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Submarines

Many people are fascinated by submarines. Practical subs were first developed in the 1800s, but the early ones were primitive and dangerous to operate. Submarines were first used in warfare on a large scale in World War I. A few years later, in World War II, the success of Germany's U-boat crews in sinking ships and disrupting worldwide shipping became legendary. Through a combination of efforts, the Allies eventually turned the tide against the U-boats, but the world has never forgotten the exploits of those bold submariners.

New England has long been a focal point of submarine activities. Many subs were built at the Portsmouth Navy Yard and the Electric Boat Works in Groton, Connecticut. And the U. S. Navy has conducted submarine test exercises in New England waters for as long as those subs have been around. During World Wars I and II, German U-boats also prowled New England waters. And at least one U-boat, the U-853, was sunk in action by the Navy, off Block Island in 1945.

Over the years a number of subs have sunk in New England waters. Some were the result of accidents and others were deliberate sinkings. Several of these incidents resulted in the tragic loss of lives. But the most dramatic one was the sinking of the USS Squalus, off the New Hampshire coast in 1939. The day after the Squalus sank, 33 crewmen were rescued by the use of a diving bell. The story of that dramatic rescue is known around the world.

Below is a collection of submarine images. Click on the thumbnails to view larger images in a new window. Close the window to return here.

g-1.JPG (10686 bytes) L-8_drydock.JPG (27571 bytes) bass-marmus.JPG (32659 bytes)
USS G-1
Sank in Narragansett Bay
(U. S. Navy)		 USS L-8
Sank off Newport (RI)
(U. S. Navy)		 USS Bass - at right
Sank off Block Island (RI)
(Mariners Museum)
squalus1-nyt.JPG (63925 bytes) squalus1-si.JPG (25763 bytes) squalus-nyt2.JPG (65601 bytes)
USS Squalus sank in 1939
New York Times report
(Author's collection)		 Squalus rescue effort
off New Hampshire coast
(Smithsonian Magazine)		 Squalus rescue
New York Times report
(Author's collection)
germanwarposter1.JPG (25538 bytes) sinkingship1.JPG (16346 bytes) warposter4.JPG (20734 bytes)
German Recruiting Poster
for WW-II U-boat service
(Author's collection)		 Sinking freighter - 1943
torpedoed by U-boat
(Mariners Museum)		 Navy Recruiting Poster
World War II
(Mariners Museum)
u-boat1.JPG (34809 bytes) class-xxi-section.jpg (36566 bytes) u-boatnight1.JPG (35299 bytes)
U-boat in heavy seas
(Author's collection)		 German U-boat
under construction - 1942
(Author's collection)		 Sinking of freighter
by WW-II German U-boat
(Tom W. Freeman, Artist)
u-853_nyt2.JPG (53029 bytes) depth-charges1.JPG (14570 bytes) u853-int1.JPG (18093 bytes)
Sinking of U-853
off Block Island (RI)
(Author's collection)		 Depth Charging a U-boat
fate of the U-853
(Mariners Museum)		 U-853 Interior
as it looks today
(Bill Carter collection)
u505-1944msi.JPG (32977 bytes) u505-cross-msi.JPG (31550 bytes) u505galley.jpg (23692 bytes)
U-505 - captured in 1944
now on exhibit in Chicago
(Mus. of Science & Ind.)		 U-505 illustration
(Mus. of Science & Ind.)		 U-505 galley
(Photo by author)
ohio-class-groton1.JPG (62211 bytes) uss-wyoming-1996.JPG (34122 bytes) ssn676_billfish.jpg (38355 bytes)
Building nuclear subs
at Groton, Connecticut
(Electric Boat Corp.)		 USS Wyoming
commissioning - 1996
(Electric Boat Corp.)		 USS Billfish
returning to port
(U. S. Navy)

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