During World War II, between December 7, 1941 and September 2, 1945, the company built 74 submarines in Groton, while its subsidiary, Elco, built nearly 400 PT Boats.[5]​

Groton, became the first submarine construction center in the United States. These vessels were attack submarines of two types:

The number of submarines delivered by the Groton shipyard to the United States Navy per year is as follows:.

These submarines were credited with 39% of the total tonnage of Japanese ships sunk during the war, that is, 1,178 merchant ships and 214 warships. The submarines built at Groton were sold for the lowest price of all American shipyards ($2,765,000 each). On the other hand, the delays were longer: 14 months at Groton versus 10 at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

Electric Boat also oversaw the construction of submarines by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company, based on the west shore of Lake Michigan, which delivered 28 ships to the US Navy before the end of the war.

Electric Boat ranked 77th among United States companies in the value of World War II military production contracts.[6]​.

Contenido

Después de la rendición japonesa, la Marina de los EE. UU. canceló los pedidos de 36 submarinos, lo que nuevamente sumió a Electric Boat en serios problemas. La fuerza laboral de Groton pasó de 13.000 a 4.000 empleados. La compañía diversificó sus actividades y fue responsable de la reparación o transformación de los buques militares de la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

En 1950, Electric Boat se embarcó en la construcción del primer submarino naval de propulsión nuclear, el USS Nautilus "USS Nautilus (SSN-571)"), que se botó en 1954.

En 1952, John Jay Hopkins") reorganizó Electric Boat bajo el nombre de General Dynamics Corporation. Al año siguiente, 1953, adquirió Convair, y el holding asumió el nombre de "General Dynamics", mientras que la rama de construcción de submarinos volvió al nombre de Electric Boat.[7]​.

Durante los años siguientes, el astillero Groton continuó innovando en el diseño y construcción de submarinos nucleares. Electric Boat diseñó quince de las dieciocho clases de submarinos nucleares en los Estados Unidos, incluidos los lanzadores de misiles balísticos. El USS George Washington (SSBN-598) "USS George Washington (SSBN-598)") fue el primero de estos submarinos en 1960. También construye el submarino nuclear más pequeño del mundo, el NR-1. Los submarinos de las clases Ohio, Los Ángeles, Seawolf y Virginia "Clase Virginia (2004)") también fueron construidos por Electric Boat.

Esto garantizó una gran solidez financiera para Electric Boat y le permitió realizar considerables inversiones en este sitio. El astillero Groton empleó a 12.500 personas en 1973.

Cost overruns

In 1977, the US Navy publicly blamed Electric Boat for poor quality work and cost overruns on the 18 Los Angeles class submarines. Litigation then pitted the company against the U.S. Department of Defense to determine who would bear the additional costs. This question was eventually resolved, but General Dynamics realized that part of its problems at Groton came from low productivity, seriously compromised by absenteeism and a very high staff turnover rate, and poor inventory management. In October 1977, Takis Veliotis), who ran the Quincy shipyard, was transferred to Groton and managed in a few months to restore Electric Boat's discipline, efficiency and financial situation.[8]​.

Hiding defects in structural welds

In the early 1980s, it was discovered that structural welding defects had been concealed by falsified inspection records. As a result, there were significant delays and cost increases in the delivery of several submarines being built at the Electric Boat shipyard. In some cases, repairs practically required the dismantling and subsequent reconstruction of what had been a nearly completed submarine. The shipyard attempted to pass along cost overruns directly to the Navy, while Admiral Hyman G. Rickover demanded Electric Boat general manager Takis Veliotis that the shipyard take responsibility for its "poor quality" workmanship.

The Navy finally agreed with General Dynamics in 1981 to pay $634 million of the $843 million claims in cost overruns and reconstruction on Los Angeles-class submarines. But, the Navy was also the shipyard's insurer, responsible for compensating the company for losses and other mishaps. The concept of reimbursing General Dynamics under these conditions was initially considered "absurd," in the words of Navy Secretary John Lehman), but the eventual legal basis for General Dynamics' claims to reimburse the Navy for the company's poor workmanship included insurance compensation. Veliotis was later indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of racketeering and fraud in 1983 for demanding $1.3 million in bribes from a subcontractor. He escaped into exile and a life of luxury in his native Greece, where he remained a fugitive from American justice.[11]​[12]​.

In 1989, Electric Boat began building an entirely new type of attack submarine, the Seawolf class.

But the reduction in military spending caused the United States Navy to revise its plans. By 1999, the workforce at the shipyard had dropped to 9,500.

Electric Boat inspects and performs repair work on attack submarines. The company built the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines and the Seawolf-class submarines, as well as others. In April 2014, Electric Boat signed a $17.8 billion contract with Naval Sea Systems Command for ten Block IV Virginia-Class attack submarines. It is the largest shipbuilding contract in the service's history. The company is building the submarine in conjunction with Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding. construction. Submarines of this type will rely on improvements to ensure that ships spend less time in the shipyard.[13]​ In 2019 Electric Boat signed another contract with the Naval Sea Systems Command to begin acquiring materials for the Block V variant of the Virginia Class. This upgrade brings the Virginia payload module, which allows the submarine to carry Tomahawk missiles.[14]​.

Since 2004, Virginia-class submarines have been built at the shipyard.

To meet the requirements of the century, Electric Boat has launched the construction of a new type of attack submarine, the Virginia class "Virginia Class (2004)"), in collaboration with the Newport News Shipbuilding yard in Virginia. Commissioned in 2014, the first US submarine designed by computer using Dassault Systèmes' CATIA software.

The Groton shipyard employs 7,500 people, most of whom are highly qualified, including more engineers and designers than operators. Another 2,000 people are employed at the Quonset Point site. The total number of employees in the company is 10,500.[15]​.

But after World War I, Electric Boat did not receive any orders from the United States Navy until 1931.[4]​ Meanwhile, the shipyard built tugboats, trawlers, ferries, and yachts. In 1934, SS Cuttlefish (SS-171), was the first submarine built at the Electric Boat plant in Groton, Connecticut. It was a welded hull submarine, a major innovation and the US Navy placed an initial order for 3 of these submarines per year. Visiting the shipyard in August 1940, President Roosevelt spoke of building 12 submarines per year.

Since then, Groton has been its primary submarine construction facility. Before World War II it was the main shipyard for several classes of submarines: Perch, Salmon, Sargo, Tambor, Gar, Mackerel and Gato.

In the early 1930s, Electric Boat was one of two major submarine builders, the other being Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, until the late 1950s. The other three shipyards (Manitowoc, Mare Island, and Cramp) produced submarines only during World War II.

During World War II, between December 7, 1941 and September 2, 1945, the company built 74 submarines in Groton, while its subsidiary, Elco, built nearly 400 PT Boats.[5]​

Groton, became the first submarine construction center in the United States. These vessels were attack submarines of two types:

The number of submarines delivered by the Groton shipyard to the United States Navy per year is as follows:.

These submarines were credited with 39% of the total tonnage of Japanese ships sunk during the war, that is, 1,178 merchant ships and 214 warships. The submarines built at Groton were sold for the lowest price of all American shipyards ($2,765,000 each). On the other hand, the delays were longer: 14 months at Groton versus 10 at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

Electric Boat also oversaw the construction of submarines by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company, based on the west shore of Lake Michigan, which delivered 28 ships to the US Navy before the end of the war.

Electric Boat ranked 77th among United States companies in the value of World War II military production contracts.[6]​.

Contenido

Después de la rendición japonesa, la Marina de los EE. UU. canceló los pedidos de 36 submarinos, lo que nuevamente sumió a Electric Boat en serios problemas. La fuerza laboral de Groton pasó de 13.000 a 4.000 empleados. La compañía diversificó sus actividades y fue responsable de la reparación o transformación de los buques militares de la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

En 1950, Electric Boat se embarcó en la construcción del primer submarino naval de propulsión nuclear, el USS Nautilus "USS Nautilus (SSN-571)"), que se botó en 1954.

En 1952, John Jay Hopkins") reorganizó Electric Boat bajo el nombre de General Dynamics Corporation. Al año siguiente, 1953, adquirió Convair, y el holding asumió el nombre de "General Dynamics", mientras que la rama de construcción de submarinos volvió al nombre de Electric Boat.[7]​.

Durante los años siguientes, el astillero Groton continuó innovando en el diseño y construcción de submarinos nucleares. Electric Boat diseñó quince de las dieciocho clases de submarinos nucleares en los Estados Unidos, incluidos los lanzadores de misiles balísticos. El USS George Washington (SSBN-598) "USS George Washington (SSBN-598)") fue el primero de estos submarinos en 1960. También construye el submarino nuclear más pequeño del mundo, el NR-1. Los submarinos de las clases Ohio, Los Ángeles, Seawolf y Virginia "Clase Virginia (2004)") también fueron construidos por Electric Boat.

Esto garantizó una gran solidez financiera para Electric Boat y le permitió realizar considerables inversiones en este sitio. El astillero Groton empleó a 12.500 personas en 1973.

Cost overruns

In 1977, the US Navy publicly blamed Electric Boat for poor quality work and cost overruns on the 18 Los Angeles class submarines. Litigation then pitted the company against the U.S. Department of Defense to determine who would bear the additional costs. This question was eventually resolved, but General Dynamics realized that part of its problems at Groton came from low productivity, seriously compromised by absenteeism and a very high staff turnover rate, and poor inventory management. In October 1977, Takis Veliotis), who ran the Quincy shipyard, was transferred to Groton and managed in a few months to restore Electric Boat's discipline, efficiency and financial situation.[8]​.

Hiding defects in structural welds

In the early 1980s, it was discovered that structural welding defects had been concealed by falsified inspection records. As a result, there were significant delays and cost increases in the delivery of several submarines being built at the Electric Boat shipyard. In some cases, repairs practically required the dismantling and subsequent reconstruction of what had been a nearly completed submarine. The shipyard attempted to pass along cost overruns directly to the Navy, while Admiral Hyman G. Rickover demanded Electric Boat general manager Takis Veliotis that the shipyard take responsibility for its "poor quality" workmanship.

The Navy finally agreed with General Dynamics in 1981 to pay $634 million of the $843 million claims in cost overruns and reconstruction on Los Angeles-class submarines. But, the Navy was also the shipyard's insurer, responsible for compensating the company for losses and other mishaps. The concept of reimbursing General Dynamics under these conditions was initially considered "absurd," in the words of Navy Secretary John Lehman), but the eventual legal basis for General Dynamics' claims to reimburse the Navy for the company's poor workmanship included insurance compensation. Veliotis was later indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of racketeering and fraud in 1983 for demanding $1.3 million in bribes from a subcontractor. He escaped into exile and a life of luxury in his native Greece, where he remained a fugitive from American justice.[11]​[12]​.

In 1989, Electric Boat began building an entirely new type of attack submarine, the Seawolf class.

But the reduction in military spending caused the United States Navy to revise its plans. By 1999, the workforce at the shipyard had dropped to 9,500.

Electric Boat inspects and performs repair work on attack submarines. The company built the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines and the Seawolf-class submarines, as well as others. In April 2014, Electric Boat signed a $17.8 billion contract with Naval Sea Systems Command for ten Block IV Virginia-Class attack submarines. It is the largest shipbuilding contract in the service's history. The company is building the submarine in conjunction with Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding. construction. Submarines of this type will rely on improvements to ensure that ships spend less time in the shipyard.[13]​ In 2019 Electric Boat signed another contract with the Naval Sea Systems Command to begin acquiring materials for the Block V variant of the Virginia Class. This upgrade brings the Virginia payload module, which allows the submarine to carry Tomahawk missiles.[14]​.

Since 2004, Virginia-class submarines have been built at the shipyard.

To meet the requirements of the century, Electric Boat has launched the construction of a new type of attack submarine, the Virginia class "Virginia Class (2004)"), in collaboration with the Newport News Shipbuilding yard in Virginia. Commissioned in 2014, the first US submarine designed by computer using Dassault Systèmes' CATIA software.

The Groton shipyard employs 7,500 people, most of whom are highly qualified, including more engineers and designers than operators. Another 2,000 people are employed at the Quonset Point site. The total number of employees in the company is 10,500.[15]​.