Electric Boat’s Groton, Connecticut yard has built submarines for the U.S. Navy since 1911, and it is still operating today as a General Dynamics business unit. Because the yard has run continuously for more than a century, its asbestos history spans several distinct eras: World War II submarine construction, the Cold War transition to nuclear submarines, and a set of federal health investigations conducted decades later that documented how workers were exposed. This page covers what is documented, and what is not, using primary sources you can check yourself.
What work happened at Electric Boat Company
Electric Boat was founded in 1899 by financier Isaac Rice, building on submarine designs by John Philip Holland. The company delivered its first Navy submarine, USS Holland, in 1900. In 1911, Electric Boat acquired the New London Ship and Engine Company in Groton, establishing the yard this page covers. The first submarine built entirely at the Groton plant, USS Cuttlefish, was delivered in 1934 (General Dynamics Electric Boat, official history).
During World War II, the Groton yard built Gato-class and Balao-class submarines, the two classes represented in our roster below. After the war, Electric Boat moved into nuclear propulsion, building USS Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine, and later the Ohio, Seawolf, and Virginia classes. It is currently building Columbia-class submarines (General Dynamics Electric Boat, official history; Wikipedia, General Dynamics Electric Boat).
This distinction matters for exposure history. A federal health investigation at this yard, discussed below, found that the heaviest historical asbestos exposure among long-tenured workers was tied specifically to submarine overhaul and retrofit work, meaning submarines brought back in for repair and refit, rather than to new-construction work alone. That overhaul and retrofit work took place both at the Groton yard and at a U.S. Navy base on the coast of Spain (NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation Report HETA 78-135-1333).
Ships in our roster built at Electric Boat’s Groton yard
Our roster covers fourteen Navy ship classes built across 31 yards nationwide, not every ship ever built. Within that roster, 81 ships were built at Electric Boat’s Groton yard, all of them submarines: 41 Gato-class boats and 40 Balao-class boats, commissioned between 1941 and 1946. This is the largest single-yard count in our data, and it reflects Electric Boat’s identity as a submarine specialist rather than a general shipbuilder. It is not a count of every vessel Electric Boat has ever built, only the ones that fall within our fourteen tracked classes.
| Ship | Hull number | Commissioned | Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| USS Gato | SS-212 | 1941 | Gato-class |
| USS Greenling | SS-213 | 1942 | Gato-class |
| USS Grouper | SS-214 | 1942 | Gato-class |
| USS Growler | SS-215 | 1942 | Gato-class |
| USS Grunion | SS-216 | 1942 | Gato-class |
| USS Guardfish | SS-217 | 1942 | Gato-class |
| USS Albacore | SS-218 | 1942 | Gato-class |
| USS Amberjack | SS-219 | 1942 | Gato-class |
| USS Barb | SS-220 | 1942 | Gato-class |
| USS Blackfish | SS-221 | 1942 | Gato-class |
| USS Gunnel | SS-253 | 1942 | Gato-class |
| USS Gurnard | SS-254 | 1942 | Gato-class |
| USS Haddo | SS-255 | 1942 | Gato-class |
| USS Hake | SS-256 | 1942 | Gato-class |
| USS Harder | SS-257 | 1942 | Gato-class |
| USS Hoe | SS-258 | 1942 | Gato-class |
| USS Bluefish | SS-222 | 1943 | Gato-class |
| USS Bonefish | SS-223 | 1943 | Gato-class |
| USS Cod | SS-224 | 1943 | Gato-class |
| USS Cero | SS-225 | 1943 | Gato-class |
| USS Corvina | SS-226 | 1943 | Gato-class |
| USS Darter | SS-227 | 1943 | Gato-class |
| USS Angler | SS-240 | 1943 | Gato-class |
| USS Bashaw | SS-241 | 1943 | Gato-class |
| USS Bluegill | SS-242 | 1943 | Gato-class |
| USS Dace | SS-247 | 1943 | Gato-class |
| USS Dorado | SS-248 | 1943 | Gato-class |
| USS Flasher | SS-249 | 1943 | Gato-class |
| USS Flier | SS-250 | 1943 | Gato-class |
| USS Flounder | SS-251 | 1943 | Gato-class |
| USS Gabilan | SS-252 | 1943 | Gato-class |
| USS Jack | SS-259 | 1943 | Gato-class |
| USS Lapon | SS-260 | 1943 | Gato-class |
| USS Mingo | SS-261 | 1943 | Gato-class |
| USS Muskallunge | SS-262 | 1943 | Gato-class |
| USS Paddle | SS-263 | 1943 | Gato-class |
| USS Pargo | SS-264 | 1943 | Gato-class |
| USS Bream | SS-243 | 1944 | Gato-class |
| USS Cavalla | SS-244 | 1944 | Gato-class |
| USS Cobia | SS-245 | 1944 | Gato-class |
| USS Croaker | SS-246 | 1944 | Gato-class |
| USS Perch | SS-313 | 1944 | Balao-class |
| USS Shark | SS-314 | 1944 | Balao-class |
| USS Sealion | SS-315 | 1944 | Balao-class |
| USS Barbel | SS-316 | 1944 | Balao-class |
| USS Barbero | SS-317 | 1944 | Balao-class |
| USS Baya | SS-318 | 1944 | Balao-class |
| USS Becuna | SS-319 | 1944 | Balao-class |
| USS Bergall | SS-320 | 1944 | Balao-class |
| USS Besugo | SS-321 | 1944 | Balao-class |
| USS Blackfin | SS-322 | 1944 | Balao-class |
| USS Caiman | SS-323 | 1944 | Balao-class |
| USS Blenny | SS-324 | 1944 | Balao-class |
| USS Blower | SS-325 | 1944 | Balao-class |
| USS Blueback | SS-326 | 1944 | Balao-class |
| USS Boarfish | SS-327 | 1944 | Balao-class |
| USS Charr | SS-328 | 1944 | Balao-class |
| USS Chub | SS-329 | 1944 | Balao-class |
| USS Brill | SS-330 | 1944 | Balao-class |
| USS Bugara | SS-331 | 1944 | Balao-class |
| USS Bullhead | SS-332 | 1944 | Balao-class |
| USS Bumper | SS-333 | 1944 | Balao-class |
| USS Cabezon | SS-334 | 1944 | Balao-class |
| USS Dentuda | SS-335 | 1944 | Balao-class |
| USS Capitaine | SS-336 | 1945 | Balao-class |
| USS Carbonero | SS-337 | 1945 | Balao-class |
| USS Carp | SS-338 | 1945 | Balao-class |
| USS Catfish | SS-339 | 1945 | Balao-class |
| USS Entemedor | SS-340 | 1945 | Balao-class |
| USS Chivo | SS-341 | 1945 | Balao-class |
| USS Chopper | SS-342 | 1945 | Balao-class |
| USS Clamagore | SS-343 | 1945 | Balao-class |
| USS Cobbler | SS-344 | 1945 | Balao-class |
| USS Cochino | SS-345 | 1945 | Balao-class |
| USS Corporal | SS-346 | 1945 | Balao-class |
| USS Cubera | SS-347 | 1945 | Balao-class |
| USS Cusk | SS-348 | 1946 | Balao-class |
| USS Diodon | SS-349 | 1946 | Balao-class |
| USS Dogfish | SS-350 | 1946 | Balao-class |
| USS Greenfish | SS-351 | 1946 | Balao-class |
| USS Halfbeak | SS-352 | 1946 | Balao-class |
Documented asbestos use at this yard
The clearest documented record of asbestos exposure at Electric Boat’s Groton yard comes from a federal occupational health investigation, not from a shipbuilding history. In October 1978, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) opened an investigation after painters at the yard reported rashes, dizziness, fainting, and nausea from their work. NIOSH investigators made five site visits between July 1979 and March 1981 (NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation Report HETA 78-135-1333).
The resulting report describes a workforce of about 25,000 workers at the time, “predominately trades people,” including roughly 1,000 painters. NIOSH surveyed 424 union painters and randomly sampled 246 of them for its health study. On asbestos specifically, the report states that “historical reports of overexposure to asbestos were common among workers with eight or more years work experience” at the yard, and that pulmonary function measurements (FEV1 and FVC) among studied workers were associated with years of reported asbestos exposure. The report also notes that, as of its writing, “asbestos use in the shipyard and on the submarines is slowly being phased out” following the introduction of alternative insulation materials (NIOSH HETA 78-135-1333).
Importantly, the same report ties the heaviest historical asbestos exposure to submarine overhaul and retrofit work, work performed on submarines brought back in for repair, rather than to new construction, and notes that this overhaul work happened both at Groton and at a U.S. Navy base on the coast of Spain. If you or a family member worked in overhaul or retrofit roles at this yard, or at that overseas facility, that distinction may be relevant to your work history.
Separately, a 1982 federal court decision addressed asbestos liability tied to this yard directly. In In re General Dynamics Asbestos Cases, 539 F. Supp. 1106 (D. Conn. 1982), decided May 21, 1982, a group of asbestos product manufacturers, including Raybestos-Manhattan, American Asbestos Textile Corporation, H.K. Porter Company, Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation, Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Eastern Refractories Company, and Cummings Insulation Company, sought to shift liability for underlying shipyard-worker asbestos injury claims back onto Electric Boat, arguing Electric Boat had a duty to indemnify them. The court held that Electric Boat’s purchase of asbestos-containing products “pursuant to explicit military standards and specifications issued by the Department of the Navy” did not create such a duty, and dismissed the manufacturers’ claims (In re General Dynamics Asbestos Cases, 539 F. Supp. 1106 (D. Conn. 1982)).
Separately from asbestos, NIOSH returned to this yard again in the 1990s to investigate a different hazard. A 1996-97 NIOSH investigation (HETA 96-0253-2682) found that 27 of 93 studied workers met criteria for occupational asthma linked to a Mare Island-formulated epoxy paint used during Seawolf-class submarine construction. That investigation concerned a paint chemical, not asbestos, but it shows this yard has been the subject of federal occupational health scrutiny across multiple decades and multiple hazard types (NIOSH HETA 96-0253-2682).
Trades and ratings with documented exposure
Based on the NIOSH investigation above, the following work at Electric Boat’s Groton yard carries documented historical asbestos exposure:
- Painters. NIOSH counted roughly 1,000 painters at the yard, surveyed 424 union painters, and sampled 246 for its health study.
- Grit-blasting and blast-cleaning operators, whose hull-cleaning and painting-cycle work overlapped with painter exposure.
- General shipyard trades personnel involved in submarine overhaul and retrofit work, the category NIOSH identifies as carrying the heaviest historical asbestos exposure at this yard. NIOSH’s report describes the broader 25,000-person workforce only as “predominately trades people” and does not break out other individual trades by name.
If your work at this yard, or a family member’s, does not appear above, that does not mean asbestos exposure did not occur. NIOSH’s report describes the trades it specifically studied. It does not rule out exposure in other roles.
Environmental record
Electric Boat’s Groton facilities are not listed on the EPA Superfund National Priorities List. They are instead regulated as two separate RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) hazardous-waste corrective-action sites: CTD001147842, at 75 Eastern Point Road, roughly 93 acres, and CTD018668269, the Midway Facility on Depot Road, roughly 34 acres, operated by Electric Boat since 1960. At the Midway Facility, contaminated soils were removed and a soil vapor extraction system was installed, reaching “Remedy Construction Complete” status on April 29, 2014. The documented contaminants of concern at both sites are lead and industrial solvents, described as ignitable, corrosive, and toxic wastes. Asbestos is not named as a contaminant of concern in either EPA record (EPA RCRA Corrective Action, CTD018668269).
This is a different regulatory status from a nearby, separately owned property. Naval Submarine Base New London, a Navy-owned installation in the same Groton and Ledyard area, is listed on the EPA Superfund National Priorities List, listed in August 1990, under CERCLIS ID CTD980906515, due to on-base groundwater contamination. That is a distinct property from Electric Boat, under different ownership, and should not be confused with the Electric Boat facilities described above.
If you worked at this yard
If you or a family member worked at Electric Boat’s Groton yard, whether during World War II submarine construction, later overhaul and retrofit work, or in nuclear submarine construction, documentation of where and when that work happened is often useful later. Records that can help establish a work history include:
- Military service records and a DD-214, if the work was performed as part of Navy service rather than as a civilian shipyard employee
- Civilian employment records, including hire and separation dates, job title, and work location
- Union records, such as painters’ union membership, which NIOSH’s own investigation drew on for this yard
- Any medical or industrial hygiene records generated at the time, including union or company health survey participation
You do not need to gather all of this at once, and older records can be hard to find. Start with what you have.
For a broader look at other yards in our roster, see the shipyards hub. For general information on asbestos trusts, see our trusts overview. If you are looking into VA benefits connected to service-related exposure, see VA forms for mesothelioma. If you would like help organizing what you already have, see veteran case review.