Allan Rockwell McCann was in charge of the development of a submarine rescue chamber, which bears his name, "The McCann Submarine Rescue Chamber". Additionally he was assigned as Liaison Officer / Engineer when the submarine was converted for use in the under ice attempt to circumnavigate the Arctic Ice cap and voyage to the North Pole. Modifications to the submarine were extensive, and contained innovations of a telescoping conning tower, an ice drill, an incorporated diving bell and an Air Lock, designed by Simon Lake. The submarine was designated "Nautilus" and leased for one dollar to Lake and Danenhower, Inc., of Bridgeport, Connecticut,
Arctic exploration of his sea plane, during the rescue operations. The first people to have without doubt walked on the North Pole were the Soviet party of 1948 under the command of Alexander Kuznetsov, who landed their aircraft nearby and walked to the pole. On August 3, 1958, the American submarine reached the North Pole without surfacing. It then proceeded to travel under the entire Polar ice cap. On March 17, 1959 the surfaced on the North Pole and dispersed the ashes of explorer Sir Hubert Wilkins. These journeys were part of military explorations stimulated by the Cold War context. On April