Position record of the USS Nautilus on August 3, 1958, when it became the first submarine to pass under the Arctic ice of the North Pole.
The stealth voyage of the world’s very first nuclear-powered submarine was a major geopolitical chess move during the height of the Cold War. As the vessel neared the absolute top of the world on August 3, its traditional magnetic compasses spun completely out of control due to the extreme northern latitude.
The crew had to rely heavily on a highly advanced, classified inertial navigation system to thread the submarine safely beneath thick, shifting polar ice while avoiding submerged ice ridges and the seafloor. When commander William R. Anderson officially announced they had crossed the pole at 11:15 p.m., the crew celebrated and entered the history books as pioneers of the deep Arctic
