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Submarines undergo
regularly-scheduled maintenance and overhaul at shipyards, but they are
also served by submarine tenders. These "factories afloat" perform countless
repair and maintenance jobs to keep the boats operational. During the
Cold War, each ballistic missile submarine spent 30 days alongside a tender
between patrols. Tenders, unlike the submarines they serve, have in recent
years added women to their crews. Women, like men, serve as welders, wood
and metal workers, doctors, dentistsall jobs required to support submarines.
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Servicing Submarines
at Overseas Bases
The submarine tender USS Canopus (AS-34) services three boomers,
a fast attack, and a diesel-electric submarine at Holy Loch, Scotland,
1971. U.S. Navy photo by PH 2 C. W. Blankenship
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