![]() ![]() Generations of submariners practiced escaping from sunken submarines through the Dive Tower by ascending in a 100-foot column of water. The Submarine Escape Training Tank, long known as the “Dive Tower,” was a constructed during this period and became a prominent feature to the local landscape from 1930 to 1992. ![]() Over 26 high quality warehouses, barracks and workshops were built at the base under these Federal job-spending programs. President Franklin Roosevelt created a series of Federal Government employment programs that contributed significantly to the Submarine Base. However, the Great Depression of the 1930s saw an expansion and enhancement of the physical plant of the Base. With victory in hand, the land expansion of the Base was slowed through much of the 1920s. By the end of the war, 81 buildings had been built to support 1400 men and 20 submarines. Congress approved over a million dollars for Base real estate and facilities expansion. The Base property expanded during the latter part of World War I. Today, Naval Submarine Base New London, our Navy’s first submarine base, still proudly proclaims its motto: “The First and Finest.” On June 21, 1916, the Navy Yard changed forever as Commander Yeates Stirling assumed the command of the newly designated Submarine Base, the New London Submarine Flotilla, and the Submarine School. The first ship built as a submarine tender, the USS Fulton (AS-1), arrived on Nov 1, 1915. Submarines E-1, D-1 and D-3 with the tender USS Tonopah bolstered this small force. October 18, 1915, marked the arrival of the submarines G-1, G-2, and G-4 under the care of the tender USS Ozark. Within in six years, the Federal government would spend over a million dollars at the Yard. Strangely, Higgins thought it was cheaper for the Navy to keep the Yard open than pay for its closure. Higgins of Norwich, who was worried about the loss of Federal spending in the region. The Navy Yard was spared permanent closure in 1912 by an impassioned plea from local Congressman Edwin W. In 1898, Congress approved a coaling station be built at the Yard for refueling small naval ships traveling through the waters of New England.īy 1912, oil replaced coal in warships and again the Yard was scheduled for closure and the land relinquished by the Navy. The Congressional appropriations were small and the Navy had little need for the Yard, which was actually closed from 1898 to 1900 and the personnel reassigned. The Navy Yard was first used for laying up inactive ships. Despite being physically located in the Town of Groton, the name New London became associated with the Navy Yard. Living in New Haven, Commodore Hunt used the Central Hotel on State Street, New London when in town to attend to Yard duties on an “as needed” basis. The first Commander of the Yard was retired Commodore Timothy A. The citizens of New London were especially generous, as their City Council appropriated $10,000 to purchase the land that would be donated. Naval Submarine Base New London had its beginning as a naval yard and storage depot on April 11, 1868.Įnvisioning the economic potential of a local military installation, the state of Connecticut and its southeastern cities and towns had donated land along the Thames River to the Navy for the establishment of a base. Naval Submarine Base New London is the Navy's first Submarine Base and the "Home of the Submarine Force."
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