ADMIRAL HYMAN G. RICKOVER - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 09/25/1967 - HFSID 182589

HYMAN G. RICKOVER
Rickover signed this typed letter while at sea on USS Haddock letterhead to Congressman John E. Moss. after the ship's sea trials in 1967.
Typed letter signed "H.G. Rickover". 1 page, 8x10½, on letterhead of USS Haddock c/o Fleet Post Office, New York City. Written "At Sea/Gulf of Mexico", Sept. 25, 1967. Addressed to the Honorable John E. Moss, U. S. House of Representatives. Rickover wrote this letter after the first sea trials of the USS Haddock, the United States Navy's 31st nuclear attack submarine at the time and part of a fleet of 72 ballistic missile and attack subs. The bulk of this letter is dedicated to the sub's two namesakes, both submarines (SS32 and SS231) - especially to SS231, which was the first submarine in World War II to carry search radar for attacks in night or fog, then a revolutionary tactic. Lightly toned and creased. Staple holes at upper left corner. Folded twice and unfolded. Otherwise in fine condition. Accompanied by: Original mailing envelope from Rickover's personalized USS Haddock stationery. Postmarked Pascagoula, Mississippi, September 26, 1967. Addressed to the Honorable John E. Moss, U. S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. With one 5¢ American flag stamp affixed. Lightly toned and creased. Staple hole in upper left corner. Envelope was neatly opened. Otherwise in fine condition. The USS Haddock, also designated SSN-621, was a Thresher-class nuclear attack submarine. Her keel was laid on April 24, 1961. She was commissioned on Dec. 22, 1967 and decommissioned on April 7, 1993. JOHN E. MOSS (1915-1997, born in Hiawatha, Utah) was a Democratic U. S. Congressman from California's 3rd Congressional District from 1953 to 1978. 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.