Submarine History

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Origins The origins of the submarine stretch way back to 1620 on the River Thames in Southern England, when Cornelius Drebbel tested the first working submersible. This vessel was a decked over 16-man row boat covered with leather and reinforced with iron to protect against water pressure. This first submersible traveled at around 15 feet below the surface of the river from Westminster to Greenwich, England, and was said to be able to summerged for several hours at a time. Air was supplied to the vessel by two tubes suspended out of the water into fresh air. Nearly 130 years later, a new submarine was also introduced on the Thames River. This submersible was the first to introduce the the ballast tank principle, a technology that is still…show more content…
It was a wooden, egg-shaped craft which was propelled by a one man crew by turning two hand cranked propellers. The vessel was steered with a tiller, a horizontal bar at the end of the boat which can be turned to control direction. A foot-operated valve controlled the amount of air in water in the ballast tanks, and in ideal conditions, the Turtle could travel at 3 knots at 20 feet submerged. The vessel was loaded with 150 pounds of gunpowder in sacks, which would be screwed on enemy ships in time of attack, and detonated by a timing…show more content…
commissioned its first modern submarine the “USS Holland”. Simon Lake and Philip Holland combined to build the 54 foot long submarine. This vessel was the first to combine the gas engine and an electric engine to create the propulsion source. The submarine was powered by the gas engine when traveling on the surface, but switched to the electric motor when submerged. It was armed with a single torpedo tube and one dynamite gun to use against enemy ships. The USS Holland was the basis of the propulsion system for many years to come. A year later, Simon Lake followed up the USS Holland with a bigger, more advanced submarine called the “Protector”. This submarine was the first to incorporate a light infrastructure to improve the overall seakeeping qualities of the vessel. Also, the submarine was equipped with the first ever airlock for divers to exit and enter the ship. The Protector was sold to the Russian Empire after a large bidding period between Russia and Japan and was the first of Russia’s war submarine fleet just in time for World War

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