The History of the Submarine - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... According to Farmhand, the idea of underwater navigation is quite old and dates back even before 1624. He mentions that an Englishman William Bourne in 1578 suggested in his book the idea and value of a boat that sails below the surface of water and carries a hollow mast for ventilator (Farmhand 2010).
Captain Braxton Harris who is the author of the book The Navy Times Book of submarines: A Political, Social and Military History mentions in this book that Cornelius Drebbel was hired by James I and he, supposedly, built the first submarine. Yet there seem to be no credible image of his boat or accounts of its usage. In the year 1654, "Rotterdam Boat" was designed by D.E. Son who was a Frenchman; it was 72 foot long and was built by the Southern Netherlands to attack an enemy from the English Navy (Brayton).
In between 1620 and 1624, many improved concept of submarines were introduced. Although initially the first underwater vehicle was meant for exploring underwater, but soon it encouraged inventors to use this tool to strengthen and broaden the military operations. In 1648, this new startegic concept was executed by Bishop John Wilkins from England in Mathematical Magic. The first ever model to be used for military operations was developed in 1775, it was called Turtle. It had screws for propulsion and was used during American revolutionary war, it failed to sink the warship of Britisher, HMS Eagle. Then in 1804 in France, 'Nautilus' was designed by an American Rober Fulton. In the following years, many underwater ships were developed by many inventors and used in war operations. Successful models to be used from both side were executed in the American civil war. All these ships were manually opearated and, hence, had to go through many failures and as a result, many sank in their very first trials. The very first machine to feature under mechanical operation is Plongeur, devised in the year 1863. Ictieneo II is the first independent and combustion powered submarine (Brayton). Fig. 1.2 – “Plongeur” (Captain Brayton). Fig.1.3- In 1885 an American Josiah H. Tuck developed "Peacemaker" (Brayton). In the late 19th century, many experimented designs were introduced and in the early 20th century, its true usage and improvement in design, structure and execution was effectively been researched upon by ample involvement of the government (Farmhand 2010). Usage and Technological Advancement The 20th centruy was a pivotal period for the development and usage of submarines. Every nation was interested in including its own submarine in their effective military execution. New technological advancement ensured improved machinery and effective performances of these underwater ships. It was used widely by many nations for the coming World War I. The first submarines which were mechanically ...Download file to see next pagesRead More