ADMIRAL HYMAN G. RICKOVER - TYPED LETTER SIGNED - HFSID 217953

HYMAN G. RICKOVER
Rickover signed this typed letter while at sea on USS William H. Bates letterhead to Congressman Thomas E. Morgan after the sub's sea trials in 1973.
Typed letter signed "H.G. Rickover". 1 page, 8x10½, on letterhead of USS William H. Bates c/o Fleet Post Office, New York City. Written "At Sea/Gulf of Mexico", Feb. 5, 1973. Addressed to the Honorable Thomas E. Morgan, U. S. House of Representatives. This letter was written after the first sea trials of the USS William H. Bates, the U. S. Navy's 60th nuclear attack submarine in a total submarine fleet (at that time) of 102. Rickover discusses the sub's mission and goes into detail about its namesake: Republican Congressman from Massachusetts William H. Bates, who was in the Navy during World War II and served on the House Armed Services Comittee and Joint Committee on Atomic Energy in Congress. According to Rickover, Bates "was instrumental in strengthening our Navy". The USS William H. Bates, also designated SSN-680, was a Sturgeon-class nuclear attack submarine. She was to be named USS Redfish, but her name was changed following Bates' death in 1969. Her keel was laid on Aug. 4, 1969, and the sub was commissioned on May 5, 1973. She was decommissioned on Feb. 11, 2000. 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 to 1975, Morgan was the Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Lightly toned and creased. Folded twice and unfolded. Otherwise in fine condition.