Willingness to take risks is hallmark of EB’s history
By Virginia Groark
Day Staff Writer
In its 100-year history, Electric Boat has been at the forefront of the submarine industry. Whether building the first welded hull or the first nuclear-powered submarine, the Groton shipyard has constantly pushed the limits of the technological envelope.
In its century-long history, the company has been able to remain on the cutting edge by its willingness to take risks when other shipyards simply said it couldn’t be done.
The key, according to John K. Welch, EB’s president, is the company’s singular focus and experienced staff.
“(EB has) been in the business for 100 years,” he said. “It’s always been focused on submarines and we’ve always had active … construction and design programs. So with a very experienced work force that’s always thinking submarines someone’s always looking for the next new technology or the next design innovation to meet whatever we speculate the future equipment to be.”
Strong relations
The strong relations that EB has had with the Navy has also helped, because it has kept the company abreast of what is going on in the industry from an operational standpoint and what new technology is available, he said.
The innovative spirit that has been key to EB’s success was apparent from the start and actually the basis of its founding. In 1899, financier Isaac Rice and attorney Elihu Frost teamed up to persuade the Navy that it needed an underwater vessel in its fleet. Using inventor John P. Holland’s concept, they marketed a submarine boat to the Navy and EB was created.
The company’s first boats were the A-class submarines, of which six were built and delivered to the Navy in 1906. The first boat in the class, the Adder, was launched July 22, 1901. It was 64 feet long, 11 feet wide and displaced 120 tons. Though EB designed the A-class boats, they were built in other existing yards. The Adder, for instance, was built in the Crescent Shipyard in New Jersey.
In the ensuing years, EB worked to modify designs and upgrade the performance of the submarines. But in 1931 it made a significant advancement with the construction of the Cuttlefish, the first welded-hull submarine.
Special request
The idea for the welded hull came from the Navy, which submitted a special request for such a boat. A Navy shipyard had turned down the project, saying it was impossible. But EB was game and won the contract on June 29, 1931. It was a significant day, because EB had not won a U.S. Navy submarine contract since 1918.
The company already had some experience with welded hulls. The Groton shipyard built the Puritan, an all-welded two-masted schooner that had welded butts along with lapped and riveted seams, according to “The Legend of Electric Boat.” The company also fabricated the welded boat, Weldera, a 28-foot sloop that was designed by the company’s shipyard manager.
The sloop was “built of two plates on each side with a buckle at the turn of the bilge,” according to The ’Scope.
The company laid the keel of the Cuttlefish on Oct. 7, 1931, and the submarine was launched on Nov. 21, 1933. It was delivered to the Navy on June 8, 1934.
The Cuttlefish was part of the V-Class design, though with a length of 274 feet it was the smallest submarine in that class. The Cuttlefish displaced 1,120 tons and had a “clipper shape” bow, according to “The Legend of Electric Boat.” The most significant part was the hull, which was 40 percent welded and 60 percent riveted.
In many ways, the Cuttlefish was the precursor to Fleet type attack submarines that became famous in World War II, according to “The Legend of Electric Boat.” In fact, the Cuttlefish served in WWII, sinking a Japanese ship.
Ordered two more
The Navy was so pleased with the Cuttlefish that it ordered two more boats from EB in 1933.
The next major development came in the early 1950s when EB embarked on the construction of the first nuclear powered submarine, a design that revolutionized the industry. The idea was first broached to EB by then Capt. Hyman G. Rickover, who called the company from the Portsmouth Navy Yard. The company had rejected the idea of nuclear-powered submarines just as it had dismissed the idea of the welded hull 20 years earlier. So Rickover called up O. Pomeroy Robinson Jr., EB’s general manager, and asked if the company was willing to take on the task.
“Why sure, sure … but what the hell do we have to do?” Robinson supposedly said.
“I don’t know myself but we’ll figure it out,” Rickover reportedly responded.
The idea of nuclear propelled vessels was not entirely foreign to EB. The company had begun holding a series of lectures in 1949 on atomic energy at its Groton shipyard in anticipation of the developments of nuclear ship propulsion, according to “The Legend of Electric Boat.”
But figuring out how to build a submarine with nuclear power was an extremely complicated task. One of the first things EB did was to more than double its design force, which was 190 at its peak in World War II. With the nuclear submarine contract, the design force grew to 434, according to “The Legend of Electric Boat.”
Nautilus contract
On Aug. 21, 1951, EB landed the contract to build the Nautilus. Mamie Eisenhower christened it on Jan. 21, 1954, as 20,000 people cheered her on. Just about a year later it left the pier, radioing back “Under way on nuclear power.”
Nuclear power was a key development in the submarine industry because it enabled the boats to stay submerged for long periods of time and travel quickly underwater. Submarines that drew their power from batteries had efficient energy forces but could not sustain a high rate of submerged speeds for long periods of time. The diesel engines limited submarine maneuverability and tactics because they needed to discharge and ventilate the exhaust of the engines.
Nuclear power, however, provided a power source that allowed the submarine to stay underwater indefinitely and operate at more than 20 knots. With more speed and an unlimited range, the submarine would be able to navigate all of the world’s oceans, according to “The Legend of Electric Boat.”
The Nautilus did just that.
On an operation in 1956, she sailed back to New London on a 1,152-mile submerged run. During that tribal, Nautilus was underway for 531 hours, of which 376 were underwater, according to “The Legend of Electric Boat.” In 1958, the Nautilus made history by making the voyage from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean via the North Pole.
Just a few short years later, the nuclear-powered Triton, which was also built at EB, became the first submarine to circumnavigate the globe submerged.
The record-breaking voyage came about in 1960 when Capt. Edward L. Beach, who was preparing to take the Triton on a shakedown cruise, received an urgent call. He was told to go to Washington, D.C., and when he arrived the next day he “found the room replete with brass,” according to “The Legend of Electric Boat.”
“They said, ‘What shape is your ship in?’ And I said, ‘Fine. We are about to start our shakedown cruise.’ And they said, ‘Can you go around the world submerged instead?’ It was just like that. As I recalled I said, ‘Yes, sir. Fine. Let’s plan it.’ ”
They did and it was named Operation Magellan, after the 16th century explorer Ferdinand Magellan of Portugal. The voyage took 84 days to complete.
Two years later, EB once again broke new ground with the completion of the George Washington, the first Polaris submarine. In July 20, 1960, the George Washington fired two Polaris A-1 missiles off Cape Canaveral, Fla. The missiles had a range of 1,200 miles.
The demonstration, which was witnessed by John F. Kennedy, who was running for president at the time, marked a major step in using the submarines as a deterrent weapon. Just a few months later, the George Washington went on patrol with 16 ready-to-fire nuclear-tipped Polaris missiles, according to “The Legend of Electric Boat.”
In the 1980s, EB developed the Ohio class of submarines, which carried Trident-class ballistic missiles. The Trident missile’s range was twice that of the Polaris and Poseidon missiles. And instead of 16 missiles, the Ohio carried 24 Trident missiles, according to “The Legend of Electric Boat.”
Extra armament
The Ohio was also the longest U.S. submarine with a length of 560 feet. The additional room was needed for the extra armament and improved navigation and communications equipment. Previously, the longest submarine had been the Triton, which was 460 feet.
During this decade, EB has been building the Seawolf class, which has been touted as the fastest, quietest and most powerful class of submarines in the world. The submarines are known for their ability to carry more weapons than their predecessors. With two members of the class - the USS Seawolf and the USS Connecticut - finished, the company is now focusing on the completion of the USS Jimmy Carter, which is scheduled to be commissioned in 2003.
But even before the USS Jimmy Carter
is launched, EB is already looking ahead. The company is designing the
New Attack Submarine, or NSSN, and will team up with its competitor, Newport
News Shipbuilding, to build it. Known as the Virginia class, the submarines
are supposed to revolutionize the industry with a new propulsion system
and a new advanced sail. Among the strength of this class of sub is its
ability to accommodate new technologies as they are developed.