The Nuclear Ship Savannah

For the grand finale of our June/July 2023 batch of film digitizations, we’re extraordinarily excited to announce this 1964 film about everyone’s favorite nuclear-powered cargo ship: The N.S. Savannah! https://whatisnuclear.com/news/2023-0...

Catalog description: This nontechnical, documentary film, for junior-high-school through college-level audiences, covers the historical background, and the design, construction, sea trials, and initial port calls of the N.S. Savannah, the world's first nuclear-powered merchant ship. The film begins with a brief review of America's maritime growth, starting with May 22, 1819, and the story of the S.S. Savannah, the first ship to cross the ocean under steam power. The design of the N.S. Savannah and its atomic reactor and propulsion system are explained with animation and live action photography. After keel laying, various phases of the ship's construction are covered, and the assembling and testing of the reactor are explained. The ceremonies involving the launching of the ship are shown, followed by impressive scenes showing the loading of the reactor with its nuclear fuel under surgically clean conditions. The special training of the crew is reviewed. The film then shows the sea trials of the ship, during which time the reactor is slowly brought up to full power. After sea trials, the trip of the N.S. Savannah to her first port of call, Savannah, Georgia, is covered, followed by her voyage through the Panama Canal and visits to Hawaii and West Coast ports. As the ship leaves for foreign ports, the film ends with a statement by President Lyndon B. Johnson on the significance of the Nuclear Ship Savannah as a pioneer in the use of nuclear power for world trade to benefit all mankind.

NAID 88199 https://catalog.archives.gov/id/88199

Digitized by whatisnuclear.com
Courtesy of the National Archives
Thanks for Ross Koningstein's help making this happen.
Thanks to Sohail Khan for help with getting the soundtrack.

Contents:

00:00 Intro Sea Trials
01:52 Intro credits
02:21 The S.S. Savannah steam ship
03:57 Conventional Merchant Marine
04:59 Nuclear-powered ships
06:04 Proposal by Eisenhower
07:01 Start of Construction
08:02 Schematic power cycle
09:05 Shielding
10:04 Component manufacturing
10:37 Training operators
12:06 Full-size mockup
13:07 Retractable stabilizers and launching
14:15 Reactor test assembly
17:05 Final assembly and Fueling
18:19 Head installation and criticality
19:14 Sea trials
20:55 First port of call
25:32 Panama Canal
26:08 Seattle World's Fair
26:49 Service in Galveston
27:26 Message from Lyndon B. Johnson