Submarine Force Library and Museum

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 USS Nautilus (SSN-571).

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 Dynamics 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 sqft 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 sqft 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 USS Nautilus (SSN-571). Launched in 1955 and decommissioned in 1980, the submarine had 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'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.

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.

Other Navy museums

 * See: U.S. Navy Museum and U.S. Navy Museum