I really came into Groton expecting to see one sub--museum sub USS
Nautilus, SSN 571--but it turned out that I was going to see six more. First there was that three at the New London base, and then, right down the river, there was this place and three more boats.
Electric Boat works, now owned by General Dynamics. These are the people that built the subs.
And looking down on their yard, they're sure busy. There's one in the flooded dry dock just outside their buidling.
Why do they keep shrouding the sails on these boats? The Navy yard did it, too. Is that to protect something from prying eyes?
Oh, but check out the nose on that boat. You'd think if they were worried about eyes in the sky, they'd have covered that.
It's launch tubes for Tomahawk cruise missiles. I thought that it would be all secret, and then I found
this 2012 article about them. I guess not so secret after all.
Then there was this one, tied up pierside.
And this one, in dry-dock and fully exposed, save for the screw being shrouded, probably to keep from giving spy satellites and nosy Cessnas a good look at their stealth technology.
Again, I'm holding back on a few photos that I think might be showing a bit much, but it still surprised me to see all this stuff just laid out there in broad daylight for anyone and his dog to fly over and gawk at.
And with all of this to stare at, I completely overlooked
Nautilus at her berth and thr US Coast Guard academt on the other side of the river. but can you really blame me?
