Submarine Force Library and Archives

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The Submarine Library and Archives serves as the official repository for the records and history of the U.S. Submarine Force. Within its walls are over 6,000 titles and more than 2.5 million archival documents and photographs relevant to submarine history. It supports a variety of inquiries from over 150,000 annual visitors, scholars, the public, and the local Navy community.

Library Collections

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Books:
Over 5,000 volumes relevant to Submarine History & Development, Submarine & Naval Warfare, Submarine Medicine, Naval Ordnance, and Naval Biography. Of special interest is a volume on submarine salvage published in 1551, barely 100 years after the invention of the printing press, and an original 1870 illustrated French edition of Jules Verne's "Twenty Leagues under the Sea." Also of interest are the numerous books written by submarine officers and crewmembers providing readers with first hand accounts of submarine history.

Periodicals:
Scholarly journals on the disciplines of Naval Engineering and Naval/Submarine Operations and Warfare including:

Vertical Files:
Pamphlets, documents, clippings, and photographs on over 200 submarine related topics from "Airplane Carrying Submarines" to the popular submarine collectable the "Zippo Lighter."

Submarine Archives

Submarine "Boat Books":
Unique 3-ring binders of newspaper clippings, letters and documents, souvenir booklets, general memorabilia, and photographs chart the history of each U.S. submarine.

Patrol Reports:
Original bound copies of WWII, Korean War, and post WWII simulated war patrol reports.

Ship's Scrapbooks & Cruise Books:
Collection of scrapbooks, yearbooks, photo booklets, and CDs compiled aboard the boats documenting events and deployments.

SUBMARINE SCHOOL ARCHIVES:
Over 175 linear feet of SUBSCOL Command Histories, documents, photographs, rosters, training publications, and records from the first officers' class in 1916 through the latest BESS graduations.

SUBMARINE BASE COLLECTIONS:
Over 100 linear of histories, documents, news clippings, and photographs of Submarine Base New London.  Smaller archival collections on all other U.S. submarine bases and numerous overseas submarine bases.

SUB BASE/SHIPYARD NEWSPAPER COLLECTIONS:
Copies of the SUBASE NLON publication "Dolphin" from 1917 - present. Also less extensive newspaper collections from Bremerton, Charleston, Kings Bay, Newport News, Mare Island, Pearl Harbor, Portsmouth, and San  Diego.

PERSONAL PAPERS & MEMOIRS:
Primary resources accumulated, produced or recorded by submarine officers & crew.  Includes: naval records, diaries, letters, record books, scrapbooks, and more.

ORAL HISTORIES:
Bound and indexed transcripts of interviews with prominent submariners including several commanding officers of pre-WWII and WWII submarines, officers involved in the Polaris missile program, submarine crew members, and civilian scientists.

JOHN P. HOLLAND & SIMON LAKE COLLECTIONS:
Documents generated by and relating to the inventor of the U.S. Navy's first commissioned submarine and his primary competitor.  The Holland Collection includes the papers of Holland's daughter, several of his close associates, and two crewmembers that served on early Holland submarines. The Lake collection includes several scrapbooks and numerous photos of the Lake's Bridgeport, Connecticut shipyard.

NAVAL SUBMARINE MEDICAL RESEARCH LAB:
Reports the findings of various submarine related medical and habitability studies. Topics include submarine psychiatry, vision and audio studies, atmospherics, submarine stressors, cold weather factors, and more.

Additional Collections