The Commander, Naval Submarine Forces (a.k.a. COMNAVSUBFOR; and dual-hatted as Commander, Naval Submarine Force, Atlantic or COMSUBLANT or SUBLANT) is the Submarine Force U.S. Atlantic Fleet type commander under the United States Fleet Forces Command.

The principal responsibility of the Admiral commanding is to operate, maintain, train, and equip submarines. COMSUBLANT also has additional duties as commander of NATO's Allied Submarine Command and also Commander, Naval Submarine Forces. As Commander, Naval Submarine Forces (COMSUBFOR), an additional type commander role, he also supervises Commander, Submarine Force Pacific (often known as COMSUBPAC). From the 1960s to the 1990s the commander also held the NATO post of Commander, Submarines, Western Atlantic (COMSUBWESTLANT).

Established on 7 December 1941, Rear Admiral Richard S. Edwards was its first commander. COMSUBLANT headquarters was at Naval Submarine Base New London until 1960, when it was moved to Naval Station Norfolk. U.S. submarine operations in the Atlantic, however, date from before World War I. On January 1, 1913, Lieutenant Chester W. Nimitz was in command of the Atlantic Submarine Flotilla, with First Group consisting of submarines C-2, C-3, C-4, and C-5 under Lieutenant Lewis D. Causey, and Second Group consisting of submarines D-1, D-2, D-3, E-1, and E-2 under Lieutenant (junior grade) Claudius R. Hyatt. Nimitz was in command from May 1912 to March 1913.

In October 1945, Submarine Squadron 2 was established at Naval Submarine Base New London, Groton, Connecticut, and in February 1946, Submarine Squadron 8 was commissioned at Groton.

"In correspondence of 31 January 1949, the Chief of Naval Operations directed 'that the Fleet Commanders assign one division in each fleet to [the] sole task [of solving] the problem of using submarines to detect and destroy enemy submarines. All other operations of any nature, even type training, ASW services, or fleet tactics, shall be subordinated to this mission.' After a further exchange of correspondence, Submarine Forces Atlantic established Submarine Development Group 2, consisting of four Diesel submarines, two Guppy (Greater Underwater Propulsion Power Program) conversions and two standard fleet boats." The initial staff included Captain Roy S. Benson, two officers and two yeomen reporting directly to him.

In 1951, Submarine Squadron 10 was established at State Pier, New London, Connecticut. The squadron has the distinction of being the only unit associated with Submarine Base New London to actually be located in New London instead of Groton. In the early 1960s Squadron 10 became the first all-nuclear United States submarine squadron. The squadron was supported by USS Fulton (AS-11) for most of its existence, until both Fulton and the squadron were decommissioned in May, 1991.

In December 1969, Submarine Squadron 8 was decommissioned.

Submarine Squadron 14 operated Fleet Ballistic Missile boats from Holy Loch, Scotland, from 1961 until it was disbanded in 1992. COMSUBLANT also oversaw Submarine Squadron 22 at La Maddalena in the Mediterranean, which existed 1972–2008 and was known as Submarine Refit and Training Group La Maddalena from 1972 to the mid-1980s. Submarine Group 8 continues to operate in support of U.S. and NATO objectives there.