USS Nautilus (SSN-571) was the world's first operational nuclear-powered submarine and the first vessel to complete a submerged transit across the North Pole. She is the sixth ship to bear the name “Nautilus”. Her construction was made possible by the successful development of a nuclear propulsion plant by a group of scientists and engineers at the Naval Reactors Branch of the Atomic Energy Commission. In July 1951, Congress authorized construction of the world's first nuclear powered submarine. Nautilus's keel was laid in Groton, Connecticut by President Harry S. Truman on June 14, 1952. After nearly eighteen months of construction, she was christened and launched into the Thames River on January 21, 1954, sponsored by Mamie Eisenhower, the wife of Truman's successor Dwight D. Eisenhower. Eight months later, on September 30, 1954, Nautilus became the first commissioned nuclear-powered ship in the United States Navy. Over the next several years, she broke all submerged speed and distance records.

On July 23, 1958, Nautilus departed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii under top secret orders to conduct “Operation Sunshine”, the first crossing of the North Pole by a ship. With 116 men aboard, she accomplished the “impossible”, reaching the geographic North Pole. In May 1959, she entered Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine for her first complete overhaul, the first of any nuclear-powered ship, and the replacement of her second fuel core. Upon completion of her overhaul in August 1960, Nautilus departed for a period of refresher training, then deployed to the Mediterranean Sea to become the first nuclear-powered submarine assigned to the United States Sixth Fleet.

Over the next six years, Nautilus participated in several fleet exercises. In the spring of 1966, she entered record books again when she logged her 300,000th mile underway. For the following twelve years, she was involved in a variety of developmental testing programs while continuing to serve alongside many of the more modern nuclear-powered submarines she had preceded. In 1979, Nautilus set out from Groton, Connecticut on her final voyage. She was decommissioned on March 3, 1980 after a 25-year career.

On May 20, 1982, Nautilus was designated a National Historic Landmark by the US Secretary of the Interior, in recognition of her pioneering role in the practical use of nuclear power. She was named the official state ship of Connecticut in 1983. She now serves as a museum of submarine history and attracts some 250,000 visitors annually.

Bring any empty space to life with the USS Nautilus wooden ship model. From planning to packaging, each step is performed with utmost care; everything is done by hand. Master craftsmen become magicians as they turn simple pieces of mahogany into ship replicas. After the wood is sanded and puttied, talented artists duplicate every single detail with extraordinary accuracy. Hand-casted resin and handmade metal parts complete the ship. A final coat of clear lacquer provides lasting protection for the product. Each model ship comes on a display base with brass pedestals and a brass name plate, and undergoes various stages of quality control. A double-lined box with high density foam ensures the safe arrival of each item.