Shipyards for Building & Maintaining Submarines. The Navy constructed nuclear-powered submarines in its own shipyards, but private companies have built most submarines. Construction & Anatomy: Building Submarines and Training Submariners
Shipyard Workers. Although only men serve in submarines, women and men alike build and maintain them.


Nuclear-powered submarines are extremely complex machines. Building them became possible only with significant advances in science and technology, ranging from nuclear engineering to welding techniques for new alloys. Constructing nuclear-powered submarines engages the efforts of a diverse work force calling upon many skills. Operating them also requires a diverse set of skills from its crew, which they begin to learn at the Naval Submarine School in Groton, Connecticut.

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Maintaining Submarines. Submarines undergo regularly-scheduled maintenance and overhaul at shipyards, but they are also served by submarine tenders.
Training Submariners. All U.S. Navy submarines are volunteers. At the Naval Submarine School in Groton, CT, they first learn the basic skills required to operated the complex equipment that fills a modern submarine.

Nuclear-powered submarines are extremely complex machines. Building them became possible only with significant advances in science and technology, ranging from nuclear engineering to welding techniques for new alloys. Constructing nuclear-powered submarines engages the efforts of a diverse work force calling upon many skills. Operating them also requires a diverse set of skills from its crew, which they begin to learn at the Naval Submarine School in Groton, Connecticut.