On March 25, 2009, as part of the Civil, Environmental and Ocean Engineering Departmental Seminar Series, Dr. Stewart B. Nelson gave the talk "Sir Hubert Wilkins - Ellsworth Trans Arctic Submarine Expedition of 1931".
The following is an abstract of his talk:
Many considered it foolhardy but Australia-born explorer Sir Hubert Wilkins was determined to be the first to use a submarine to cross the Arctic Ocean by way of the North Pole. At the Pole, he planned to drill up and rendezvous with the airship Graf Zeppelin. A decommissioned U.S. Navy WW I submarine was leased in 1930 and extensively modified for under-ice operation. Christened the Nautilus, the submarine reached the icepack but sabotage forced a return to Bergen, Norway and there the world’s first Arctic submarine was scuttled in a fjord in late 1931.
In September 2005, Dr. Stewart B. Nelson led an Explorers Club Flag Expedition that re-discovered the mostly forgotten Nautilus. The Wilkins-Ellsworth Trans Arctic Submarine Expedition of 1931 is certainly worthy of being remembered. Among the civilian crew of his submarine Nautilus was diver Frank Crilley, a holder of the Congressional Medal of Honor, and scientist Harald Sverdrup who would later become director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California.
Dr. Nelson’s talk is especially timely as 2008 was the 50th anniversary of the nuclear submarine Nautilus making the first submerged transit of the Arctic Ocean by way of the North Pole – the very thing that Sir Hubert attempted to do in his submarine Nautilus back in 1931. 2008 was also the 50th anniversary of Sir Hubert’s death. Additionally, 2008 marked the death of the last surviving crew member of Sir Hubert’s submarine Nautilus.
Stewart B. Nelson has been involved in a wide variety of ocean-related activities. He earned a masters degree from The University of Rhode Island and a doctorate from the University of Southern California. The former president of the American Oceanic Organization, he has numerous awards and honors including Congressional Fellow and Marine Technology Society Fellow. He is listed in American Men and Women in Science and Who's Who in Frontier Science and Technology.
I had the pleasure of spending the day with Dr. Nelson prior to his
lecture. Dr. Nelson was born in the Bronx, and had never crossed the
Hudson to visit Hoboken or Stevens before. He was very interested in
the history of Stevens, and we took a tour of the Davidson Laboratory.
He found our towing tank (Tank 3) very impressive.
Following his presentation, I bought his book entitled, "Sabotage in
the Arctic: Fate of the Submarine Nautilus," and he graciously signed
my copy. Prior to his talk, the only Nautilus I had ever heard of was the 1958 nuclear submarine Nautilus, which ventured to the arctic. I was amazed to find there was a prior submarine Nautilus who attempted the feat in 1931. I am looking forward to learning more about the mission of the 1931 Nautilus, as well as Dr. Nelson's 2005 underwater expedition to find the sunken submarine, in his book.
The moto "Mobilis in Mobili" can be seen on the cover of Dr. Nelson's book, as a blue seal with the capital letter N for Nautilus. "Mobilis in Mobili" is the motto of Captain Nemo in “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”
by Jules Verne. It actually means “Moving in a Moving thing."
