Chasing Magellan…Submerged

Today in History, April 25: 1960 – The first circumnavigation of the Earth – Submerged. The nuclear submarine USS Triton, SSRN 586, commanded by Capt. Edward L. Beach, began and ended the trip at the St. Peter and Paul Rocks in the mid-Atlantic and completed the trek in 60 days, entirely submerged. Beach had taken part in the Battle of Midway and commanded several submarine patrols during WWII, an experience he used to become a best-selling author, including “Run Silent, Run Deep” in 1958 which was turned into a Clark Gable movie. Operation Sandblast generally followed the route that Ferdinand Magellan had taken between 1519 and 1522 in the first circumnavigation of the Earth.