Operation Sandblast

Operation Sandblast
Part of the Cold War (1953–1962)
Triton's navigational track and mission milestones
Type	Nuclear submarine operation
Location	World-wide
Planned by	United States Navy
Commanded by	Capt. Edward Beach, Jr.
Objective	First submerged circumnavigation
Date	24 February 1960 (1960-02-24) – 25 April 1960 (1960-04-25)
Executed by	USS Triton (SSRN-586)
Outcome	Successfully completed mission

Operation Sandblast was the code name for the first submerged circumnavigation of the world, executed by the United States Navy nuclear-powered radar picket submarine USS Triton (SSRN-586) in 1960 under the command of Captain Edward L. Beach Jr.

The circumnavigation took place between February 24 and April 25, 1960, covering 26,723 nautical miles (49,491 km; 30,752 mi) over 60 days and 21 hours. The route began and ended at the St. Peter and Paul Rocks in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean near the Equator. During the voyage, Triton crossed the equator four times while maintaining an average speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). Triton's overall navigational track during Operation Sandblast generally followed that of the Spanish expedition that achieved the first circumnavigation of the world, started under the command of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and completed by Spanish explorer Juan Sebastián Elcano from 1519 to 1522.

The initial impetus for Operation Sandblast was to increase American technological and scientific prestige before the May 1960 Paris Summit between President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. It also provided a high-profile public demonstration of the capability of U.S. Navy nuclear-powered submarines to carry out long-range submerged operations independent of external support and undetected by hostile forces, presaging the initial deployment of the Navy's Polaris ballistic missile submarines later in 1960. Finally, Operation Sandblast gathered extensive oceanographic, hydrographic, gravimetric, geophysical, and psychological data during Triton's circumnavigation.

Official celebrations were cancelled for Operation Sandblast following the diplomatic furor arising from the 1960 U-2 incident in which a U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union in early May. However, Triton did receive the Presidential Unit Citation with a special clasp in the form of a golden replica of the globe in recognition of the successful completion of its mission, and Captain Beach received the Legion of Merit for his role as Triton's commanding officer. In 1961, Beach received the Magellanic Premium from the American Philosophical Society, the United States' oldest and most prestigious scientific award in "recognition of his navigation of the U.S. submarine Triton around the globe."