and Establishment of the Dreadnought Project Team.- Purchase of the S5W Reactor.- Final Adjustments.- 6 Nuclear Training and Dounreay.- Training Facilities.- Off to School.- Practical Training and Jason.- Dounreay Submarine Prototype (DS/MP).- Dounreay’s Future Questioned.- A Very Serious Snag.- HMS/m Valiant.- 7 Future Developments.- Refuelling Preparations.- The Strength of Steel.- Core Development.- Amended Access Agreements.- Core Development Programme (CORDEP).- Nuclear Development (Submarines): NuDe(S).- NuDe(S) II—FLIP—ANP.- Core Z.- Secondary Machinery Improvement.- Reporting the Nuclear Navy.- Project Cost.- 8 Conclusions.- Political Problems and Indifference.- Technical Considerations.- The Military Situation.- The Nuclear Propulsion Legacy.- Research in the “Secret (Nuclear) State”.- Appendix A.- Appendix B.- Glossary.- Bibliography.- Index.

“The book is a model of primary-source historical research. Palgrave Macmillan has produced a handsome volume largely free of errors ... . the primary audiences for The Development of Nuclear Propulsion in the Royal Navy, 1946–1975 will be submariners (current and former) and scholars interested in nuclear history. The author deserves high praise for producing an outstanding book that deftly analyzes the technological, political, diplomatic, and industrial histories of the Royal Navy’s nuclear propulsion program.” (Timothy S. Wolters, Technology and Culture, Vol. 64 (4), October, 2023)“The Development of Nuclear Propulsion in the Royal Navy, 1946-1975, is the first scholarly monograph to deal exclusively with this subject.Jones has done excellent work, having created a strikingly important book in its field.” (Brian Bertosa, The Northern Mariner, cnrs-scrn.org, Vol. 32 (3), 2022)