Chapter 1-THE DEVELOPMENT OF NAVAL SHIPS 



Figure 1-6. -The nuclear surface fleet, 1965: USS Long Beach , CGN 9 (top); USS 

 Enterprise, CVAN 65 (middle); and USS Bainbridge, DLGN 25 (bottom). 



147.6 



to develop an American diesel industry, and the 

 U.S. Naval Engineering Experiment Station (now 

 the Marine Engineering Laboratory) at Annapolis 

 undertook the testing and evaluation of prototype 

 diesel engines developed by American manufac- 

 turers. The success of this effort may be seen 

 in the fact that by the end of World War II the 

 diesel horsepower installed in naval vessels 

 exceeded the total horsepower of naval steam 

 plants. 



Since World War II, the gas turbine engine 

 has come into increasing prominence as a pos- 

 sible prime mover for naval ships. It is con- 

 sidered likely that the next few years will see 

 enormously increased application of the gas 

 turbine engine for ship propulsion, either singly 

 or in combination with steam turbines or diesel 

 engines. 



One of the most dramatic events in the 

 entire history of naval ships is the application 

 of nuclear power, first to submarines and then 

 to surface ships. The first three ships of our 

 nuclear surface fleet are shown in figure 1-6. 

 The middle ship is the aircraft carrier USS 

 Enterprise , CVAN 65; on the flight deck, crew 

 members are shown forming Einstein's famous 

 equation which is the basis of controlled nuclear 

 power. The other two ships are (top) the guided 

 missile cruiser USS Long Beach , CGN 9, and 

 (bottom) the guided missile frigate USS Bain - 

 bridge, DLGN 25. The fourth nuclear surface 

 ship to join the fleet was the USS Truxton, 

 DLGN 35. A fifth nuclear surface ship soon 

 to join the fleet is the USS Nimitz , CVAN 68, 

 Although the full implications of nuclear pro- 

 pulsive power may not yet be fully realized, 



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