Hyman Rickover
Hyman George Rickover (born January 27, 1900 in Maków nad Orzycem , Poland , Russian Empire , now Poland , † July 8, 1986 in Arlington , Virginia ) was an admiral in the US Navy . He is known as the "father of the nuclear navy" and, as director of Naval Reactors, managed their operations for decades.
Life
childhood
Rickover's parents were Polish Jews . In 1905 the family emigrated from the Russian Empire to the USA .
Commission
In 1918 Rickover enrolled at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis / Maryland . At the time, there were very few Jews in American cadet schools, and Rickover was often faced with anti-Semitism . When he graduated from the Naval Academy in 1922, his photo was printed on a punched, removable sheet of paper in his class's yearbook.
Upon graduation, Rickover became Ensign ( Lieutenant at Sea ). His first deployment was on the destroyer USS La Vallette and on the battleship USS Nevada . He then studied mechanical engineering at Columbia University and graduated in 1929 with a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering . From 1929 to 1933 he qualified for submarine service and served on two submarines, the USS S-9 and USS S-48 .
Translation of Das Unterseeboot
In 1933, Rickover was transferred to the Philadelphia Department of War and Naval Materials. That year he translated the book Das Unterseeboot by the German Admiral Hermann Bauer . Rickover's translation became a textbook for the US Navy submarine service.
commander
In June 1937 he took over command of the mine sweeper USS Finch . A few months later he was employed as an engineer and spent the rest of his career in the field.
In the Second World War, Rickover headed the department for electrical Affairs at the ship Office ( Bureau of Ships ) . He received the Legion of Merit . His work brought him important experience with large development programs. He learned how to choose the best talent and how the Navy can strengthen its ties with private industry.
Start of the nuclear power plant program
After the war ended, Rickover was convinced that nuclear energy was essential for the further development of submarines. Until now, the radius and diving ability of the submarines were limited because the batteries of the engines were sooner or later exhausted. If the submarines could be powered by atomic energy, the usefulness of a submarine would possibly be unlimited.
In 1947 Rickover worked again at the ship office. He studied at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory , the nuclear science and explored in close cooperation with the Office the possibility of ships with nuclear propulsion systems equip. In February 1949, he joined the Division of Reactor Development of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). He was responsible for efforts to build ships for the US Navy with nuclear reactors. Rickover was also director of the reactors department at the ship's office. This dual role gave him the opportunity to lead the development and construction of the world's first nuclear submarine . The result was the 1955 USS Nautilus. Three years later, Rickover was promoted to Vice Admiral ; for the next three decades he strictly controlled every aspect of the nuclear program. With the NR-1 he planned and promoted a nuclear-powered research submarine in the early 1960s, which was used in secret missions during the Cold War . He carefully monitored each ship, the technology used and the selection of officers. Rickover insisted on personally interviewing every candidate for submarine service, including future President Jimmy Carter . Many believe Rickover's strict standards and tenacity are responsible for the impeccable accident statistics of the US Navy ships equipped with nuclear power. However, Rickover relied on pure science instead of tactics. Possibly this method affected the actual readiness of the submarines.
US President Carter and Three Mile Island
In 1979, the worst nuclear accident in US history happened to date : A partial core meltdown occurred in Reactor 2 of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania . Then President Carter appointed a commission to study the accident. Rickover urged Carter to modify the report. Rickover later admitted to regret his actions at the time. The near meltdown of Three Mile Island strengthened the anti-nuclear power movement in the USA and was the reason to question the construction of planned nuclear power plants.
retirement
Rickover still holds the record for the longest period of service in the US military . He served actively from 1918 to 1982. Most officers typically retired after twenty or thirty years. After the Electric Boat shipyard had great difficulties manufacturing the Los Angeles-class submarines , the Navy had to make high back payments because it was also the insurer of the business. This part of the contract made by Secretary of the Navy John F. Lehman attacked Rickover sharply. After it became known that Rickover had accepted gifts from Electric Boat's mother, General Electric , and that an incident involving the USS La Jolla (SSN-701) submarine , which Rickover had direct control of, had been covered up, was forced to cover up Lehman, on January 19, 1982, with the backing of President Reagan, announced the retirement of the 82-year-old “father of the nuclear navy”.
Institute for Scientific Research
Rickover founded the Rickover Science Institute (today: Research Science Institute) in 1984. This institute runs a program for approximately 70 students each summer that takes place on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus . The high school students attend the RSI for six weeks. You do research, attend lectures and write a treatise. This institute is considered to be one of the most prestigious and demanding of its kind.
The rickover
The submarine USS Hyman G. Rickover (Los Angeles class) was named after the admiral. It entered service in 1984, two years before Rickover's death. It was a great honor as very few ships were named after living people.
Rickover died on July 8, 1986 as a result of a stroke in Arlington, Virginia. He was buried with military honors in Arlington National Cemetery. His wife from his first marriage, Ruth Masters Rickover (1903–1972), was buried with him, while the name of his second wife, Eleonore A. Bednowicz Rickover, who was still alive, was engraved on his tombstone. Robert Rickover, his only son from his first marriage, is a teacher.
Others
At the Naval Academy in Annapolis, the cadets rub their noses on a bust of Rickover right before their exams, which is said to bring them luck.
Quotes
- “At any given time in a 24-hour day, only a third of humanity is asleep. Meanwhile the others are awake and causing trouble ”.
- “You don't take on good ideas automatically. They must be pushed into practice with valiant patience ”.
Web links
- Biography (English)
- Research Science Institute (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Report of the President's Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island (1979), PDF ( Memento of the original from April 9, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (2 MB, 178 pages)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Rickover, Hyman |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Rickover, Hyman George |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American military, four-star admiral in the US Navy |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 27, 1900 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Maków Mazowiecki |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 8, 1986 |
| Place of death | Arlington |