Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company of Wisconsin was the nation's only inland builder of submarines. In December 1940, the U.S. Navy contracted with the company to construct 10 Gato class submarines, later increasing the order to 41 boats, of which 28 were ultimately produced before the end of the war. A typical Gato submarine was 312 feet long, with a 27-foot beam and a 15-foot draft, and weighed 1825 tons surfaced, with a crew of 65-74 officers and men. After trial testing in Lake Michigan, the submarines sailed to Chicago, where they were towed to Lockport, Illinois, then placed in floating dry docks to travel down the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers to New Orleans. Crowds gathered along the rivers and at bridge crossings to cheer the boats and their crews. From New Orleans, the submarines passed through the Panama Canal before joining the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor.