U.S. Navy Submarine Force Museum and Library
Encyclopedia
The U.S. Navy Submarine Force Library and Museum, located on the Thames River
near Groton
, Connecticut
, USA, is the only submarine
museum managed exclusively by the U.S. Navy, which 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 submarine. In a 2009 visit to the museum, a writer for Connecticut magazine found several veterans of the U.S. submarine force who talked about their experiences while visiting the Nautilus.
and was known solely as the Submarine Library. In 1964, it was donated to the U.S. Navy and moved to its current location along the Thames. It received its official title in 1969. Hoping to convince the U.S. Navy to donate the Nautilus to the museum, in 1984 the "Connecticut Nautilus Committee" was formed to raise funds for an improved museum. A new, 14000 square feet (1,300.6 m²) facility was built with funding from the state, individuals and businesses, opening in 1986. In late 1997 the Committee decided to start planning and raising funds for a 13465 square feet (1,250.9 m²) addition to the museum building. Fundraising started the next year, and 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.
's Turtle
, built in 1775 and the first submarine used in combat; midget submarines from World War II; working periscopes, a submarine control room, models of submarines, and the Explorer, an early U.S. research submarine.
In addition to its large collection of submarines and related objects, 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 original 1870 copy of Jules Verne's
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (the museum also has a model of the fictional ship
). Documents in the collection include notes and calculations by John Holland
for the Navy's first submarine, "one-of-a-kind artifacts from World War I and World War II", and the submarine library collections of both Electric Boat Corporation
and the U.S. Navy.
Thames River (Connecticut)
The Thames River is a short river and tidal estuary in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It flows south for through eastern Connecticut from the junction of the Yantic and Shetucket rivers at Norwich, to New London and Groton, which flank its mouth at the Long Island Sound.Differing from its...
near Groton
Groton, Connecticut
Groton is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 39,907 at the 2000 census....
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, USA, is the only submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
museum managed exclusively by the U.S. Navy, which 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 submarine. In a 2009 visit to the museum, a writer for Connecticut magazine found several veterans of the U.S. submarine force who talked about their experiences while visiting the Nautilus.
History
Established in 1955, the museum was originally operated by the Electric Boat Division of General DynamicsGeneral Dynamics
General Dynamics Corporation is a U.S. defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2008 it is the fifth largest defense contractor in the world. Its headquarters are in West Falls Church , unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Falls Church area.The company has...
and was known solely as the Submarine Library. In 1964, it was donated to the U.S. Navy and moved to its current location along the Thames. It received its official title in 1969. Hoping to convince the U.S. Navy to donate the Nautilus to the museum, in 1984 the "Connecticut Nautilus Committee" was formed to raise funds for an improved museum. A new, 14000 square feet (1,300.6 m²) facility was built with funding from the state, individuals and businesses, opening in 1986. In late 1997 the Committee decided to start planning and raising funds for a 13465 square feet (1,250.9 m²) addition to the museum building. Fundraising started the next year, and 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.
Collection and permanent exhibits
The museum has 33,000 artifacts, including the first nuclear-powered submarine in the world, the . Launched in 1955 and decommissioned in 1980, the submarine had travelled under the polar ice cap and reached the North Pole during the Cold War. Also at the museum is a replica of David BushnellDavid Bushnell
David Bushnell , of Westbrook, Connecticut, was an American inventor during the Revolutionary War. He is credited with creating the first submarine ever used in combat, while studying at Yale University in 1775. He called it the Turtle because of its look in the water...
's Turtle
Turtle (submarine)
The Turtle was the world's first submersible with a documented record of use in combat. It was built in Old Saybrook, Connecticut in 1775 by American Patriot David Bushnell as a means of attaching explosive charges to ships in a harbor...
, built in 1775 and the first submarine used in combat; midget submarines from World War II; working periscopes, a submarine control room, models of submarines, and the Explorer, an early U.S. research submarine.
In addition to its large collection of submarines and related objects, 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 original 1870 copy of Jules Verne's
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (the museum also has a model of the fictional ship
Nautilus (Verne)
The Nautilus is the fictional submarine featured in Jules Verne's novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and The Mysterious Island . Verne named the Nautilus after Robert Fulton's real-life submarine Nautilus...
). Documents in the collection include notes and calculations by John Holland
John Philip Holland
John Philip Holland was an Irish engineer who developed the first submarine to be formally commissioned by the U.S...
for the Navy's first submarine, "one-of-a-kind artifacts from World War I and World War II", and the submarine library collections of both Electric Boat Corporation
Electric Boat Corporation
The General Dynamics Electric Boat is a division of General Dynamics Corporation. It has been the primary builder of submarines for the United States Navy for over 100 years....
and the U.S. Navy.
Commentary on the museum
The institution is "an absolute gem worth exploring, and [...] chock-full of adult- and kid-friendly exhibits", with the USS Nautilus as "the star attraction", according to a brief 2009 article in Connecticut magazine. "Students of modern military history will be impressed" by the museum, Anna Mundow wrote in Fodor's "Compass American Guides" book, Connecticut & Rhode Island.See also
- Naval Submarine Medical Research LaboratoryNaval Submarine Medical Research LaboratoryThe Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory is located on the New London Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut. The laboratory's mission is to protect the health and enhance the performance of United States War Fighters through focused submarine, diving, and surface research solutions.-History...
- Naval Undersea MuseumNaval Undersea MuseumThe Naval Undersea Museum is an official naval museum located at Keyport, Washington, USA. The museum is one of the 12 Navy museums that are operated by the Naval History & Heritage Command. The museum sits next to a branch of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center...
- Royal Navy Submarine MuseumRoyal Navy Submarine MuseumThe Royal Navy Submarine Museum at Gosport is a museum tracing the international history of submarine development from the age of Alexander the Great to the present day, and particularly the history of the Submarine Service from the tiny Holland 1 to the nuclear powered Vanguard class submarine...
External links
- Submarine Force Medal of Honor Recipients. Submarine Force Museum website
- Submarine Museums in the United States