Naval Submarine Base New London is the primary

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

East Coast submarine base, also known as the "Home of the Submarine Force." It is located in

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 ...

directly across 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 ...

from its namesake city of

New London New London may refer to: Places United States *New London, Alabama *New London, Connecticut *New London, Indiana *New London, Iowa *New London, Maryland *New London, Minnesota *New London, Missouri *New London, New Hampshire, a New England town ** ...

History

In 1868, the State of

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

gave the Navy of land along the

in Groton to build a Naval Station. Due to a lack of federal funding, it was not until 1872 that 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 New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

. 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 Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, who was worried about the loss of Federal spending in the region. On 13 October 1915, the

monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, West ...

, a

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 ...

, and four submarines arrived in Groton. 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 New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

, and he used the Central Hotel on State Street,

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 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the Navy established schools and training facilities at the base.

Wartime expansion

The Base property expanded during the latter part of

. Congress 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 The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

of the 1930s saw an expansion and enhancement of the physical plant of the Base. President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

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 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 ...

, when it grew from 112 acres to . 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. US Naval Submarine Base New London aerial photo c1968

US Naval Submarine Base New London aerial photo c1968

From 1930 to 1994, the most recognizable structure on the base was the Escape Training Tank. Generations of submariners learned to escape in up to of water using buoyant ascent, and were trained in the use of the

Momsen lung The Momsen lung was a primitive underwater rebreather used before and during World War II by American submariners as emergency escape gear. It was invented by Charles Momsen (nicknamed "Swede"). Submariners trained with this apparatus in an dee ...

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 of water. The Steinke hood was replaced by the

Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment (SEIE), also known as Submarine Escape ''and'' Immersion Equipment, is a whole-body suit and one-man life raft that was first produced in 1952. It was designed by British company RFD Beaufort Limited and allow ...

in the 2000s.

Submarine school

The New London Base is homeport to 16

attack submarine An attack submarine or hunter-killer submarine is a submarine specifically designed for the purpose of attacking and sinking other submarines, surface combatants and merchant vessels. In the Soviet and Russian navies they were and are called ...

s and full Navy base situated in Groton, Connecticut. The Base is also neighbor to the major submarine construction yard of

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...

Electric Boat Division 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, Co ...

. All officer and enlisted submariners are stationed at Groton during their training, with the exception of 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 Basic Enlisted Submarine School (BESS) is the U.S. Navy's submarine training school for enlisted sailors. Located on Naval Submarine Base New London (NAVSUBASE NLON) in Groton, New London County, Connecticut New London County is in the sou ...

(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 plus over 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.

Base realignment and proposed closure

On 13 May 2005,

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

recommended that the base be closed. After review, the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission voted on 24 August 2005 to strike New London from the list of possible closures, thus allowing the base to remain open.

Garrison

Current units stationed at NSBNL include: *

Naval Submarine School A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...

Submarine Learning Centre 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 ...

Naval Branch Health Clinic A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...

Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory The Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory (NSMRL) is located on the New London Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut. The laboratory's mission is to protect the health of American sailors, focused on submarines and scuba diving. It is a su ...

Naval Undersea Medical Institute A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It inc ...

* Navy Information Operations Detachment * Commander Submarine Group 2 ** Submarine Squadron 4 ***

Los Angeles-class submarines LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...

**** USS Hartford (SSN-768) *** Virginia-class submarines ****

USS Virginia (SSN-774) USS ''Virginia'' (SSN-774) is a nuclear powered cruise missile attack submarine and the lead ship of her class, currently serving in the United States Navy (USN). She is the tenth vessel of the Navy to be named for the Commonwealth of Virgi ...

****

USS New Mexico (SSN-779) USS ''New Mexico'' (SSN-779) is a nuclear powered fast-attack submarine of the United States Navy. She is the second U.S. warship named for the 47th state, after the early twentieth century super-dreadnought, USS ''New Mexico'' (BB-40). '' ...

**** USS California (SSN-781) **** USS Minnesota (SSN-783) **** USS North Dakota (SSN-784) ****

USS Colorado (SSN-788) USS ''Colorado'' (SSN-788) is a nuclear powered United States Navy attack submarine, named for the State of Colorado. She is the fifteenth of her class and fifth of the significantly redesigned Block III, including a revised bow and VLS t ...

**** USS Indiana (SSN-789) **** USS South Dakota (SSN-790) **** USS Delaware (SSN-791) – Commissioned 4 April 2020 ****

USS Vermont (SSN-792) USS ''Vermont'' (SSN-792) is a Nuclear marine propulsion, nuclear powered attack submarine in the United States Navy. She is the 19th boat of the class and the USS Vermont, third vessel of the Navy to be named for the U.S. state of Vermont. Th ...

– Commissioned 18 April 2020 **

Submarine Development Squadron 12 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 ...

*** Los Angeles-class submarines **** USS Providence (SSN-719) ****

USS San Juan (SSN-751) USS ''San Juan'' (SSN-751), a , is the third ship of the United States Navy to be named ''San Juan'', though only the second named for San Juan, Puerto Rico. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamic ...

****

USS Toledo (SSN-769) USS ''Toledo'' (SSN-769), is a United States Navy, nuclear-powered attack submarine and the third U.S. Naval vessel to be named for the city of Toledo, Ohio. The contract to build her was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Comp ...

References

External links

*
NSB New London websiteU.S. Navy Submarine Force Museum
— Official home of USS ''Nautilus'' (SSN-571)
Navy Basic Enlisted Submarine School
* {{CTMilitary, state=collapsed

Buildings and structures in Groton, Connecticut Historic American Engineering Record in Connecticut Military installations in Connecticut Military Superfund sites Buildings and structures in New London County, Connecticut Superfund sites in Connecticut