What were the problems with submarines?

According to the commander of the nuclear submarine Skate, older submarine engines required oxygen to operate (diesels); therefore, they were only good for surface running. Underwater, submarines ran on batteries which didn't last for a long time. Admiral Hyman Rickover was the driving force in the 1950s behind putting nuclear reactors in submarines. This made the feats of the Nautilus and the Skate in August 1958 possible. Read Surface At the Pole by Commander Calvert.