Atlantic Reserve Fleet, New London opened in 1946 at the

Naval Submarine Base New London 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 Lon ...

Groton, Connecticut Groton is a town in New London County, Connecticut located on the Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United States Navy. The Naval Submarine Base New London is ...

on the

Thames River The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

. The New London Reserve Fleet was 3 miles north of the city

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...

. Naval Submarine Base New London opened in 1872 as a Navy yard, gained its first submarines on 13 Oct 1915, and earned the designation of Submarine Base in about 1916. The freshwater port became a good site to store both

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

s and

ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...

s after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as part of the

United States Navy reserve fleets The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and s ...

. Three

submarine tender A submarine tender is a type of depot ship that supplies and supports submarines. Development Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally do not have the ability to carry large amounts of food, fuel, torpedoes, and ...

ships were given the task of mothballing the submarines. The three ships: USS Apollo, USS Anthedon,

USS Proteus (AS-19) The third USS ''Proteus'' (AS-19) was a in the United States Navy. Construction and commissioning ''Proteus'' was laid down by the Moore Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Oakland, California, 15 September 1941; launched 12 November 1942; s ...

cleaned the ship and sealed the subs with preservatives. It took a few years to process the over 50 submarines in the New London

Reserve fleet A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; a ...

. Some submarines there were reactivated for the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. By 1965 the fleet of World War II submarine were obsolete and the fleet had been scrapped. The USS Apollo worked at the Reserve fleet till 1963. The USS Proteus worked at the fleet until January 1959, then transferred to the

Charleston Naval Shipyard Charleston Naval Shipyard (formerly known as the Charleston Navy Yard) was a U.S. Navy ship building and repair facility located along the west bank of the Cooper River, in North Charleston, South Carolina and part of Naval Base Charleston. H ...

and was converted to a Polaris Fleet Ballistic Missile submarine tender. USS Anthedon served the fleet until 1969 when she was sold to Turkey and became the Turkish Navy TCG Donatan (A-583).

Example

USS Pompon USS ''Pompon'' (SS/SSR-267), a ''Gato''-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the pompon, an American fish of the '' Anisot'' family. Construction and commissioning ''Pompon'' was laid down by the Manitowoc Shipbuil ...

a ''Gato''-class submarine, was stored at the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, New London from May 1946 to 1953. In 1953 she was removed from Atlantic Reserve Fleet, New London and recommissioned as SSR-267 a

radar picket A radar picket is a radar-equipped station, ship, submarine, aircraft, or vehicle used to increase the radar detection range around a nation or military (including naval) force to protect it from surprise attack, typically air attack, or from cr ...

submarine.navsource.org: USS ''Pompon''
/ref> *

USS Tigrone (SS-419) USS ''Tigrone'' (SS/SSR/AGSS-419), a ''Tench''-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the tigrone, a tiger shark found in tropical waters. Her keel was laid down on 8 May 1944 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard. ...

was stored at the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, New London from 1946 to 1948. In 1948 she was removed from Atlantic Reserve Fleet, New London and recommissioned as SSR-419, a radar picket submarine. *

USS Jack (SS-259) USS ''Jack'' (SS-259), a submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the jack (any of various fishes—young pike, green pike or pickerel, or large California rockfish). Construction and commissioning ''Jack''′s ...

submarine, was stored at the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, New London from 1946 to 1957. In 1957, she was transferred to the

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. *

USS Archerfish (SS-311) USS ''Archerfish'' (SS/AGSS-311) was a ''Balao''-class submarine. She was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the archerfish. ''Archerfish'' is best known for sinking the Japanese aircraft carrier ''Shinano'' in Novembe ...

stored at Atlantic Reserve Fleet, New London from 1955 to 1958.

External links

Official website Naval Submarine Base New London

References

{{US Fleets

Atlantic Reserve Fleet, New London Atlantic Reserve Fleet, New London opened in 1946 at the Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut on the Thames River. The New London Reserve Fleet was 3 miles north of the city New London, Connecticut. Naval Submarine Base New Lo ...

Example

See also

External links

References