Testing two reactors for high-speed submarine operations

Triton's machinery served the high-speed deployment and surface-response demands of the radar-picket mission. Each engine room also contained steam-driven pumps with their own small turbines, so the machinery extended beyond the two main propulsion turbines and shafts. The Atomic Energy Commission supported the dual-reactor project partly to test whether two reactors should become standard submarine practice. The installation's ultimate power is treated as uncertain, including whether it was ever pushed to its full strength. Its development is tentatively connected to the high-power reactor programme behind Bainbridge, Truxtun, and the California and Virginia nuclear-powered surface-ship classes.