GROTON CT
MAR 17 2000
06340
FIRST DAY OF ISSUE

PORTSMOUTH NH NAVAL BASE STA.
JUN 12 2000
03804
NAVAL SHIPYARD BICENTENNIAL

Naval Submarine Base New London
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Naval Submarine Base New London
Groton, Connecticut
Type: Military base
Site information
Owner: United States of America
Controlled by: United States Navy
Site history
In use: 1868 - present

Naval Submarine Base New London is the primary United States Navy East Coast submarine base, also known as the “Home of the Submarine Force”. It is located in Groton, Connecticut directly across the Thames River from its namesake city of New London.

History

In 1868, the State of Connecticut gave the Navy exactly 112 acres (0.45 km2) of land along the Thames River in Groton to build a Naval Station. Due to a lack of federal funding, it was not until 1872 that the two brick buildings and a T shaped pier were constructed and officially declared a Navy Yard. In 1898, Congress approved a coaling station to be built at the Yard for refueling small naval ships traveling through the waters of New England. The Navy Yard was first used for laying up inactive ships. The Congressional appropriations were small and the Navy had little need for the yard, which was closed from 1898 to 1900 and its personnel reassigned. By 1912, oil replaced coal in warships and again the Yard was scheduled for closure and the land relinquished by the Navy.

Submarine base established

The Navy Yard was spared permanent closure in 1912 by an impassioned plea from Congressman Edwin W. Higgins of Norwich, who was worried about the loss of Federal spending in the region. On 13 October 1915, four submarines arrived in Groton, along with the monitor Ozark serving as a submarine tender. Additional submarines and support craft arrived the following year, and the facility was named as the Navy’s first submarine base. The first commander of the Yard was retired Commodore Timothy A. Hunt, who was recalled to service. He was living in New Haven, and he used the Central Hotel on State Street, New London when in town to attend to Yard duties on an “as needed” basis. The submarine base is physically located in the Town of Groton, but New London became associated with it because the base had its main offices and housing in New London. Following World War I, the Navy established schools and training facilities at the base.

Wartime expansion

The Base property expanded during the latter part of World War I. Congress since approved over a million dollars for Base real estate and facilities expansion. By the end of the war, 81 buildings had been built to support 1,400 men and 20 submarines, although the land expansion was slowed through much of the 1920s. However, the Great Depression of the 1930s saw an expansion and enhancement of the physical plant of the Base. President Franklin D. Roosevelt created a series of Federal Government employment programs that contributed significantly to the Submarine Base.

Over 26 high quality warehouses, barracks, and workshops were built at the base under these Federal job-spending programs. The second largest expansion of the Base occurred during World War II, when it grew from 112 acres to 497 acres (2.01 km2). The Submarine Force leaped in size, and the Base accommodated thousands of men to serve the growing combat fleet. Immediately after World War II, the Submarine Force was significantly reduced and many submarines were sent into storage. Most of the World War II fleet was sold for scrap metal during the early 1960s.

From 1930 to 1994, the most recognizable structure on the base was the 100 foot tall Escape Training Tank. Generations of submariners learned to escape in up to 80 feet of water using buoyant ascent, and were trained in the use of the Momsen lung or Steinke hood. In 2007, the Escape Training Tank was replaced by the Submarine Escape Trainer, which has two types of escape trunks in up to 40 feet of water. The Steinke hood was replaced by the Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment in the 2000s.

Submarine school

The New London Base is homeport to 16 attack submarines and full Navy base situated in Groton, Connecticut. The Base is also neighbor to the major submarine construction yard of General Dynamics’ Electric Boat Division. All officer and enlisted submariners are stationed at Groton during their training, except for nuclear trained Electronics Technicians (ETs), Electrician’s Mates (EMs), and Machinist’s Mates (MMs). Enlisted sailors attending sub school will first go through Basic Enlisted Sub School (BESS), an eight week program that teaches the rigors of undersea life. BESS includes training in shoring, patching leaks and ruptured pipes, firefighting, and boat handling techniques. After BESS, Sailors will either go to a boat or to follow on schools.

The main base occupies more than 687 acres (2.78 km2) plus over 530 acres (2.1 km2) of family housing. It also supports more than 70 tenant commands, including Naval Submarine School (NAVSUBSCOL), Naval Submarine Support Facility (NSSF), three Submarine Squadron staffs, and the housing and support facilities for more than 21,000 civilian workers, active duty service members, and their families.

History of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

On June 12, 2000, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard celebrates its official Bicentennial. Although not formally established until 1800 as a U.S. Navy Yard on New Hampshire’s seacoast, Portsmouth has had a reputation for superior shipbuilding for more than 350 years. Captain John Paul Jones himself personally assisted in building the ships he would later command. Many historic ships were built and refurbished for the Navy at Portsmouth, including the USS Raleigh depicted on the New Hampshire State Seal, and the U.S.S. Constitution.

Naval ship construction in America had its beginning in 1690 on the shores of the Pisctaqua River, which serves as a natural boundary between Maine and New Hampshire. Though only a few Royal Navy ships were constructed here, colonial building ways were soon controlled by American sympathizers during the revolution, resulting in the construction of at least three U.S. warships. In 1799 chief naval constructor Humphries recommended to the Secretary of the Navy that Portsmouth Harbor be the site of a government owned and operated shipyard, the swift waters, upriver islands, a ready source of materials and skilled labor being all the reasons he would need to convince Congress to allocate $5,500 for the purchase of the Fernalds Island in Portsmouth Harbor on June 12, 1800.

Through all the major national conflicts, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS) was called upon to design and construct warships from the War of 1812 to the Vietnam War. “Sails to Atoms” is the shipyard’s motto, reflecting its building of the line Washington, launched in 1815, to the fast-attack nuclear submarine USS Sand Lance, launched in 1969. The Shipyard currently has a lead role in the overhaul of nuclear powered submarines. Through several centuries, the PNS has distinguished itself as a leader in naval design and construction.

The project consists of a one page abstract, a book entitled Portsmouth Kittery Naval Shipyard in Old Photographs , a chronology facts relative to the location of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and a copy of a Motion by the State of New Hampshire before the U.S. Supreme Court in March 1999 over the related border dispute with Maine.

Originally submitted by: Bob Smith, Senator.