Van Stoom tot Atoom, 1961. Text G.A.J. Bovens-drawings G.J. Frans Naerebout
An item reported that British nuclear scientists were developing kern reactors suitable for oil tankers as large as the Queen Mary (1) specially designed to round Cape of Good Hope and to have a speed of 25-30 knots. Yet it was unknown if nuclear propulsion would be profitable. The service costs of the American submarine USS Nautilus (2) were six times that of a standard non-nuclear merchant ship. A special commission of the British Shipbuilding Research Association and the Authority for Atomic Energy were studying the practical possibilities for merchant shipping.
Notes
1. Ordered on 3 April 1929m laid down by John Brown and Company, Clydebank, Scotland with yard number 534 on 1 December 1930, launched on 26 September 1934, maiden voyage begun on 27 May 1936 and decommissioned on 9 December 1967. Displacement 81.961 tons, gross register tonnage 81.237 tons and as dimensions 294,1 (between perpendiculars)-319,7 (over all) x 36,0 x 11,9 metres or 965-1.019,4 x 118 x 39 feet.
2. Nautilus (SSN-71), building awarded on 2 August 1951, laid down by General Dynamics on 14 June 1952, launched on 21 January 1954, completed on 22 April 1955, commissioned on 30 September 1954, decommissioned and stricken on 3 March 1980.
