Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion

This is the fifth in a series of research studies-historical works that were not published for various reasons. Yet, the material contained therein was deemed to be of enduring value to Air Force members and scholars. These were minimally edited and printed in a limited edition to reach a small audience that may find them useful. We invite readers to provide feedback to the Air Force History and Museums Program. Beginning in 1946, the Army Air Forces (AAF) first sponsored a study on the Nuclear Energy for Propulsion (NEPA) project. The effort progressed over the next several years after reviews by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). From this emerged the joint USAF-AEC Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion (ANP) program. Ten more years of studies were undertaken by governmental laboratories and industrial firms until the Kennedy administration cancelled the effort in 1961. There was, however, some useful follow-on work on high temperature materials and high performance reactors under AEC direction. Also, some of the developmental work continued under space nuclear programs. Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion is a comprehensive, unclassified, annotated bibliography of the U.S. government program to develop a nuclear-powered aircraft. The contract author, Dr. Bernard J. Snyder, is president of Energy & Management Consultants Corporation, based in Potomac, Maryland. He is uniquely qualified for this task by virtue of nearly forty years' experience in the nuclear energy field, including government agencies and the private sector. Dr. Snyder earned BME and MME degrees from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the University of Michigan. He completed the manuscript in May 1996.