In order for these submarines to run their diesel engines and charge their batteries they would have to surface or snorkel.
The use of nuclear power allowed these submarines to become true submersibles and unlike their conventional counterparts, they became limited only by crew endurance and supplies.
The Long Beach was deemed too expensive and was decommissioned in 1995 instead of receiving its third nuclear refueling and proposed upgrade.
[citation needed] By 2003 the U.S. Navy had accumulated over 5,400 "reactor years" of accident-free experience, and operated more than 80 nuclear-powered ships.
[9] Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, (1900–1986), of the United States Navy, known as "father of the nuclear navy"[10][11][12] was an electrical engineer by training, and was the primary architect who implemented this daring concept, and believed that it was the natural next phase for the way military vessels could be propelled and powered.
The challenge was to reduce the size of a nuclear reactor to fit on board a ship or submarine, as well as to encase it sufficiently so that radiation hazards would not be a safety concern.
[citation needed] Soon after World War II, Rickover was assigned to the Bureau of Ships in September 1947 and received training in nuclear power at Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
This dual role allowed him to lead the efforts to develop the world's first nuclear-powered submarine, USS Nautilus, which was launched in 1954.
[citation needed] At the present time, many important vessels in the United States Navy are powered by nuclear reactors.