ADMIRAL HYMAN G. RICKOVER - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 06/29/1972 - HFSID 218191

HYMAN G. RICKOVER
Rickover signed this typed letter while at sea on USS Guitarro letterhead to Congressman Thomas E. Morgan after the sub's sea trials in 1972.
Typed letter signed "H.G. Rickover". 1 page, 8x10½, on letterhead of USS Guitarro c/o Fleet Post Office, San Francisco, California. Written "At Sea/North Pacific", June 26, 1972. Addressed to the Honorable Thomas E. Morgan, U. S. House of Representatives. This letter was written after the first sea trials of the USS Guitarro, the U. S. Navy's 58th nuclear attack submarine in a total submarine fleet (at that time) of 100. Rickover discusses the sub's mission and goes into detail about its namesake, SS363, which sank eight Japanese ships during World War II. The USS Guitarro, also designated SSN-665, was a Sturgeon-class nuclear attack submarine. Her keel was laid on Dec. 9, 1965 and, despite a construction accident that sunk the ship and cost an estimated $15.2 million in damage, the sub was commissioned on Sept. 9, 1972, two and a-half years late. One of her highlights was launching several Tomahawk cruise missiles during its pre-operational testing on a Southern California test range. She was decommissioned on May 29, 1992. Head of the United States Navy's electrical division in World War II, HYMAN G. RICKOVER (1900-1986, born in Makov, Russia) moved to the Atomic Energy Commission in 1947 and developed the first nuclear-powered submarine, the Nautilus, in 1954. He presided over the build-up of the U.S. nuclear-powered Navy. He also presided over the construction of the one-of a kind, super-secret NR-1 nuclear submarine. Despite cost overruns during its development, which earned the wrath of the General Accounting Office, the NR-1 fulfilled Rickover's fondest hopes. The story of the craft has now been told in Dark Waters: An Insider's Account of the NR-1, the Cold War's Undercover Nuclear Submarine by Don Davis and original crewmember Lee Vyborny (2002). Rickover was promoted to rear admiral in 1953, vice-admiral in 1959 and admiral in 1973. Democrat THOMAS E. MORGAN (1906-1995, born in Ellsworth, Pennsylvania) represented Pennsylvania in the U. S. House of Representatives from 1945 to 1977. From 1959-1975, Morgan was the Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Lightly toned and creased. Staple hole at top left corner. Folded twice and unfolded. Otherwise in fine condition.