Jim says:
Yesterday, on a delightful sunny day of 79 degrees, moderate humidity and a wonderful breeze, Mary and I visited the Nuclear Submarine Nautilus and the Submarine Force Museum located on the Thames River at Groton, Connecticut.
A bit of my history. I spent my first year in the U.S. Navy stationed at the Submarine Base… 51 years ago! From about 1963-1966, I worked at General Dynamics – Electric Boat Division in Groton as a Radiographer…x-raying a number of submarines and their parts during their construction. I also worked on the Millstone #1 & #2 Nuclear Power Stations in nearby Waterford, Connecticut. I accumulated about 10 years of living in the New London-Groton area.
I took this photo off of the Nautilus Website.
Here are a number of photos I took yesterday…
The Nautilus at its permanent location as seen from the parking lot.
Diameters of submarines. The small one represents the USS Holland from 1900 and the large one an Ohio Class submarine of today.
The retired sail from the first Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile Submarine George Washington. I worked on this boat in the mid-1960′s.
Mary drives the boat in a simulated control room.
Mary looks through a periscope.
I took this photo through the periscope. I’m ready to fire a torpedo into the rear of my Bronco!
A model of the first submarine…David Bushnell’s Turtle.
A painting of the Nautilus departing the from Groton-New London into the Atlantic Ocean.
Admiral Hyman G. Rickover is known as the Father of the Nuclear Navy.
Mary on the deck of the Nautilus. The submarines depart under the bridge into the Atlantic Ocean.
Mary steps through a water-tight compartment hatchway.
The Groton Submarine Base as seen from the Nautilus.
Here’s the official Nautilus website link…
http://www.ussnautilus.org/
Here’s a Wikipedia informational link about Admiral Hyman G. Rickover…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyman_G._Rickover
Here’s a Wikipedia Informational link about Groton and General Dynamics Electric Boat…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groton,_Connecticut
To see the other 49 photos I took, click this link…
http://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver/SubmarineMuseum080710#
Finally here’s a photo of a coffee-table book about the first 100 years of the United States Naval Submarine Service. The lady behind the counter told me it’s now out of print and knows of no more plans for further publication. I got it for only $25!
This book is 352 11×14 pages and weighs 6.5 pounds!
You can buy this book for only $61 on Amazon…
http://www.amazon.com/United-States-Submarines-David-Hinkle/dp/0883631032/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1281262962&sr=1-1
It was a most enjoyable day for me reliving my past of 40+ years ago with Mary.
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2010
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com
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