Operation Sandblast was the code name for the first submarine circumnavigation of the world. It was executed by the United States Navy nuclear-powered radar picket submarine in 1960 under the command of Captain Edward L. Beach Jr.
The circumnavigation took place between February 24 and April 25, 1960, covering over 60 days and 21 hours. The route began and ended at the St. Peter and Paul Rocks in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean near the Equator. During the voyage, Triton crossed the equator four times while maintaining an average speed of . Triton overall navigational track during Operation Sandblast generally followed that of the Spanish expedition that achieved the first circumnavigation of the world, started under the command of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and completed by Spanish explorer Juan Sebastián Elcano from 1519 to 1522.
The initial impetus for Operation Sandblast was to increase American technological and scientific prestige before the May 1960 Paris Summit between President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. It also provided a high-profile public demonstration of the capability of U.S. Navy nuclear-powered submarines to carry out long-range submerged operations independent of external support and undetected by hostile forces, presaging the initial deployment of the Navy's Polaris ballistic missile submarines later in 1960. Finally, Operation Sandblast gathered extensive oceanographic, hydrographic, gravimetric, geophysical, and psychological data during Triton circumnavigation.
Official celebrations were cancelled for Operation Sandblast following the diplomatic furor arising from the 1960 U-2 incident in which a U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union in early May. However, Triton did receive the Presidential Unit Citation with a special clasp in the form of a golden replica of the globe in recognition of the successful completion of its mission, and Captain Beach received the Legion of Merit for his role as Triton commanding officer. In 1961, Beach received the Magellanic Premium from the American Philosophical Society, the United States' oldest and most prestigious scientific award, for the voyage.
Mission overview – Project Magellan
Mission origins The possibility of a submerged circumnavigation of the world by a U.S. Navy nuclear-powered submarine was initially discussed between Captain Evan P. Aurand, President Eisenhower's naval aide, and Commander William R. Anderson, commanding officer of the first nuclear submarine, Nautilus, before it was decided to attempt a submerged voyage under the North Pole. Captain Aurand is credited with recommending that a successful submerged circumnavigation, timed to conclude just prior to the upcoming May 1960 Four Power Paris Summit between U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, would provide a much needed boost to American prestige, and consequently this voyage, code-named Operation Sandblast, reflected the highest priority within the Eisenhower administration.Beach. Around the World Submerged, p. 281.Duncan, Rickover: The Struggle for Excellence, p. 167. Captain Aurand outlined this proposed submerged around the world voyage, Project Magellan, to Admiral Arleigh Burke, the Chief of Naval Operations, in a memorandum dated January 6, 1960.Finch. Beneath the Waves, pp. 110, 230n29. Admiral Burke's classified response dated January 18, 1960 acknowledged the technical feasibility of Project Magellan while further noting that the "Magellan route" could be transited in "56 days at and 75 days at ," with the latter option costing an additional US$3.34 million in nuclear fuel consumed.Finch. Beneath the Waves, pp. 110, 230n31. Aurand forwarded his Project Magellan proposal and Burke's assessment to Press Secretary James C. Hagerty in a memorandum dated January 26, 1960. Project Magellan was subsequently approved by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and USS Triton was specifically recommended by Aurand to undertake Project Magellan.Finch. Beneath the Waves, pp. 110–111.
The U.S. Navy nuclear-powered radar picket submarine Triton (pictured) was the largest, most powerful, and most expensive submarine ever built at the time of her commissioning, costing $109,000,000 excluding the cost of her nuclear fuel and reactors.Polmar and Moore. Cold War Submarines, p. 67. A unique submarine, she also had the distinction of being the only non-Soviet submarine to be powered by two nuclear reactors. Triton high speed was derived from her twin-reactor nuclear propulsion plant, with a designed speed, surfaced and submerged, of . On September 27, 1959, Triton achieved "well in excess of" during her initial sea trials.Largess and Horwitz. "USS Triton: The Ultimate Submersible," p. 178, 180 As originally designed, Triton total reactor output was rated at , but she achieved during her sea trials (pictured), and her first commanding officer believed Triton plant could have reached "had that been necessary."
Triton first commanding officer was Captain Edward L. Beach, Jr. (pictured), a highly decorated submarine officer who had participated in the Battle of Midway and 12 combat patrols during World War II, earning 10 decorations for gallantry, including the Navy Cross. After the war, Beach served as the naval aide to the President of the United States from 1953 to 1957, and he also was the best-selling author of the non-fiction book Submarine! and a novel Run Silent, Run Deep, which was made into a 1958 movie of the same name."Edward L Beach." Current Biography (1960), pp. 21–22. In his last interview prior to his death in 2002, Captain Beach recalled Triton and the background to her historical mission:
As I was reporting to the Triton, I remember saying, "This ship is an unusual one. We've got to do something special with it. What could it be?" We talked about it a little bit, and nobody had any ideas. Finally, I got an idea. We'll do a stunt. We'll go around the world from North Pole to South Pole. That was my brainstorm. If you take a look at a map of the world, you'll see that's not a very easy way to go. So we didn't do that. But I do remember thinking of it. And I made a speech to the crew, advising them of my thinking—that we were going to put this ship on the map. Well, that died out. Suddenly ... a phone call came, asking me if I could be in Washington tomorrow.
Following her commissioning on November 10, 1959, Triton was assigned to Submarine Squadron 10 (Subron 10), the U.S. Navy's first all-nuclear force, based at the U.S. Submarine Base in New London, Connecticut, under the command of Commodore Thomas H. Henry.Beach. Around the World Submerged, pp. 56–57. Triton subsequently completed torpedo trials at Naval Station Newport and conducted other special tests at the Norfolk Navy Base before returning to Electric Boat on December 7, 1959, to install special communications equipment, including a prototype of the BRA-3 towed communications buoy system housed in a large fairing located on the after end of the main deck.Beach. Around the World Submerged, p. 16.Friedman. U.S. Submarines since 1945, pp. 97–98.Largess and Horwitz. "USS Triton: The Ultimate Submersible," p. 185. Work on Triton at Electric Boat was delayed as priority was given to completing the Navy's first two fleet ballistic missile (FBM) submarines, and .
On January 20, 1960, Triton got underway to conduct an accelerated series of at-sea testing. Triton returned on February 1 as preparations continued for her forthcoming shakedown cruise, scheduled for departure on February 16, 1960, which involved operating with the command ship , flagship of the U.S. Second Fleet, in northern European waters.Beach. Around the World Submerged, p. 40. On February 1, Captain Beach received a message from Rear Admiral Lawrence R. Daspit, Commander Submarines Atlantic Fleet (COMSUBLANT), instructing Beach to attend a top secret meeting at The Pentagon on February 4.First Submerged Circumnavigation 1960, p. B-5.Beach. Around the World Submerged, pp. 40–42.
Mission objectives On February 4, 1960, Captain Edward L. Beach and Commodore Thomas H. Henry of Subron 10 arrived at the Pentagon in civilian attire to attend a top-secret, high-level meeting led by Vice Admiral Wallace M. Beakley, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Fleet Operations and Readiness. Also attending were Rear Admiral Lawson P. Ramage, Director of the Undersea Warfare Division, OPNAV; Captain Henry G. Munson, Director of the U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office, and staff representatives from the submarine type commands for the Atlantic and Pacific fleets. It was announced Triton upcoming shakedown cruise was to be a submerged world circumnavigation, code-named Operation Sandblast, which would generally follow the track of the first circumnavigation in 1519–1522 started by Ferdinand Magellan and completed by Juan Sebastián Elcano. Triton would depart as scheduled on February 16, and the submarine would arrive back home no later than May 10, 1960. The mission objectives for Operation Sandblast were summarized below:
For purposes of geophysical and oceanographic research and to determine habitability, endurance and psychological stress – all extremely important to the Polaris program – it had been decided that a rapid round-the-world trip, touching the areas of interest, should be conducted. Maximum stability of the observing platform and unbroken continuity around the world were important. Additionally, for reasons of the national interest it had been decided that the voyage should be made entirely submerged undetected by our own or other forces and completed as soon as possible. TRITON, because of her size, speed and extra dependability of her two-reactor plant, had been chosen for the mission.
According to Captain Beach, the Navy came up with the code name of Sandblast because it was judged that taking his ship around the world submerged would "take a lot of sand" on the crew's part to be successful. Also, Sand served as Beach's personal code name during the mission. As the captain noted: "Most beaches are full of sand, I was informed."Beach. Around the World Submerged, p. 44.Finch. Beneath the Waves, p. 112
Mission preparations
Beach and Henry arrived back in New London at 5:45 a.m. on February 5. Later that morning, after breakfast, Beach briefed his officers, who Beach had insisted needed to know, about their new shakedown orders and the mission objectives for Operation Sandblast.First Submerged Circumnavigation 1960, pp. B-5 to B-6, B-20.Beach. Around the World Submerged, pp. ix–x, Chapter 3, pp. 50–51. The officers and crew of Triton had just 12 days to complete preparations for their much more ambitious, but top secret, shakedown cruise. With the exception of Chief Quartermaster (QMC) William J. Marshall, the enlisted personnel did not initially know the true nature of their upcoming mission.Beach. Around the World Submerged, p. 50. A cover story was devised that, following the shakedown cruise, Triton would proceed to the Caribbean Sea to undergo additional testing required by BuShips. The crew and civilian personnel were also instructed to file their federal income taxes early and take care of all other personal finances that might arise through mid-May.First Submerged Circumnavigation 1960, pp. B-5 to B-6.Beach. Around the World Submerged, pp. 47–48, 56.