Regulus: The First Nuclear Missile Submarines (2002)

Regulus: The First Nuclear Missile Submarine is a documentary about the Navy's struggle, in the era immediately following WWII, to develop and deploy a submarine-launched nuclear missile. In 1946, tests began using Nazi V-1 "buzz bombs" launched from the decks of American diesel submarines. Seven years later, the submarine USS Tunny successfully launched the Regulus nuclear cruise missile, and a whole new era in the history of the Navy, the submarine and the Cold War began! REGULUS features recently declassified footage, as well as interviews with the submariners, rocket scientists, and test pilots involved in the development and deployment of the weapon. This includes never-before-seen images of tests of modified V-1s at Point Mugu Naval Air Station, and the flight test program for Regulus at Edwards Air Force Base in 1950. The documentary also describes the deployment era of the Regulus submarines (1958-1964). These were the first boats to perform deterrent patrols in the history of the Navy, and they did it during some of the most crucial moments of the Cold War including the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Most of the information discussed in this portion of the film has never been made public before. Today the mighty Trident SSBNs form a deterrent shield for the United States. The Regulus submarines were the forerunners of these weapons, and proved the concept that stabilized the Cold War.