# 1950s U.S. NAVY SCREEN HIGHLIGHTS OPERATION BIG DEAL, USS INDEPENDENCE 20904

The first newsreel, titled A NEW GENERATION, shows some of the stunning accomplishments made by the Silent Service in the late 1950's. First, the launching of the Barbel-class USS Blueback is shown. (00:00:30:00) USS Blueback was built by Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation of Pascagoula, Mississippi, and was the last non-nuclear submarine to join the fleet. The boats that would supplant Blueback and its diesel brethren are then shown. First, USS Skipjack (SSN-585), (00:01:00:00) which boasted many design changes that were products of new scientific insight into submarine design: a new tear-drop hull designed for optimum performance underwater, with a mid-hull sail and diving planes designed to keep the ship stable and allow similar function to an airplane. Second, we have the USS George Washington (SSBN-598), the nation's first Polaris nuclear missile submarine. (00:02:00:00) With this boat's launch the nation entered a new era, in which submarine-based ICBMs would form a significant part of the USA's nuclear defense. The film ends with a mention of the stop-gap system that was in place prior to the arrival of Polaris, as we see the submarine USS Barbero (SSGN-317) perform an interesting stunt. Barbero was one of the five Regulus missile firing submarines. (00:02:30:00) In 1959, as this newsreel clearly shows, Barbero fired a drone version of the Regulus off the Atlantic Ocean. Twenty-two minutes later the missile, which was equipped with landing gear, arrived at Mayport NAS…

- Kind: Film
- By: PeriscopeFilm
- Genres: Industrial and advertising
- Archive: [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/20904-us-navy-screen-highlights)
- Licence or status: none stated by the archive
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/ia/20904-us-navy-screen-highlights?play=1)