The effort to achieve this goal involved the development of a nuclear propulsion system and the design of a streamlined submarine hull capable of optimum submerged performance.

Late in World War II, committees on both sides of the Iron Curtain studied postwar uses of atomic energy and recommended the development of nuclear propulsion for ships.

In 1949 a special committee began a series of hydrodynamic studies which led to a program within the US Bureau of Ships to determine what hull form would be best for submerged operation.

The hull of the Albacore utilized HY-80 high-strength steel[3] with a yield strength of 80,000 psi (550 MPa), although this was not initially used to increase the diving depth relative to other US submarines.

In this instance, AGSS stands for Auxiliary General Submersible Submarine which for the U.S. Navy meant the first hull of its kind for the fleet.

It was found during these early sea trials Albacore could operate at the same maximum speed as the older modernized Guppy-type submarines with half the shaft horsepower.

The ensuing tests emphasized sound reduction and included extensive evaluation of Aqua-Plas, a sound-damping elastic which had been applied to the ship's superstructure and tank interiors.

[23] The submarine ended the year with a fortnight's run to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and back to serve as a target ship for Canadian warships.

On 21 November 1960, the ship entered Portsmouth for a major overhaul and conversion in which she received: a new, experimental, X-shaped tail for increased control; 10 dive brakes around her hull, a new bow which included modified forward ballast tanks, new sonar systems, and a large auxiliary rudder in the after part of her sail.

In 1962, she received a newly developed DIMUS sonar system and, on 7 December 1962, work began on her fourth major conversion which included the installation of concentric contra-rotating propellers, a high-capacity silver-zinc battery and a larger main motor.

Standardization and machinery tests in the Gulf of Maine during September were followed by evaluation of towed sonar arrays off Port Everglades, Florida, in October and November, followed by acoustics trials in the Tongue of the Ocean, a deep channel in the Central Bahama Islands.

Following a month of trials in the Gulf of Maine, she headed south for evaluation of her new MONOB I and AUTEC systems and of Fly-Around-Body (FAB) Phase I equipment in the Tongue of the Ocean.

Following evaluation of this new gear in the Gulf of Maine, the Albacore returned to Portsmouth on 30 September and entered reduced operating status pending the results of further studies on the feasibility of using her thereafter for further research.

After frequent diesel engine failures had caused repeated delays in her operations, her deployment in support of Project SURPASS was canceled, and preparations for her deactivation were begun.

[28][29] A dockside retirement ceremony was held at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on 1 September 1972, attended by Rear Adm. J. Edward Snyder,[30][31] who delivered comments on behalf of Robert A. Frosch, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research and Development, referring to Albacore as "the submarine that gave its body to science.

The Albacore was towed back to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in April 1984, by an Army Reserve tugboat in a journey of 575 miles (925 km) that took 70 hours.

[35] During the move, the Albacore struck bottom three times,[36] followed by a catastrophic derailment of the temporary marine railway that had been constructed to bring her out of the water.

[35][37] Albacore's service as an active experimental submersible for more than two decades steadily increased the Navy's knowledge of both theoretical and applied hydrodynamics which it used in designing faster, quieter, more maneuverable and safer submarines.