Comparison To Nautilus
Seawolf was technologically more advanced than her predecessor, USS Nautilus (SSN-571). Carrying a superheated steam powerplant, rather than a traditional saturated steam plant, reduced the size of the machinery spaces nearly 40%. Her liquid-sodium cooled reactor was more efficient than a water-cooled one, and quieter, but posed several safety hazards for the ship and crew. The phrase "Blue Haze" was often associated with the boat, even though there was only one sodium coolant leak ever noted, and that was while she was fitting out in the yards.
Although fully armed, Seawolf, like the first nuclear submarine, Nautilus, was primarily an experimental vessel. Seawolf was originally thought of publicly as a 'hunter-killer' sub, but in fact was intended to be a one off test platform for the LMSR reactor and future sonar platforms. Her future uses, however, would include covert operations in foreign waters, the likes of which were never envisioned by Admiral Rickover.
Read more about this topic: USS Seawolf (SSN-575)
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