Cover of an operating manual for a US Navy aircraft carrier nuclear reactor found on a Jersey beach

Well, this is certainly interesting!

So a local resident was out on the beach (only about a 20-minute drive from me), and found what is quite possibly one of the coolest ever finds washed-up on the shore; only part of a US Navy aircraft carrier nuclear reactor operators manual!

Perhaps worthy of note is that the guy who found it claims that he discovered it 'around 18 months ago', but has only recently posted it online, sparking local debate.



Link to full-size image

Ok ok, so it's only the cover, but as someone who is happy to find even just bits of rusty WW2 relics in muddy fields and damp bunkers, this would be the absolute gem!

Here's what local media is reporting;

...Speaking on Facebook, [the finder of the object said]: ‘Found on the rocks at L’Etacq. Front cover of an A4W/A1G Reactor Plant Manual. Wikipedia indicates these reactors power US Aircraft carriers.

‘The content, which was not present, is restricted by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.

...One of those who commented, Nicholas Edward Thorne, said: ‘This information was subject to NOFORN (no foreigner nationals) and ITAR (International Traffic of Arms Regulations).

‘These caveats are still both in use today by the USA Government for classified material/information.

...Two A4W/A1G reactors power each of the US Navy’s ten Nimitz class carriers – the biggest warships ever built.

- Local News Source

The A4W reactor design has a life span of 23 years on the Nimitz Class carriers. Only two reactors per ship are used (the USS John F. Kennedy utilizes the A3W reactor design where a 4-reactor plant is used), with each reactor providing 104 MWth of power or 140,000 shaft HP. - Nuclear Naval Propulsion Document (PDF)

Nimitz-Class Aircraft Carrier;

The Nimitz class is a class of ten nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in service with the United States Navy. [...] With an overall length of 1,092 ft (333 m) and full-load displacement of over 100,000 long tons, the Nimitz-class ships were the largest warships built and in-service until USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) entered the fleet in 2017.

Instead of the gas turbines or diesel-electric systems used for propulsion on many modern warships, the carriers use two A4W pressurized water recactors which drive four propeller shafts and can produce a maximum speed of over 30 knots (56 km/h) and maximum power of around 260,000 shp (190 MW).

As a result of the use of nuclear power, the ships are capable of operating for over 20 years without refueling and are predicted to have a service life of over 50 years. They are categorized as nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and are numbered with consecutive hull numbers between CVN-68 and CVN-77.

- Source - Wiki

Location of find;



I'd have loved to have found that, it would have ended up framed and on the wall!

Having said that, though, I do wonder what the potential imlications are of having found it, although considering it's only the cover and it's very worn out anyway, I guess it should be OK, for the finder at least.

The poor individual responsible for its loss might not fare so well if they're identified, lol

1. Insert Control Rods - Go Slow

2. Partially Remove Control Rods - Go fast

3. Completely Remove Control Rods - (How do you think I wound up in the ocean???)

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
1. Insert Control Rods - Go Slow

2. Partially Remove Control Rods - Go fast

3. Completely Remove Control Rods - (How do you think I wound up in the ocean???)

What a dirty joke.

originally posted by: CriticalStinker

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
1. Insert Control Rods - Go Slow

2. Partially Remove Control Rods - Go fast

3. Completely Remove Control Rods - (How do you think I wound up in the ocean???)

What a dirty joke.

(underline added by me)

Yeah, I figured it would get a "reaction"

a reply to: MerkabaTribeEntity

Fascinating find, I wonder if this was just a part of the manual or if the whole thing somehow ended up overboard, it could not have gotten there by accident though since this type of document would most likely have been kept in a secure locker until needed for reference by the ship's engineer's.

So is this evidence of a long past episode of espionage or even attempted treason that may have occurred during the cold war?.

And that send's my mind off on a tangent to that time during the second world war were a homeless man's body was used as a disinformation tool, dressed in a royal navy officers uniform complete with fake ID and fake document's with fake classified information designed to send the NAZI's on a wild goose chase and it actually worked.

So could this have been part of a deliberate drop of fake classified document's by the US in order to mislead the soviets at some time, but one they never recovered as I would imagine that using one of those trawlers (spy ship's disguised as trawlers which gave them an excellent excuse to loiter and we all had them - Soviets, NATO and probably also even some of the other party's) they used to shadow the US ship's with would have been inordinately interesting in any waste the American's dumped over board back then and if they had come across this document it may have been seen with both suspicion and with great interest by the Soviet's.

Interesting, one find that may tell a thousand story's.

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk

originally posted by: CriticalStinker

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
1. Insert Control Rods - Go Slow

2. Partially Remove Control Rods - Go fast

3. Completely Remove Control Rods - (How do you think I wound up in the ocean???)

What a dirty joke.

(underline added by me)

Yeah, I figured it would get a "reaction"

Flyingclaydisk- Master of dad jokes, lol.

You're on fire, or glowing.... whichever you prefer.

originally posted by: CriticalStinker

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk

originally posted by: CriticalStinker

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
1. Insert Control Rods - Go Slow

2. Partially Remove Control Rods - Go fast

3. Completely Remove Control Rods - (How do you think I wound up in the ocean???)

What a dirty joke.

(underline added by me)

Yeah, I figured it would get a "reaction"

Flyingclaydisk- Master of dad jokes, lol.

You're on fire, or glowing.... whichever you prefer.

Geez, you don't have to be so "critical"!

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Haha, it was a statement of endearment.

I like dad jokes, so much so that I often sling some out.

I'm not even dad, merely culturally appropriating.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

I was only joking.

I understood what you meant.

A neutron walks into a bar and orders a martini. When the bartender hands him the drink, the neutron asks, "How much do I owe you?"

The bartender replies, "For you ... no charge."

You think he found it when he was fission bybthe shore?
Okay I'm sorry I'll see myself out

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
1. Insert Control Rods - Go Slow

2. Partially Remove Control Rods - Go fast

3. Completely Remove Control Rods - (How do you think I wound up in the ocean???)

I don't think that was what they meant when the said 'scram'.

I chortled at some of the comments 😛

a reply to: LABTECH767

I love what you've raised there, I remember reading about the homeless guy planted with false intel during WW2 and that whole other angle hadn't even occurred to me.

Your comments only make this whole thing more interesting and mysterious in my mind, there's so many 'what ifs',

There has been a development since yesterday,

When I first made this thread, the only news outlet (that I could find) that was carrying the story was the Jersey Evening Post, my local news outlet.

I've just had another look, and it seems the story has gained a little traction on the interwebs.

Unfortunately, though, for the guy who found it, this was a headline in todays local news;

US Navy ask for their washed-up manual cover back

A MAN who found part of a confidential nuclear reactor operating manual for a US Navy aircraft carrier on a St Ouen beach has been asked to return it by the American military.

...[..] a senior officer within the US Navy has confirmed that the object is the front cover of an operating manual from one of its ships and is contacting Mr Le Breton, a former Customs officer, to try to retrieve it. It is not clear what has happened to the rest of the document.

Speaking yesterday, Mr Le Breton, said he had initially not fully appreciated what he had found. ‘I did not consider the nature of it very deeply – I just thought it was a historical item and not of current relevance. I did not think it would raise any eyebrows, let alone any interest,’ he said.

...In a statement, Lieutenant Commander Monika Goodrich, of the US Navy, said that they were in the process of recovering the object.

(Here's a link to a clearer image)

Here's a few other headlines, although the articles all pretty much say the same thing;

Dog walker finds US Navy nuclear manual while walking on beach (MSN)

Man stunned to find nuclear operating manual from US Navy washed up on beach (TheLondonEconomic)

Dog walker finds US Navy nuclear manual while walkig on beach (Yahoo)

And my personal favourite;

Nuclear war SHOCK after man finds confidential document washed up on Jersey beach (Express, shock-horror!)

I have to say I feel pretty bad for the guy, he had it lying around for 18 months without ever knowing its importance, or simply how much of a cool thing it is, and now he knows, he most likely has to give it back.

Bummer.

I found it quite "enLIGHTening"
It gave me a warm "GLOW" inside
but it does have a POSITIVE molecule of truth

I hope you can CONTROL the REACTION you get

Scrounger

in all seriousness I suspect the truth is mundane but more embarrassing to the USN.

My theory is that these books are updated from time to time (as most tech and operating manuals are).

They have a specific procedure for destruction when new ones come out.

The process is supposed to render it unreadable , unrecognizable , and unrecoverable. With even the remains being destroyed.

It is also known that all ships (be USN, foreign military, and civilian) can and do dump things in the ocean. Many allowable if again certain procedures are followed and for limited items.
If military sometimes not followed or reported.

Given (with info at this time) its just a cover someone royally screwed up in the destruction process.

they didnt do their job correctly in destroying the manual before dumping it overboard with the garbage and the cover was left intact.
Or possibly someone wanted to save it as a souvenir .
But either got cold feet and had to get rid of it or someone caught them and told them to get rid of it . To which they didnt destroy it correctly thinking it would never be found.

Again using only given information the cover has no direct info on the reactors and all it says is standard military title what it is , security classification and boilerplate warnings.

any information on the cover is already known by our enemies and/or can be found somewhere on the internet.

In short the USN is trying to save face and cover its stern.

If it were not for that (and it is not decade old) they probably would not care if the guy had it or not

IMO let him have it.

scrounger

a reply to: scrounger

Excellent points! Cheers!

IMO let him have it.

I'd seriously considered contacting the guy and making an offer on it, lol 😜