dpb wrote:
chaniarts wrote:
...

subs don't have 'large' plants because they skip a lot of the safety
and containment bits. if they get a meltdown, it just goes out the
bottom of the hull.

Not really. The prime reason is they're highly enriched, much higher
power density (and much smaller total power output/reactor) than
commercial power reactors.

they have a multifeet thick concrete containment vessel, like land power
plants, capable of surviving a jetliner hit? that's a good part of the bulk
of land plants, from what i can see from the outside.

They have design bases that are much more stringent in terms of load
swing, maneuvering rates, ability to restart immediately after
shutdown, etc., owing to the demands placed upon them by combat
readiness. Hence, they're much more expensive per MW also.