Submarines In World War I

Submarines In World War I: The Great War Through The Periscope

As we observe the 100th anniversary of the U.S. entry into World War I this year, the Essex Library welcomes Eury Cantillo, Director of Education at the Navy’s Submarine Force Library and Museum for an illustrated talk on submarines in World War I on Saturday, May 6 at 1:30 p.m. The culmination of the industrial age and of all the technological wonders that had been invented in the years leading up to and during the turn of the twentieth century were fully unleashed on the battlefield during the First World War. This program will present the contribution of one of these, the submarine, to the Great War. This talk will focus primarily on the activities of United States submarines, while referencing some of the more significant feats performed by the German U-boats in order to create a larger context. Because of the lateness of America’s involvement in the war, the program will focus more on the types of submarines in use, the technical advancements that can be demonstrated by these types, their operational uses during the war, as well as what life aboard submarines was like at that time.

Eury Cantillo was born and raised in Connecticut and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in history and a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Connecticut. He served as an officer in the US Army where he took part in Operation Iraqi Freedom during a 15-month deployment to Ramadi, Iraq. He’s worked in various museums including Plimoth Plantation, the former Higgins Armory Museum and a replica of one of Columbus’ ships, the Niña, which he helped to sail through the Panama Canal and up the Pacific coast of Mexico. Most recently he was a Park Ranger for the National Park Service where he worked at the Lexington and Concord Battlefield, the cliff Dwellings at Mesa Verde, and the Memorials in Washington, DC. He is now the Director of Education at the Navy’s Submarine Force Museum in Groton, CT.

This program is free and open to the public. For more information or to register, please call the Essex Library at (860) 767-1560. The Essex Library is located at 33 West Ave. in Essex.