Operation Sea Orbit

Operation Sea Orbit
Part of Cold War (1962–1979)
Operation Sea Orbit route.
Type	Naval surface warfare and naval air operations
Location	World-wide
Planned by	United States Navy
Objective	First circumnavigation of the world by nuclear-powered surface warships
Date	31 July 1964 to 3 October 1964
Executed by	Rear Admiral Bernard M. Strean, USN Task Force One: • USS Enterprise (CVAN-65) • USS Long Beach (CGN-9) • USS Bainbridge (DLGN-25) • Carrier Air Wing Six (CVW-6)
Outcome	Mission successfully accomplished.

Enterprise, Long Beach, and Bainbridge

Operation Sea Orbit was the 1964 around-the-world cruise of the United States Navy's Task Force One, consisting of USS Enterprise (CVAN-65), USS Long Beach (CGN-9), and USS Bainbridge (DLGN-25). This all-nuclear-powered unit steamed 30,565 miles unrefuelled around the world for sixty-five days.^[1][2]

The cruise began on July 31 and ended on October 3.^[1] The full itinerary comprised Rabat, Morocco; Dakar, Senegal; Freetown, Sierra Leone; Monrovia, Liberia; Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Nairobi, Kenya; Karachi, West Pakistan; Fremantle, Melbourne, and Sydney in Australia; Wellington, New Zealand; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Montevideo, Uruguay; and Santos, Rio De Janeiro and Recife in Brazil. Enterprise made only three port calls: Karachi, Sydney and Rio De Janeiro.

Operation Sea Orbit was the idea of Vice Admiral John S. McCain, Jr., who saw the exercise – which demonstrated how nuclear-powered ships could operate unfettered by shore logistical ties^[2] – as a statement of American technical achievement similar to that of the coal-burning Great White Fleet in 1907-1909.^[1] Enterprise was under the command of Captain Frederick H. Michaelis; the guided missile cruiser Long Beach under the command of Captain Frank H. Price, Jr.; and guided missile frigate Bainbridge under the command of Captain Hal C. Castle.^[3][4][5]

The mission was commanded by Rear Admiral Bernard M. Strean.^[1] The operation gained considerable attention overseas but less in the United States.^[1]

Veterans of Operation Sea Orbit gathered on July 30, 2004, for a 40th anniversary reunion.^[2] In 2011, Operation Sea Orbit was included in the Technology for the Nucleat Age: Nuclear Propulsion display for the Cold War exhibit at the U.S. Navy Museum in Washington, DC.^[6]

See also

• Operation Sandblast
• 1966 Soviet submarine global circumnavigation
• Great White Fleet

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Baldwin, Hanson W. (1964-10-03). "Nuclear Task Force to End World Cruise Today". The New York Times. http://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F50D1EF93A5F147A93C1A9178BD95F408685F9. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Thompson, Jason (2004-08-04). "Operation Sea Orbit Veterans Celebrate 40th Anniversary Aboard Big E". United States Navy. http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=14569. 
3. ^ "USS Enterprise (CVN-65): 1961-1965". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History & Heritage Command. http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/e4/enterprise-viiia.htm. Retrieved 2010-02-24. 
4. ^ "USS Long Beach CGN-9". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History & Heritage Command. http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/l8/long_beach-iii.htm. Retrieved 2010-02-24. 
5. ^ "USS Bainbridge CGN-25". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History & Heritage Command. http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/b1/bainbridge-iv.htm. Retrieved 2010-02-24. 
6. ^ "Technology for the Nucleat Age: Nuclear Propulsion". Cold War Gallery. U.S. Navy Museum. 2011. http://usnavymuseum.org/Ex1_NuclearPropulsion.asp. Retrieved 2011-10-12. 

References

• JO1 Jon Franklin, USN (January 1965). "Historic 'Show the Flag' Cruise". All Hands. BUPERS - U.S. Navy. http://www.navy.mil/media/allhands/acrobat/ah196501.pdf. Retrieved 2009-07-27. 

This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.