In addition to honoring the men and women “who design, build, operate and maintain our submarines,” the Groton Sail Monument is intended to serve as an educational tool, highlighting for visitors the intertwined history of the submarine force and this region and how each benefits the other.
Given its location along the coast, Groton has always been a maritime community, dating to its establishment in 1705. This monument, however, specifically chronicles a key period in the evolution of Groton’s maritime economy that started in 1911 when the Electric Boat Company purchased a shipyard on the east bank of the Thames River to manufacture submarines. During World War I, Electric Boat produced 85 submarines, and during World War II it produced 74 submarines. Electric Boat has continued expanding to this day.
At one point during World War II, the men and women of this region were producing one submarine every month. That’s how you get to be known as the Submarine Capital of the World!
That proficiency made Electric Boat and southeastern Connecticut a hub for skilled maritime workers, which in turn led Electric Boat and the U.S. Navy to continue advancing submarine technology together. That teamwork and shared expertise resulted in these sophisticated, stealth vessels that serve as the backbone of U.S. Naval supremacy and are represented by the components of the USS Groton.
The USS Groton Sail Monument takes visitors through this history, covering the evolution of submarines and the community that designs, builds, operates, and maintains them.
