VACAVILLE, Calif. (Tribune News Service) — Clad in a navy blue cap reading “USS Nautilus,” one of the original crewmen of the world’s first operational nuclear powered submarine stood at the podium at Rowland Freedom Center in Vacaville on Saturday morning as part of the museum’s Faces of Freedom speaker series.

At 92, Tom Brames is still sharp as a tack when it comes to memories of his time aboard the Nautilus. He began his speaking engagement by explaining that the USS Nautilus was the sixth ship in the U.S. Navy to bear the same name. All of the Nautilus vessels were named after a large, snail-like marine creature of the southwest Pacific, also known as the “chambered nautilus.”

Rowland Freedom Center General Manager Paul Mirich passed out paper packets to all attendees, containing an array of photos to follow along with as Brames spoke.

On the cover is the submarine’s patch, created by Walt Disney Studios.

Brames spoke about his training in Idaho and in Pennsylvania with the Westinghouse Electric Company. He had to learn about nuclear physics due to the “submarine thermal reactor” onboard the sub.

The sub was commissioned at the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Conn. on Sept. 30, 1954, with Commander Eugene P. Wilkinson as the sub’s first commander. On Jan.17, 1955 the sub launched on nuclear power.

According to Brames, President Truman signed his initials on the sub in chalk. His initials were welded and still remain there today.

Brame remembers that at least 30,000 people and hundreds of press were in the shipyard watching, First Lady Mamie Eisenhower breaking a bottle of champagne on the ship as good luck for the vessel.

Brames also recalls Hurricane Carol, one of the worst tropical cyclones on record to hit Connecticut and Rhode Island. Somehow, no damage occurred to the Nautilus. Hurricane Carol, hit on Aug. 25, 1954.

The amenities aboard were very advanced for a ship of its time. Brames remembers a TV set, jukebox, movie projector, ice cream machine and a Coca-Cola machine. Every crew member had their own bunk with music, air conditioning and the opportunity to sit up and read without someone above them.

The Kansas City Athletics baseball team once came aboard, but Brames remembers the crewmen’s families coming aboard as the best visitors.

The crew’s first cruise was to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Brames recalls the sub going down 200 feet and being fast, “like a bat out of hell.”

He says wherever the crew stopped, they were treated like royalty — free food and alcohol seemed to always come their way.

Following a cruise to New Orleans, the crew went to the opening of the Nautilus Hotel in Miami. During their two-day stay, they judged a beauty contest, crowning Bonnie Harrington as “ Miss Nuclear Power.”

The crew cruised to the Virgin Islands and New York City as well.

Parties were abundant aboard the USS Nautilus, according to Brames. He mentioned that the crew’s “commissioning party” was set to end at midnight, but did not end up concluding until noon the next day.

Sports were another big element of being on the sub. The crew had a softball team and called themselves, “The Atomic Bums.” They also had a basketball team in the colder months.

After playing, they would have a party that always included beer — part of what Brames jokes was “our physical fitness regimen.”

During his time onboard, Brames said the crew never encountered an issue with the sub’s nuclear reactor, which was equipped with a 12-cylinder diesel engine in case of an emergency.

The sub was equipped with six torpedo tubes and 14 torpedos. The massive vessel had a torpedo room, two decks, the crew’s nest, an attack center, a sonar room, the bow and stern, the control and operations center, the reactor compartment, the engine room and a snorkel.

There was a full-time doctor onboard to monitor the radiation levels of each crew member. Two members were transferred during Brames’ time on the sub due to too much radiation. He says he has never felt any effects of the radiation and does not believe it has impacted his health whatsoever.

Brames was a Radioman. He could radio underwater up to 200 feet deep. He says he still remembers Morse code, reciting the name of an attendee, “John” in Morse code to the audience.

The USS Nautilus was designated a National Historic Landmark by the United States Secretary of the Interior in May of 1982. The sub is now a museum of submarine history operated by the Naval History and Heritage Command, docked at the Naval Submarine Base New London in Connecticut.

Approximately 250,000 tourists visit the USS Nautilus annually.

The Rowland Freedom Center is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mirich says they plan to have another speaker for the Faces of Freedom series and have typically been hosting one every other month.

To learn more about the Rowland Freedom Center, visit rowlandfreedomcenter.org/.

(c)2023 The Reporter, Vacaville, Calif.

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