NS Savannah Collection

1959-1971, undated
Manuscript Collection #1022
Portions of this collection are digitized (1 item)
Print Finding Aid
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Creator(s)
United States. Coast Guard
Physical description
0.505 Cubic Feet, 1 box, photographic prints and printed materials
Preferred Citation
NS Savannah Collection (#1022), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
Repository
ECU Manuscript Collection
Access
No restrictions

Thirty items (ca. 1959-1971), consisting of photographic prints with captions, one note, and one newspaper clipping, concerning the launch and retirement of the NS SAVANNAH which was the first nuclear powered merchant vessel.

Biographical/historical information

The NS SAVANNAH was the world's first nuclear powered merchant vessel. Construction began in 1956 in Camden, New Jersey by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation. The vessel was part of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" initiative and was a joint project between the Maritime Administration of the Department of Commerce and the Atomic Energy Commission. The ship was christened by First Lady Mamie Eisenhower on July 21, 1959, and was launched on March 23, 1962. The NS SAVANNAH was in service from March 1962 until October 1971.

Scope and arrangement

Included in the collection are black and white photographs of the July 21, 1959 christening ceremony and related participants. These photographs feature the ship's starboard bow, port bow, and propeller, as well as honorable guests such as Secretary of Commerce Fredrick H. Mueller, Harry W. Pierce and Edward E. Teale of the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Senator Oren Harris of Arkansas, Senator Herbert C. Bonner of North Carolina, and First Lady Mamie Eisenhower. Also included is another black and white photograph of the ship that includes the dimensions of the ship and a cutaway view of the nuclear power plant. The two non-photograph items consist of one handwritten note and one newspaper clipping. The note is from the Great Lakes and Inland Waterways, and contains information pertaining to the Coast Guard's connection to the atomic merchant ship and who built the ship. The note also contains information about the cost, length, height, weight, occupancy and maximum speed of the vessel. The newspaper clipping is from The Evening Star (Washington, DC, 10/29/1971) and discusses the retirement and eventual fate of the ship. For more details, see container list. Note: The U.S. Coast Guard's original photo number is included on the list.

Administrative information
Custodial History

February 2, 2005, 24 items, 0.02 cubic feet; Collection (1959 - 1971) relating to the launching and retirement of NS SAVANNAH, the first nuclear merchant vessel commissioned after marine inspection by the U.S. Coast Guard, including photographic prints and captions, notes, and clippings (No. 265-59 [Set of 22] Photo series 072259-01 - 072259-22). See preliminary inventory attached. Donor: Robert M. Browning, Jr., U.S. Coast Guard

February 14, 2006, 1 item, 0.001 cubic feet; Photographic print (ca. 1959) of the NS SAVANNAH, the first nuclear merchant vessel commissioned after marine inspection by the U. S. Coast Guard, including a caption and cut-away view of her nuclear power plant. Black & white. See preliminary inventory attached. Donor: Robert M. Browning, Jr., U.S. Coast Guard

November 5, 2012, (unprocessed addition 2) 5 items, 0.005 cubic feet; Included are five photographs of the NS Savannah taken while the nuclear-powered merchant vessel was at the Coast Guard Reserve Training Center in Yorktown, VA, during February 1962. Four of the photographs are official Coast Guard photographs taken on February 2nd and the fifth photograph is a Polaroid shot taken from the USCG Cutter Cuyahoga. Donor: Robert M. Browning, Jr., U.S. Coast Guard

Source of acquisition

Gift of Robert M. Browning, Jr., U.S. Coast Guard

Processing information

Encoded by Lindsay Flood April 2008

Processed by Adam Nye April 2006

Copyright notice

Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.

Key terms
Personal Names
Bonner, Herbert Covington, 1891-1965
Eisenhower, Mamie Doud, 1896-1979
Harris, Oren, 1903-1997
Mueller, Frederick H. (Frederick Henry), 1893-1976
Pierce, Harry W.
Corporate Names
Savannah (Nuclear ship)
Topical
Nuclear ships--United States
Container list
Box 1 Folder a Item 1 Close up of starboard bow of NS SAVANNAH. Photo series: 072259-01 and caption. 1 item. 2 p.; undated
Box 1 Folder a Item 2 Propeller and rudder of NS SAVANNAH. Photo series: 072259-02 and caption. 1 item. 2 p.; 7/21/1959
Box 1 Folder a Item 3 Close up of port bow of NS SAVANNAH. Photo series: 072259-03 and caption. 1 item. 2 p.; 7/21/1959
Box 1 Folder a Item 4 Secretary of Commerce Frederick H. Mueller (facing camera). Photo series: 072259-04 and caption. 1 item. 2 p.; 7/21/1959
Box 1 Folder a Item 5 Mrs. Dwight D. Eisenhower being escorted by Mr. Louis Wolfson to ceremonial rail. Merchant Marine Academy honor guard render salute, as MMA band plays at left. Photo series: 072259-05 and caption. 1 item. 2 p.; 7/21/1959
Box 1 Folder a Item 6 Secretary of Commerce Frederick H. Mueller being interviewed by news representative as Mr. Harry W. Pierce, of New York Shipbuilding Corp. stands by. Photo series: 072259-06 and caption. 1 item. 2 p.; 7/21/1959
Box 1 Folder a Item 7 Overall view of ceremonial rail and audience. Photo series: 072259-07 and caption. 1 item. 2 p.; 7/21/1959
Box 1 Folder a Item 8 Overall view of crowd showing Mrs. Eisenhower (front row, seated second from left) Photo series: 072259-08 and caption. 1 item. 2 p.; 7/21/1959
Box 1 Folder a Item 9 Mr. Edward E. Teale, President of New York Shipbuilding Corp., at speaker's stand. Photo series: 072259-09 and caption. 1 item. 2 p.; 7/21/1959
Box 1 Folder a Item 10 Secretary of Commerce Frederick H. Mueller at speaker's stand. Photo series: 072259-10 and caption. 1 item. 2 p.; 7/21/1959
Box 1 Folder a Item 11 Master of Ceremonies Mr. Harry W. Pierce, Vice Chairman of the Board, New York Shipbuilding Corp., at speaker's stand. Photo series: 072259-11 and caption. 1 item. 2 p.; 7/21/1959
Box 1 Folder a Item 12 Honorable Herbert C. Bonner of North Carolina, Chairman, House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee at speaker's stand. Photo series: 072259-12 and caption. 1 item. 2 p.; 7/21/1959
Box 1 Folder a Item 13 Honorable Oren Harris of Arkansas, Chairman, House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee at speaker's stand. Photo series: 072259-13 and caption. 1 item. 2 p.; 7/21/1959
Box 1 Folder a Item 14 Presentation of sponsor. Mr. Louis E. Wolfson, Chairman of the Board, New York Shipbuilding Corp., at speaker's stand. Photo series: 072259-14 and caption. 1 item. 2 p.; 7/21/1959
Box 1 Folder a Item 15 Mrs. Dwight D. Eisenhower and Mr. Louis E. Wolfson (her escort) at speaker's stand. Photo series: 072259-15 and caption. 1 item. 2 p.; 7/21/1959
Box 1 Folder a Item 16 Mrs. Eisenhower and escort on christening platform. Photo series: 072259-16 and caption. 1 item. 2 p.; 7/21/1959
Box 1 Folder a Item 17 Mrs. Eisenhower and escort accompanied by Mr. & Mrs. Edward L. Teale on christening platform. Photo series: 072259-17 and caption. 1 item. 2 p.; 7/21/1959
Box 1 Folder a Item 18 Mrs. Eisenhower and escort flanked by Mr. & Mrs. Edward L. Teale on christening platform. Photo series: 072259-18 and caption. 1 item. 2 p.; 7/21/1959
Box 1 Folder a Item 19 Mrs. Eisenhower christening the NS SAVANNAH. Photo series: 072259-19 and caption. 1 item. 2 p.; 7/21/1959
Box 1 Folder a Item 20 Mrs. Eisenhower stands back as NS SAVANAH starts to slide down ways. Photo series: 072259-20 and caption. 1 item. 2 p.; 7/21/1959
Box 1 Folder a Item 21 NS SAVANNAH sliding down ways. Photo series: 072259-21 and caption. 1 item. 2 p.; 7/21/1959
Box 1 Folder a Item 22 NS SAVANNAH sliding down ways. Photo series: 072259-22 and caption. 1 item. 2 p.; 7/21/1959
Box 1 Folder a Item 23 Photographic print (ca. 1959) of NS SAVANNAH, the first nuclear merchant vessel commissioned after marine inspection by the U.S. Coast Guard, including a caption and cutaway view of her nuclear power plant. Black and white. 1 item. 1 p
Box 1 Folder a Item 24 Note on NS SAVANNAH from Great Lakes and Inland Waterways, Dec. 1957, p. 3. (n.d.) 1 item 1 p
Box 1 Folder a Item 25 Clipping: "Savannah to be Museum: First Nuclear Merchant Ship Retired," The Evening Star, [Washington, DC] (10/29/1971) 1 item. 1 p
Box 1 Folder b 4 official photographs (2/2/1962) of NS Savannah at the Coast Guard Reserve Training Center in Yorktown, Va. Polaroid shot of sailors' families aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Cuyahoga bidding farewell to the NS Savannah at Yorktown, Va