Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1941-06-20
New London, Conn.,,
Builds Half OF
Sub Marines

If you cross the River Thames at
New London, Conn.,, on U. S. No. 1
you can look up stream and see the
shipyards of the Electric Boat Co..
Uncle Sans main hatchedy for some
Of the finest submarines in the world.
It is no secret that here is where
the Navy gets about half its SUBJ
marines.
IF you go down river in boat you
can count IL shipways and see sleek
hulls on eight Of them in various
stages of construction. And if you
look up the public records in Wash
ington you will find that Electric
Boat is under contract to build Al Of
these ships during the next three
years.
That is just about where the public
record stops because the Navy is
rather anxious to keep it's secrets to
itself these days-particularly about
the new brood of subs which begins
with eight now on Electric Boats
ways and which incorporates all the
lessons the Navy has learned during
Al years of experience at war and
peace about building these undersea
guardians of Americas rapidly ex-
banding "Mare Nostrum."
Few civilians are admitted now in
side the yards or permitted to see
the forge shops and rolling and fit
ting mills due north of the snub noses
of the eight skeleton subs. But a
small group of war correspondents
back from Europe was admitted and
shown just enough to be able to tell
the American public that impressive
things are going on inside the high
wire fence around this shipyard.
With war in Europe and the danger
coming daily closer to American
shores the Navy has standardized its
designs and specifications and Elec-
trio Boat lis turning out Al units as
fast as men and machines can roll
and cut and fit and assemble the
parts.
After giving us glimpse of mod
ern submarine builders at work the
Navy took them to sea in an old 1919
model submarine to show them what
it was like in the old days to go be-
low the surface. The old sub they
went down in was about half the size
of the new ships and just about as
modern as a Model 7 Ford. But it
all went very smoothly and easily
how it would be to do it in something
easily enough to give some idea of
twice as large, twice as fast and
twice as powerful.
The Navy isn't showing the inside
of a finished modern submarine to
any civilian now. One was hauled up
for scraping and painting while they
were in the yard and they could see
its slim hull from a distance. But
what the finished inside is like is
something the Navy is keeping to it
self.
Shortage of skilled labor is the ma
jor concern of Lawrence Y. Spear,
Vice President of Electric Boat Com
pany. Under the new program they
are expanding their force from $500
to $500. To do it they are adopting
a new practice of training men for
single specific jobs instead of trying
to find skilled mechanics or ship fit
tiers capable of different kinds of
work.
Mr.. Spear said the fastest rate of
submarine construction either Ger
many or England ever reached during
the last war was II months. He
thought that Germany had perhaps
managed to turn out it's 200-ton baby
subs at faster rate, but doubts that
anyone is today turning out a real
1900 ton sub as fast as his company
is now doing. Just how fast that is
remains a secret, but the last ones off
Electric Boat ways were completed
in about IA months, and it is a good
guess that the speed is increasing
rapidly.