After his reception in Wasiiington, Commander 

 Anderson was flown to England and lowered 

 aboard the Nautilus by helicopter before 

 the submarine entered Portland Harbor. 



^ Map shows the three attempts of the Nautilus 

 ^ to navigate beneath the ice of the Arctic 



Ocean. On August 3, 1958, she passed directly 



beneath the ice at the North Pole. 



out the Arctic in summer. Anderson wondered: "Was this rare 

 Arctic rain pelting Nautilus an ill omen?" 



North of Point Franklin they found themselves round the edge 

 of the pack and headed into their deep-water gateway of the Barrow 

 Sea Valley. "As we planed below the surface, I said this to myself: 

 'This is it. Let's go, go, go.' Through the periscope I caught a last 

 glimpse of the sky. It was a lovely clear morning with a full moon. 

 The sun was rising, and there was a gentle southerly bree2e." 



Increasing speed to eighteen knots, they were soon deep under 

 the true Polar pack. Less than eleven hundred miles ahead lay the 

 North Pole; and eight hundred miles beyond that the opposite 

 edge of the pack. Now the way was clear. Nautilus drove on, 

 increasing her speed to twenty knots. At times they sighted pressure 

 ridges far deeper than anyone had ever anticipated, projecting down 

 to one hundred and 1 2 5 feet. They saw peaks rising from the deep, 

 1670 fathoms, of ocean. In one place the water suddenly shoaled 

 from 2100 fathoms to less than five hundred. As Anderson watched 

 this unknown underwater world slip by he "camped alongside the 

 fathometer for several hours, intently watching the rugged terrain 

 as it unfolded beneath us. I saw incredibly steep cliffs — undersea 

 ranges — rise thousands of feet above the ocean floor. Several times 

 I ordered speed slackened, then resumed, as a promontory leveled 

 off or descended as rapidly as it had risen. The shape of these 

 undersea mountains appeared phenomenally rugged, and as gro- 

 tesque as the craters of the moon." 



At lat. 83°2o'N. they passed the Pole of Inaccessibility, the geo- 

 graphical center of the ice pack and the most inaccessible point in 

 the Arctic. A feeling of suspense and anticipation communicated 

 itself throughout the crew ; also, a feeling of admiration and trust in 

 this great, mobile computer called Nautilus. Few could sleep, or 

 wanted to, and many were saying silent prayers for the success of 

 their mission. All stood transfixed, monitoring the marvel of elec- 

 tronic instruments that flashed, beeped, clicked, and hummed. 



Unable to sleep, Anderson kept frequent watch through the 

 periscope. Jokes were cracked, and there was a general feeling of 

 Ughtheartedness on board, despite the tension. About this time one 

 crew member proposed that on reaching the Pole the rudder might 

 be put hard over so that they could make twenty-five circles, "thus 

 becoming the first ship in history to circle the Earth non-stop 

 twenty- five times." The ship was running perfectly. Even so, the. 

 torpedo tubes were kept ready in case they had to blast a hole 

 through the ice for a sudden ascent. 



At ID A.M. on August 3, they slipped across the eighty-seventh 

 parallel, and glided on in comfort. Above them was the Polar ice, 

 and above that Arctic winds battering and grinding the ice. But 

 inside the Nautilus all was snug and warm. As they approached the 

 Pole the crew gathered in the mess and attack center. Then after 

 sixty-two hours under the ice came Anderson's announcement, 

 full of drama, of the attainment of the Pole : 



"All hands — this is the Captain speaking .... In a few moments 

 Nautilus will realize a goal long a dream of mankind — the attain- 

 ment by ship of the North Geographic Pole .... The distance of the 

 Pole is now precisely four-tenths of a mile. As we approach, let us 

 pause in silence dedicated with our thanks for the blessings that 

 have been ours during this remarkable voyage — our prayers for 



72 



