Partially. Also, the first really "working" nuclear reactor was built for a submarine. However, every modern nuclear reactor uses essentially the same design. This has resulted in some...idiosyncrasies in this design.
The real link has a lot more to due with how cheap uranium was to mine / refine and how much refined uranium was needed for weapons programs. At this point we could stop all uranium mining for the next 50+ years without any problems and by changing designs that could stretch out to something like 1000 years. Fuel is simply not the problem.
Yup. One of the good things about the light water reactors that everybody uses is that you can make them relatively small. That's a big deal when you're deciding what sort of reactor to put on a submarine. And then everybody who knew how to make a nuclear power plant only knew how to make a light water reactor, and then lock-in happened.
The other obvious advantage to having a light water reactor on a submarine is that water is something you can easily find a lot of out in the ocean.
Well, you have to at least de-salinate the water and filter it before you use it in the reactor. If, in an emergency, you need to pump in salt water, you're going to ruin the equipment via corrosion.
The movie 'K-19 The Widowmaker' got into this a bit.
If, in an emergency, you need to pump in salt water,
you're going to ruin the equipment via corrosion.
Well, yeah, but is that any worse than if you have a different reactor design? Considering that, in a meltdown scenario, corroded equipment is not your biggest problem, it seems you would want to at least have the option. But most of what I know about subs comes from reading "The Hunt for Red October".
That's true only if you needed to replace water in the primary loop, but that's not likely. Seawater is only in the 3rd outer condenser loop in a PWR design.
