The United States Navy Submarine Force Library and Museum is located 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 ...

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 ...

. It is the only submarine museum managed exclusively by the

Naval History & Heritage Command The Naval History and Heritage Command, formerly the Naval Historical Center, is an Echelon II command responsible for the preservation, analysis, and dissemination of U.S. naval history and heritage located at the historic Washington Navy Yard. ...

division of the Navy, and this makes it a repository for many special submarine items of national significance, including . Visitors may take a 30-minute self-guided audio tour of the ''Nautilus''.

History

The

Electric Boat Company Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...

(EB) established the museum in 1955 as the ''Submarine Library''. EB donated it to the Navy in 1964, and the Navy moved it to its current location next to

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 ...

. It received its official title in 1969. The "Connecticut Nautilus Committee" was formed in 1984 to raise funds for an improved museum, hoping to convince the Navy to donate the ''Nautilus''. A new facility was built with funding from the state, individuals, and businesses, opening in 1986. In late 1997, the Committee started planning and raising funds for a addition to the museum building. Fund raising started the next year, and the construction project ran from 1998 to early 2000. The new addition was officially opened to the public on April 28, 2000 "in conjunction with the Centennial Celebration of the United States Submarine Force", according to the museum.Web page title
"The Submarine Force Library & Museum Association"
at the Submarine Force Library & Museum website, retrieved December 3, 2009

Collection and permanent exhibits

The museum has 33,000 artifactsWeb page title
"The Submarine Force Library & Museum / Home of the USS Nautilus"
at the Submarine Force Library & Museum website, retrieved December 3, 2009 including the , the first nuclear-powered submarine in the world. ''Nautilus'' was launched in 1955 and decommissioned in 1980. It traveled under the polar ice cap and reached the North Pole during the Cold War. Also at the museum is a replica of

David Bushnell David Bushnell (August 30, 1740 – 1824 or 1826), of Westbrook, Connecticut, was an American inventor, a patriot, one of the first American combat engineers, a teacher, and a medical doctor. Bushnell invented the first submarine to be used in ...

's ''Turtle'', built in 1775 and the first submarine used in combat.C.P.R. (Cathy P. Ross), "Submarine Force Museum", a short (four-paragraph) article, p 30, ''Connecticut'' magazine, December 2009 Other exhibits include midget submarines from World War II, working periscopes, salvaged parts from the nuclear USS ''NR-1'', a submarine control room, models of submarines, and the Explorer, an early research submarine. The sail section from the , the first nuclear powered ballistic missile sub, is on outdoor display near the main entrance. The museum also has a library with around 20,000 documents and 30,000 photos related to the history of submarine development. The library also includes 6,000 books related to the field of submarine history, including a 1551 text on submarine retrieval, and an 1870 copy of

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

's ''

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' (french: Vingt mille lieues sous les mers) is a classic science fiction adventure novel by French writer Jules Verne. The novel was originally serialized from March 1869 through June 1870 in Pierre-J ...

'' with a model of the fictional ''Nautilus''. Documents in the collection include notes and calculations by

John Philip Holland John Philip Holland ( ga, Seán Pilib Ó hUallacháin/Ó Maolchalann) (24 February 184112 August 1914) was an Irish engineer who developed the first submarine to be formally commissioned by the US Navy, and the first Royal Navy submarine, ''Hol ...

for the Navy's first commissioned submarine, "one-of-a-kind artifacts from World War I and World War II", and the submarine library collections of

Electric Boat Corporation General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) is a subsidiary of General Dynamics Corporation. It has been the primary builder of submarines for the United States Navy for more than 100 years. The company's main facilities are a shipyard in Groton, C ...

and the Navy. ''Connecticut'' magazine called the museum "an absolute gem worth exploring" with the USS ''Nautilus'' as "the star attraction". Anna Mundow in Fodor's guide to Connecticut and Rhode Island asserts that "students of modern military history will be impressed" by the museum.Mundow, Anna, p. 91, ''Connecticut & Rhode Island'', 2003, Fodors, File:Bushnell Turtle model US Navy Submarine Museum.jpg, Replica of Bushnell's ''Turtle'' File:HA-8, Japanese midget submarine, Submarine Force Library & Museum, Groton, Connecticut.jpg, HA-8 Japanese midget submarine File:USS Nautilus SSN571.JPG, The ''Nautilus'' File:Submarine Force Library and Museum, Groton CT.jpg, SS X-1 Midget Submarine outside museum File:USS George Washington Sail.JPG, ''George Washington'' sail

References

External links

*
Submarine Force Medal of Honor Recipients
. Submarine Force Museum website
Submarine Museums in the United States
{{DEFAULTSORT:Submarine Force Library And Museum United States Navy museums *U.S. Navy Submarine Force Museum Maritime museums in Connecticut Military and war museums in Connecticut Buildings and structures in Groton, Connecticut Museums in New London County, Connecticut Museums established in 1955 Libraries in New London County, Connecticut Naval History and Heritage Command 1955 establishments in Connecticut Submarine museums

History

Collection and permanent exhibits

See also

References

External links