Portsmouth Built

With the advent of World War II the history of shipbuilding in the Piscataqua region entered a new phase when the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard was selected to build the first Navy constructed submarine, the L-8, the first of 134 submarines to be built at this yard.

            Here is the history of those submarines, a story not only of the exploits of the ships in battle, but also the stories of the men and women, military and civilian, who designed and built submarines.

            Between 1719 & 1941, thirty-three undersea vessels were constructed here including the Squalus. Portsmouth reached a high point during WW II when 75 vessels were built during the 1942-1945 period. After the war Portsmouth began building nuclear powered boats and also became a pioneer in various aspects of submarine research, especially sonics and hydrodynamics. The Albacore, designed, built and modified several times at Portsmouth, became the prototype for today’s modern submarine. Acquired by the Portsmouth Submarine Memorial Association, the Albacore is a key part of the Port of Portsmouth Maritime Museum.