Polaris

Submarines, Missiles, the US Navy and the Royal Navy

Author:	John Boyes
Published:	2025
Format:	Hardback, 400 pages
Size:	234 × 156 × 40 mm

£29⁹⁹

Tax included

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The nuclear alliance beneath the waves

A detailed account of how nuclear submarine technology transformed naval warfare and cemented the 'special relationship' between Britain and America during the Cold War.

The atom bombs dropped on Japan at the end of the Second World War opened the door to the nuclear age. Seeing the potential for developing nuclear energy for the US Navy, Captain Hyman Rickover initiated a research programme that culminated in the launch of USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear-powered submarine. Meanwhile, ballistic missile technology was developing fast but was still reliant on complex liquid fuels.

The US Navy partnered with the army to develop a ballistic missile for both services but withdrew when solid fuels became a practical proposition. Under the leadership of Rear Admiral William Raborn, the US Navy set up its own project: the Polaris weapon system. In 1960, the first missile-armed nuclear-powered submarine left on patrol, with forty more to follow in subsequent years.

Two years later, when Britain's Blue Streak and Skybolt plans were cancelled, Harold Macmillan and John F. Kennedy agreed for Polaris to be supplied to the Royal Navy. At a time of intensive re-examination of the NATO alliance, the 'special relationship' between the UK and USA, and Britain's role as a nuclear power, this is the first comprehensive history of Polaris.

It brings together technical aspects, the key characters, and the full stories of the American and British programmes.

About the Author

John Boyes was born in Edinburgh in 1947. Educated at Rugby School, he qualified as a chartered accountant in 1972 and thereafter pursued a career in the motor industry until his retirement in 2005. He has had a lifelong interest in the history of missiles and published his first book, Project Emily: Thor IRBM and the RAF, in 2008. He is the treasurer of the Royal Air Force Historical Society and financial controller of the Bomber Command Association, responsible for the financial management of its memorial in London. He has given a number of lectures on Thor and regularly contributed to the British Nuclear History meetings at Charterhouse. He is married and lives in West Wickham, Kent.