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Squalus under construction at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine, January 1938. This view is looking forward from about the after battery area. Note the double hull construction. The inner, circular pressure hull is wrapped by the outer hull. The space in between are ballast and fuel tanks.

Milne Special Collections, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, N.H.

Further along in the construction, another section has been added to Squalus. View is looking aft, early 1938.

National Archives photo.

Construction on Squalus has reached the torpedo room area. A much narrower section has been added, and the four holes where the torpedo tubes will be added can be seen. The section above the tube holes is the bow buoyancy tank.

National Archives photo.

Several weeks later even more progress has been made. More of the superstructure aft of the buoyancy tank has been built out, and the conning tower has been installed amidships along with some of the fairwater support structure. Two yard workers are preparing to install the torpedo tubes.

National Archives photo.

This photo of the Squalus construction is looking forward from the area of the aft torpedo room. Below where the worker is standing is Main Ballast Tank #4. Above on top of the hull is the aft torpedo room access hatch. There is one more section of hull to add to complete the pressure hull buildout. The double hull section of the boat has merged into the pressure hull at this point, so from here aft the boat is of single hull construction. Overall, the boat is considered to be a "partial double hull" design.

Milne Special Collections, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, N.H.

This is the same view as the one above, only after the last section of the hull has been installed, with the four aft torpedo tubes. The aft superstructure has been built out to the aft torpedo room hatch, there is still a little more to go.

National Archives photo.