What Happened To The Nautilus?
Summary
TLDRIn 1931, explorer Sir Hubert Wilkins embarked on a daring Arctic expedition in a modified submarine, the Nautilus, to reach the North Pole. Despite numerous setbacks, mechanical failures, and harsh conditions, Wilkins pushed forward, determined to succeed. His mission, funded by media magnate William Randolph Hearst, aimed to uncover Arctic mysteries and make headlines by meeting the airship Graf Zeppelin at the Pole. However, technical issues, a deteriorating crew, and the unforgiving Arctic environment led to the mission's ultimate failure, overshadowing Wilkins' legacy as an explorer.
Takeaways
- 🌐 In August 1931, Sir Hubert Wilkins embarked on an ambitious expedition to reach the North Pole using a modified submarine, the Nautilus.
- ❄️ The Arctic was largely unexplored and extremely challenging for explorers, with many losing their lives due to harsh conditions.
- 🚀 The first undisputed discovery of the North Pole was in 1926, and it was reached from the air, not from the surface.
- 🛠 The Nautilus was a World War One-era submarine retrofitted with innovative features to navigate under the ice, including ice drills and sledge runners.
- 💸 Wilkins secured funding for the expedition by partnering with newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, who turned the scientific pursuit into a media event.
- 📡 The Nautilus was equipped with the latest scientific instruments to gather data and uncover the Arctic's mysteries.
- 🛑 The submarine faced numerous mechanical issues and crew morale problems, including engine failures and sewage flooding.
- 🏔 Despite setbacks, the Nautilus reached 82 degrees north, a record for a vessel traveling under its own power in the Arctic.
- 🔧 The ice drills, a key feature for surfacing, were found to be ineffective, and the crew struggled to make progress.
- 🌀 Wilkins faced a dilemma: return home to financial ruin or continue the dangerous expedition, risking the crew's lives.
- 🏧 The expedition ended without reaching the North Pole, and Wilkins was left financially and socially ruined, with his legacy largely forgotten.
Q & A
What was the main goal of the expedition led by Sir Hubert Wilkins?
-The main goal of the expedition was to reach the North Pole and uncover the Arctic's mysteries using a submarine, which was a new kind of exploration machine.
Why did Sir Hubert Wilkins believe a submarine was the best way to reach the North Pole?
-Wilkins believed a submarine would be the ultimate way to reach the North Pole because it could navigate under the ice and access areas that were otherwise unreachable by traditional surface vessels or land methods.
What was unique about the submarine used in the expedition?
-The submarine, named Nautilus, was a heavily modified World War One-era attack sub. It was reinforced with heavy steel plates and concrete, equipped with sledge runners, a hydraulic impact absorber, and drills capable of boring through ice.
How did Sir Hubert Wilkins fund the expedition?
-Wilkins funded the expedition by using his own savings, raising money through lectures and writing a book, and securing significant backing from newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst in exchange for exclusive publishing rights.
What was the Graf Zeppelin's role in the expedition?
-The Graf Zeppelin was to fly overhead as Wilkins emerged from the ice at the North Pole, creating a media event of conquering the pole from above and below.
What were some of the challenges faced by the crew during the journey?
-The crew faced cramped conditions, frigid temperatures, seasickness, mechanical failures, and a lack of privacy and comfort aboard the submarine.
Why did the ice drills fail during the testing phase?
-The ice drills failed during testing because they would only go so far before jamming, indicating a design flaw or operational issue that could not be resolved in time for the expedition.
What happened to the Nautilus after the expedition?
-After the crew returned from the Arctic, the Nautilus was deemed too worn and damaged to be worth saving and was deliberately sunk off the coast of Norway.
What was the ultimate fate of Sir Hubert Wilkins after the expedition?
-Wilkins was left financially ruined and largely forgotten by history after the expedition. He passed away at the age of seventy, and his ashes were scattered at the North Pole by the crew of the U.S.S. Skate.
How does the script describe the later success of the USS Nautilus?
-The script mentions that the nuclear-powered USS Nautilus, sharing the same name, successfully traversed the Arctic underneath the ice in 1958, returning home to huge fanfare.
What is Nebula and how is it related to the script?
-Nebula is a streaming platform mentioned at the end of the script, where the story of the Nautilus expedition and other fascinating stories are featured. It is related to the script as it is the platform where more in-depth content about the topic can be found.
Outlines
🌐 Arctic Exploration by Submarine
In August 1931, Sir Hubert Wilkins embarked on an ambitious expedition to explore the Arctic using a modified World War One-era submarine named Nautilus. The goal was to reach the North Pole and uncover the mysteries beneath the Arctic ice. Wilkins faced challenges in funding and had to turn his scientific expedition into a media event to secure backing from newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. The Nautilus was retrofitted with special equipment to navigate and study the Arctic, including ice drills and a pressurized diving chamber.
🛠 Preparing for the Journey and Early Challenges
As the expedition was about to begin, Wilkins expressed optimism to reporters about the journey ahead, despite harboring private concerns about the submarine's untested and potentially dangerous features. The Nautilus suffered from mechanical issues, including malfunctioning ice drills, which led to delays and crew demoralization. Despite these setbacks, Wilkins was determined to proceed with the expedition, facing a grueling Atlantic crossing and the discomfort of cramped, unsanitary conditions on board.
❄️ The Struggle to Reach the Arctic
The Nautilus reached unprecedented latitudes under the ice, but the crew faced harsh conditions without heat or insulation. Wilkins was under immense pressure to continue towards the Pole despite the crew's desire to return home. A critical failure of the diving rudder led to suspicions of sabotage, and Hearst, while publicly urging Wilkins to return, privately pressured him to continue. Wilkins made a desperate attempt to force the submarine under the ice, but the ice drills failed to work, leading to the eventual decision to end the Arctic trip.
🚀 The Legacy and Future of Arctic Exploration
Wilkins's attempt to reach the North Pole by submarine, though unsuccessful, laid the groundwork for future explorations. Decades later, the USS Nautilus achieved a polar crossing, and Wilkins's contributions to polar understanding were significant despite his final expedition leaving him financially ruined. The narrative shifts to a future Soviet project involving orbital satellites capable of illuminating large areas of the planet, hinting at a continuation of the story on Nebula, a platform offering exclusive content on various topics including history, science, and news.
🌟 Nebula: A Platform for Creator-Owned Content
Nebula is introduced as a streaming platform owned by creators, offering exclusive content not available elsewhere. It features videos on iconic machines and unrealized concepts, with new categories and a news section. The platform is funded directly by creators and offers various subscription options, including lifetime memberships. A special promotion is mentioned for Mustard viewers, offering a 40% discount on an annual subscription.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Arctic
💡Submarine
💡Sir Hubert Wilkins
💡North Pole
💡Graf Zeppelin
💡Simon Lake
💡Exploration
💡Media Sensation
💡Iceberg
💡Sledge Runners
💡Sabotage
Highlights
In August 1931, a submarine embarks on a daring mission to explore the Arctic's mysteries.
Explorers face frigid temperatures and cramped conditions in their pursuit of the North Pole.
The history of Arctic exploration is marked by tragedy and the loss of many explorers.
The first undisputed discovery of the North Pole was made from the air in 1926.
Sir Hubert Wilkins plans to reach the North Pole using a submarine, a novel approach at the time.
The North Pole is uniquely challenging due to its location in the Arctic Ocean.
Wilkins collaborates with naval architect Simon Lake to modify the Nautilus submarine for the expedition.
The Nautilus is fitted with innovative equipment to navigate and study the Arctic.
Wilkins secures funding for the expedition by partnering with newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst.
The Graf Zeppelin airship is to meet the Nautilus at the North Pole for a media spectacle.
The Nautilus suffers from mechanical issues and crew morale problems before even reaching the Arctic.
Wilkins faces the dilemma of whether to continue the expedition despite the risks and setbacks.
The Nautilus reaches 82 degrees north, a record for a vessel under its own power.
Wilkins is pressured to continue the expedition despite the crew's desire to turn back.
The Nautilus's ice drills fail during a critical test, highlighting the technological challenges.
Wilkins ultimately decides to end the Arctic trip, acknowledging the impossibility of completing the mission.
The Nautilus is later scuttled off the coast of Norway, marking the end of Wilkins's ambitious expedition.
The legacy of Wilkins's expedition is overshadowed by the later success of the USS Nautilus in 1958.
The story of Wilkins's Arctic expedition is a testament to the spirit of exploration and the challenges of early polar conquest.
Transcripts
In August 1931, a submarine approaches the edge of the known world.
It’s about to enter a massive frozen unknown. A part of the world remains largely unexplored.
On board are a group of daring explorers determined to uncover the Arctic’s great mysteries.
Setting out to not only reach the top of the world,
but to discover what lies hidden beneath it. In a new kind of exploration machine.
Enduring cramped conditions and frigid temperatures, they’ll push ahead for thousands
of kilometers under the ice. But as days turn to weeks, the expedition will go horribly wrong.
For centuries, explorers tried repeatedly to reach the top of the world. At first, they used ships,
battling frigid temperatures and treacherous sea ice. Their vessels often became trapped,
stranding crews with little hope of rescue. Later, explorers tried with dog sleds or even
on foot, often ending tragically. Over the centuries hundreds of explorers perished.
So challenging was the Arctic, that the first undisputed discovery
of the North Pole wasn’t until 1926. And it was only from the air, in a modified
airship that never even touched the ground. So, when accomplished explorer Sir Hubert Wilkins
planned to set foot on the North Pole, he was convinced there was a better way to do it.
The North Pole doesn’t lie on a continental land mass like the South Pole. Instead,
it’s located in the middle of the Arctic Ocean amid waters almost always covered in ice.
Wilkins was convinced that a submarine would be the ultimate way to reach the
North Pole. And fitted with the latest scientific equipment, it could help
solve the Arctic's greatest mysteries.
Wilkins would set off in the summer.
First, sailing across the Atlantic, then all the way up to the Arctic Circle. From there, his
expedition would head West, spanning over three thousand kilometers. Over six weeks, he'd zigzag
underneath the ice, emerging from the deep through any openings, before finally ending in Alaska.
To fund the expedition, Wilkins put up his own savings and raised money from wherever
he could. He lectured day and night, and even wrote a book outlining his ambitions plans.
But it still wasn't enough. He’d need serious backing. And one sure way to get it… was to turn
his scientific pursuit into a media sensation. A voyage under the sea ice was the kind of thing
that would sell out newspapers. So Wilkins made a deal with newspaper
magnate William Randolph Hearst. A man with a flare for sensationalism.
Hearst would get exclusive publishing rights, and Wilkins would get his funding.
And to create even more buzz, Hearst orchestrated for Wilkins to meet up at
the pole with a second expedition. The massive airship Graf Zeppelin would fly overhead just
as Wilkins emerged from the ice. Captivating the public with headlines of the pole being
conquered from above and below. If he could pull off the stunt,
Hearst offered Wilkins a one hundred and fifty thousand dollar prize.
All that was left, was to find a submarine.
Wilkins planned to reach the North Pole in the Nautilus. A retired World War One-era attack
sub that had been heavily modified by renowned naval architect Simon Lake. And it would have to
do what no submarine had ever done before. The voyage would be fraught with danger,
including the risk of a collision with the sea ice. So Lake reinforced the Nautilus’s bow with
heavy steel plates and concrete, and added a hydraulic impact absorber to soften the blow.
But the ice above could also prove deadly. So Lake fitted the topside with sledge runners,
which would allow it to slide along the bottom of the ice, much like a toboggan.
A hydraulic retractable guide arm would also keep a safe distance from hazards above.
The Nautilus could be confined under the ice for days at a time. But it
would eventually need to surface to take on air and recharge its batteries. A lack
of openings in the ice could doom the crew. So Lake innovated a series of drills capable
of boring through the ice. Allowing the Nautilus’s crew to drill through
up to twenty feet to reach the surface. In place of the original torpedo tubes,
Lake added a pressurized diving chamber, where the crew could lower instruments
to the ocean floor, or conduct dives. In all, Simon Lake made dozens of modifications.
Originally built for World War One, the Nautilus would now have to battle mother nature.
On March 16, 1931, as the expedition prepared to set off, Wilkins put on a brave face for
reporters. “The men are just having things on board now for the final inspection before
leaving the dockyard. We expect in about six or eight months to have made the trip
two thousand miles under the ice. Starting from Spitsbergen somewhere about the first of July”.
But deep down, Wilkins was worried. He feared many of the sub’s novel
features were unnecessary. Even dangerous. He had reservations about the sledge runners,
the ice drills, and the shock absorber Which he worried would actually lodge itself into the ice,
trapping the Nautilus beneath the surface. Wilkins insisted on installing a photosensitive
electrical cell to measure the thickness of the ice above so he’d know where to
surface. But Simon Lake denied the request. The Nautilus was Lake’s submarine. He’s the one
who leased it from the U.S. Navy, and he had the final word on any modifications. Wilkins
merely sub-chartered it for the expedition. There was little he could do, but accept the
submarine as it was. But the wonder gadgets would cause headaches before the expedition
even began. Repeatedly forcing the sub back into port for repairs. It was one thing to invent
novel features. Trying to retrofit them onto a tired old sub, created all kinds of issues.
Confirming Wilkins’s worst fears, the ice drills didn't even work during testing,
and a separate engineering firm was called in to try to figure it all out.
The weeks turned into months, and Wilkins was beginning to feel the pressure.
If the Nautilus was to meet the Graf Zeppelin at the North pole, time was of the essence. Otherwise
Wilkins would lose out on Hearst’s prize money. By June, Wilkins had had enough. Mechanical
issues be damned, it was time to get going.
The journey across the Atlantic was grueling.
The tiny sub was easily tossed around by fierce North Atlantic storms.The crew were also beginning
to learn just how uncomfortable the Nautilus was. The submarine was cramped and claustrophobic to
begin with. Now loaded up for the expedition, there was even less space. For twenty men
there was just a single toilet out in the open between two roaring diesel engines.
The crew would have to spend their entire day standing. Because there wasn't anywhere to sit.
Only a handful of bunks shared amongst the men provided any relief.
Wilkins sent Hearst daily radio updates documenting harrowing journey.
“This morning an extra heavy wave swept the deck and carried away the screen before the bridge”
Nearly everyone aboard was seasick. And when the Nautilus’s bilge pump failed,
sewage, oil, and vomit began to swill around the crew's feet. But as the tiny sub battled
the fierce Atlantic, things only got worse. “The fourth cylinder of our starboard engine is
badly cracked.” Forced to shut down one of its two engines, the Nautilus could only limp forward.
On June 13th, a week into the journey, the Nautilus stopped sending radio updates.
And for several days, no one had any idea about the fate of the sub and its crew.
On June 15, the Battleship Wyoming found the Nautilus drifting aimlessly about
a thousand kilometers northeast of the Azores, both engines had failed and the
batteries were dead. Wilkins would now face the humiliation of having his sub towed the
rest of the way across the Atlantic. Worse still, four crew members quit,
and the Nautilus once again needed major repairs. It would take weeks for replacement
parts to arrive from the United States. It meant, there was no longer enough time
to catch up with the Graf Zeppelin. And In a stunning blow, Wilkins could
no longer claim Hearst’s prize money. The media also turned against him, running
headlines that openly mocked his expedition. Wilkins was under mounting pressure. His
submarine didn't work. His crew was demoralized and winter was fast approaching. At this point,
just about anyone else would have thrown in the towel. But this was Sir Hubert Wilkins.
Even months behind schedule, Wilkins pressed ahead. On July 28th,
the expedition finally left for the North Pole. The Nautilus was still riddled with problems,
but the crew had gotten used to making repairs on the go, and any major issues
were fixed during scheduled stops. By August 15th, the Nautilus had reached
the last inhabited land before the Arctic. And Wilkins was finally sending out upbeat
progress reports. And on the 19th, the Nautilus reached the first ice flows.
To celebrate, the men were given a break from the cramped conditions,
and began collecting scientific data. Back home, Hearst relayed fascinating new discoveries, like
a warmer layer of water deep below the surface, thought to be vital for predicting weather.
After traveling a week in the ice, the Nautilus reached 82 degrees north. Further than any
vessel had ever made it under its own power. It looked like Wilkins would actually do it,
he would travel a thousand kilometers under the ice.
But as the world read about Wilkins's achievements, onboard the Nautilus
things were not as they seemed. Wilkins had once again, merely put on a brave face.
In reality, the crew were exhausted and freezing. The Nautilus had no heat or insulation. Nothing
but bare metal separated them from the frigid arctic waters. The crew were constantly sickened
with food poisoning and dosed with lead from the soldering in the submarine’s pipes.
Attempting the Pole this late in the season would be extremely dangerous, and without exception,
everyone wanted to turn around and head home. Everyone, except Wilkins
On August 22nd he gave the order to dive beneath the ice. But the Nautilus refused.
The diving rudder, the mechanism that controls vertical motion
underwater, just wouldn't respond. Wilkins sent a diver to investigate
and he soon returned with a stunning discovery. The rudder had simply disappeared. Maybe it had
fallen off and somehow no one noticed? Or maybe as Wilkins suspected, the crew had sabotaged the
sub in an attempt to end the expedition. By this point, even Hearst was publicly
urging Wilkins to return home. But again, things weren't what they
seemed. In a private message, the Hearst corporation pressured Wilkins to continue
to the Pole …reminding him of their agreement. And that left Wilkins with an impossible decision.
Return home to certain failure and financial ruin, or press on and risk the lives of the crew.
On August 31st Wilkins ordered the ballast tanks flooded and trim set
two degrees down. He would force the Nautilus to submerge by ramming under the ice.
The sound of the sledge runners scraping against the ice reverberated right through
the superstructure, as if the Nautilus was being torn apart.
It’s as though Wilkins had lost his mind. He couldn't
possibly reach the pole in the crippled sub. But faced with an endless string of setbacks,
Wilkins seemed determined to prove a point. They pushed on for several kilometers before
Wilkins ordered a test of the ice drills. For hours the crew tried in vain to bore
through just a few feet of ice. Each time, Simon Lake's patented drill would only go
so far before jamming. It was hopeless. On September 6th, Wilkins finally sent
out the radio transmission that by now, everyone was hoping for.
“Our Arctic trip is over…”
Wilkins had taken the Nautilus where
no submarine had ever gone before. But it would be another three decades before anyone successfully
traversed the arctic underneath the ice. Sharing the same name the nuclear-powered
USS Nautilus could stay submerged for weeks at a time. It made its first Polar crossing in 1958,
returning home to huge fanfare. By that point Wilkins’s attempt had long been forgotten.
The original Nautilus now lies sunk on the ocean floor off the coast of Norway. After
the crew returned from the Arctic, the sub was deemed too worn and damaged to be worth
saving. And it was deliberately sunk. Prior to the nautilus expedition, Wilkins
was considered among the greatest explorers of the 20th century. Having made immense contributions to
our understanding of the North and South Poles. But his final expedition left him financially
ruined and largely forgotten by history. After passing away at the age of seventy,
Wilkins's final wishes were fulfilled, when the crew of the U.S.S. Skate scattered
his ashes at the North Pole.
In the dying days of the U.S.S.R.,
the Soviets begin working on a mysterious project straight out of science fiction.
They’re preparing to launch the first in a series of artificial suns.
Massive orbital satellites with the power to turn night into day. Illuminating large areas of the
planet to generate power, light up entire cities, and grow plants in the far north.
“They will transform perpetual night into daylight. There could eventually be a whole
network of those cosmic spotlights. You’re talking about something which is several
miles across. It’s the last vestige of the old Soviet dream of industrializing space.”
This is the little known story of one of the most bizarre and
fascinating space projects in history. And you can learn more about it in my
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