Editing Hyman G. Rickover (section)

== General Dynamics scandal ==
In the early 1980s, structural welding flaws in submarines under construction were covered up by falsified inspection records, and the resulting scandal led to significant delays and expenses in the delivery of several submarines being built at the [[General Dynamics]] [[Electric Boat]] Division shipyard in [[Groton, Connecticut]]. The yard tried to pass on the vast cost overruns to the Navy, while Rickover demanded that the yard make good on its "shoddy" workmanship. The Navy settled with General Dynamics in 1981, paying out $634 million of $843 million in {{sclass|Los Angeles|submarine|1}} cost overrun and reconstruction claims.<ref>{{Cite magazine | issn = 0040-781X | last = Van Voorst | first = Bruce |author2=Thomas Evans | title = Overrun Silent, Overrun Deep | magazine = Time | access-date = 2009-03-19 | date = 1984-12-24 | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,951382,00.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050113073258/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,951382,00.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = January 13, 2005 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine | issn = 0040-781X | last = Alexander | first = Charles P. |author2=Christopher Redman |author3=John E. Yang | title = General Dynamics Under Fire | magazine = Time | access-date = 2009-03-20 | date = 1985-04-08 | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,965505-4,00.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080423234106/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,965505-4,00.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = April 23, 2008 }}</ref> Secretary of the Navy [[John Lehman]] was partly motivated to seek the agreement in order to continue to focus on achieving [[Ronald Reagan|President Reagan]]'s goal of a [[600-ship Navy]]. But Rickover was extremely bitter over the General Dynamics yard being paid hundreds of millions of dollars,<ref>Oliver, Dave. ''Against the Tide: Rickover's Leadership Principles and the Rise of the Nuclear Navy''; Naval Institute Press; 2014; {{ISBN|978-1612517971}}; Chapter 15 notes; p. 156, note 2.</ref> and he lambasted both the settlement and Secretary Lehman. This was not Rickover's first clash with the defense industry; he was historically harsh in exacting high standards from defense contractors.<ref>{{cite magazine | title = Rickover's Attack on Defense Contractors  | access-date = 2009-03-20 | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,829357,00.html?iid=chix-sphere | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080423233553/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,829357,00.html?iid=chix-sphere | url-status = dead | archive-date = April 23, 2008 | magazine=Time | date=1962-11-09}}</ref> It was later publicly announced by a former General Dynamics employee on ''[[60 Minutes]]'' with [[Mike Wallace]] that Rickover was right that General Dynamics was lying to the Navy, but by then Rickover's public image was already damaged.<ref>{{cite web |title=A chronology of events in the controversy over General Dynamic |url=https://apnews.com/article/a6282fa95dfd841b90f3c2b863253088 |website=apnews.com |publisher=The Associated Press |access-date=20 May 2023}}</ref>

A Navy Ad Hoc Gratuities Board determined that Rickover had received gifts from General Dynamics over a 16-year period valued at $67,628, including jewelry, furniture, exotic knives, and gifts that Rickover had in turn presented to politicians.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Shaw |first1=Gaylord |title=Navy freezes Contracts at General Dynamics : Firm Fined, Accused of Ignoring Public Trust; Rickover Censured for Accepting $67,000 in Gifts |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-05-22-mn-16733-story.html |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=May 22, 1985 |access-date=20 May 2023}}</ref> Charges were investigated that gifts were provided by [[General Electric]] and the [[Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock]], both major nuclear ship contractors for the Navy. Secretary Lehman admonished him in a non-punitive letter and stated that Rickover's "fall from grace with these little trinkets should be viewed in the context of his enormous contributions to the Navy." Rickover released a statement through his lawyer saying his "conscience is clear" with respect to the gifts. "No gratuity or favor ever affected any decision I made."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/govdocs/crs/permalink/meta-crs-9051:1|title=Congressional research service|date=July 12, 1985}} {{small|(1.65 MB CRS-13)}} Alleged fraud, waste, and abuse, 07/12/85. O'rourke, Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division.</ref> Senator [[William Proxmire]] of Wisconsin, a longtime supporter of Rickover, later publicly associated a debilitating stroke suffered by the admiral to his having been censured and "dragged through the mud by the very institution to which he rendered his invaluable service."<ref>{{Cite news | last = Keller | first = Bill | title = Rickover Stable in Naval Hospital | work = The New York Times | access-date = 2009-03-19 | url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9D04E3D61738F930A25754C0A963948260 | date=1985-07-13}}</ref>