Submarine

:For the sandwich, see Submarine sandwich

History of submarines

Early history of submarines and the first submersibles

A far ancestor for a submarine is probably a 17th century Ukrainian Cossack riverboat called chaika (gull) that was used underwater for reconnaissance and infiltration missions. Chaika could be easily capsized and submerged so that the crew was able to breathe underneath (like in modern diving bell) and propel the vessel by walking on the bottom of river. Special plummets (for submerging) and pipes for additional breathing have been used.

Related Topics:
17th century - Ukrainian - Cossack - Riverboat - Reconnaissance - Infiltration - Crew - Diving bell

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The first submersible for which there is reliable information that it was really built, is the one constructed in 1620 by Cornelius Jacobszoon Drebbel, a Dutchman in the service of James I. It was propelled by means of oars. The precise nature of the type is a matter of some controversy, some claiming it was merely a bell towed by a boat. There were two improved types, tested below the surface of the Thames between 1620 and 1624.

Related Topics:
1620 - Cornelius Jacobszoon Drebbel - James I - Thames - 1624

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Though the first submersible vehicles were tools for exploring under water, it did not take long for inventors to recognize their military potential. The strategic advantages of submarines were set out by Bishop John Wilkins of Chester in Mathematicall Magick in 1648.

Related Topics:
John Wilkins - Chester - 1648

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• Tis private: a man may thus go to any coast in the world invisibly, without discovery or prevented in his journey.
• Tis safe, from the uncertainty of Tides, and the violence of Tempests, which do never move the sea above five or six paces deep. From Pirates and Robbers which do so infest other voyages; from ice and great frost, which do so much endanger the passages towards the Poles.
• It may be of great advantages against a Navy of enemies, who by this may be undermined in the water and blown up.
• It may be of special use for the relief of any place besieged by water, to convey unto them invisible supplies; and so likewisefor the surprisal of any place that is accessible by water.
• It may be of unspeakable benefit for submarine experiments.

The first military submarine

The first military submarine was Turtle, a hand-powered egg-shaped device designed by the American David Bushnell, to accommodate a single man. It was the first verified submarine, capable of independent underwater operation and movement, and the first to use screws for propulsion. During the American Revolutionary War, Turtle (operated by Sgt. Ezra Lee, Continental Army) tried and failed to sink a British warship, HMS Eagle (flagship of the blockaders) in New York harbor on September 7, 1776.

Related Topics:
''Turtle'' - David Bushnell - American Revolutionary War - HMS ''Eagle'' - New York - September 7 - 1776

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In 1800, Robert Fulton demonstrated to the French, and then to the British, how to destroy ships with his human-powered submarine Nautilus using a mine, but none of the governments showed any interest.

Related Topics:
1800 - ''Nautilus''

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During the War of 1812, in 1814 Silas Halsey lost his life while using a submarine in unsuccessful attack on a British warship stationed in New London harbor.

Related Topics:
War of 1812 - 1814 - Silas Halsey - New London harbor

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In 1851, a Bavarian artillery corporal, Wilhelm Bauer, took a submarine called the Brandtaucher (fire-diver) to sea in Kiel Harbour. This submarine was powered by a treadwheel. It sank and the crew of 3 managed to escape with their lives. The submarine was raised in 1887 and is on display in a museum in Dresden.

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Submarines in the American Civil War

During the American Civil War, the Union was the first to field a submarine. Alligator was the first U.S. Navy sub and the first to feature compressed air and an air filtration system. She was the first submarine to carry a diver lock which allowed a diver to exit to plant electrically-detonated mines on enemy ships. Initially powered by oars, she was later converted to a screw propeller. With a crew of 20, she was larger than Confederate submarines. Alligator was 47 feet (14.3 meters) long and about 4 feet (1.2 meters) in diameter. She was lost in a storm off Cape Hatteras on April 1, 1863 while uncrewed and under tow to her first combat deployment at Charleston.

Related Topics:
American Civil War - ''Alligator'' - U.S. Navy - Cape Hatteras - April 1 - 1863

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The Confederate States of America fielded several human-powered submarines including CSS H. L. Hunley (named for her designer, Horace Hunley) . The first Confederate submarine was the 30-foot long Pioneer which sank a target schooner using a towed mine during tests on Lake Pontchartrain but she was not used in combat. She was scuttled after New Orleans was captured and in 1868 was sold for scrap.

Related Topics:
Confederate States of America - CSS ''H. L. Hunley'' - Schooner - Lake Pontchartrain

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CSS Hunley was used for attacking the North's ships, which were blockading the South's seaports. The submarine had a long pole in the bow, upon which was attached an explosive charge, called a spar torpedo. The sub was to sneak up to an enemy vessel, attach the explosive, move away, and then detonate. It was extremely hazardous to operate, and had no air supply other than what was contained inside the main compartment. On two occasions, the sub sank; on the first occasion half the crew died and on the second, the entire eight-man crew (including Hunley himself) drowned. On February 18, 1864 Hunley sank USS Housatonic in the Charleston Harbor, the first time a submarine successfully sank another ship, though she sank in the same engagement shortly after signaling her success. Another Confederate submarine was lost on her maiden voyage in Lake Pontchartrain; she was found washed ashore in the 1870s and is now on display at the Louisiana State Museum. Submarines did not have a major impact on the outcome of the war, but did portend their coming importance to naval warfare and increased interest in their use in naval warfare.

Related Topics:
February 18 - 1864 - USS ''Housatonic'' - Louisiana State Museum

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Developments in Submarines in the late 1800s

The first mechanically powered submarine was the peroxide driven Ictineo II, launched in 1864 by Narcís Monturiol. This submarine was originally built to ease the harvest of coral.

Related Topics:
Peroxide - ''Ictineo II'' - 1864 - Narcís Monturiol - Coral

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In 1870, writer Jules Verne published the science fiction classic 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, which concerns the adventures of a maverick inventor in Nautilus, a submarine more advanced than any that existed at that time. The fictional story inspired inventors to build more advanced submarines.

Related Topics:
1870 - Jules Verne - Science fiction - 20,000 Leagues under the Sea

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In 1879, a Manchester curate, the Reverend George Garrett built the steam-powered Resurgam at Birkenhead. Garrett intended to demonstrate the 12m long vehicle to the British Navy at Portsmouth, but had mechanical problems, and while under tow the submarine was swamped and sank off North Wales.

Related Topics:
1879 - George Garrett - Resurgam - Birkenhead

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The first submarine built in series, however, was human-powered. It was the submarine of the Polish inventor Stefan Drzewiecki—50 units were built in 1881 for Russian government. In 1884 the same inventor built an electric-powered submarine. In 1899, the French steam and electric submarine Narval introduced the classic twin-hull design, with an inner hull inside an outer hull.

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The Spanish inventor Isaac Peral built a practical submarine in 1888, but despite of the success of the trials, the Spanish Navy scrapped the project.

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Some submarines were also designed and built in France in the 1890s. Many more submarines were built subsequently by various inventors, but they were not to become effective weapons until the 20th century.

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The Irish inventor John Philip Holland had the best luck, and designed and built several quite successful gasoline- and electric powered submarines. Some of his vessels were purchased by the United States, the United Kingdom, the Imperial Russian Navy, and Japan, and commissioned into their navies around 1900.

Related Topics:
Irish - John Philip Holland - Gasoline - United States - United Kingdom - Imperial Russian Navy - Japan

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Late 1800s to World War I

The turn of century era marked a pivotal time in the development of submarines, with a number of important technologies making their debut, as well as the widespread adoption and fielding of submarines by a number of nations. Diesel electric propulsion would become the dominant power system and things such as the periscope would become standardized. Large numbers of experiments were done by countries on effective tactics and weapons for submarines, all of which would culminate in them making a large impact on coming World War I.

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In 1895, John Philip Holland designed submarines that, for the first time, made use of internal combustion engine power on the surface and electric battery power for submerged operations. In 1902, Holland received {{US patent|708553}}. The French submarine Aigette in 1904 further improved the concept by using a diesel rather than a gasoline engine for surface power.

Related Topics:
John Philip Holland - Battery - 1904

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Submarines during the World Wars

The first time military submarines had significant impact on a war was in World War I. Forces such as the U-boats of Germany saw action in the First Battle of the Atlantic. The U-boats' ability to function as practical war machines relied on new tactics, their numbers, and submarine technologies such as combination diesel/electric power system that had been developed in the preceding years. More like submersible ships than the submarines of today, U-boats operated primarily on the surface using regular engines, submerging occasionally to attack under battery power. They were roughly triangular in cross-section, with a distinct keel, to control rolling while surfaced, and a distinct bow.

Related Topics:
World War I - U-boat - Germany - First Battle of the Atlantic - Diesel - Electric - Keel

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Germany

Germany had the largest submarine fleet in World War II, due to the Treaty of Versailles which limited the surface navy of Germany to six battleships (of less than 10,000 tons), six cruisers and 12 destroyers.

Related Topics:
Treaty of Versailles - Battleships - Cruisers - Destroyers

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Germany again put submarines to devastating effect in the Second Battle of the Atlantic in World War II, such as attempting but ultimately failing to cut off Britain's supply routes. Although the U-boats had been updated in the intervening years, the major innovation was improved communications, facilitated with the famous cypher machine. This allowed for mass-attack tactics in what popularly became known as a "wolf pack", although the German term, Rudel (meaning pack or pride), did not specify wolves. After putting to sea, the U-boats could be quickly amassed into a formidable striking force. Germany attempted to maintain a blockade against the United Kingdom, a nation reliant on imports for food and industry. Winston Churchill wrote that the U-boat threat was the only thing that ever gave him cause to doubt the Allies' eventual victory.

Related Topics:
Second Battle of the Atlantic - World War II - - Tactics - Wolf pack - German - Winston Churchill

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Japan

Japan had by far the most varied fleet of submarines of World War II, including manned torpedoes (Kaiten), midget submarines (Ko-hyoteki, Kairyu), medium-range submarines, purpose-built supply submarines (many for use by the Army), long-range fleet submarines (many of which carried an aircraft), submarines with the highest submerged speeds of the conflict (Sentaka I-200), and submarines that could carry multiple bombers (WWII's largest submarine, the Sentoku I-400). These submarines were also equiped with the most advanced torpedo of the conflict, the oxygen-propelled Type 95 (what U.S. historian Samuel E. Morison postwar called "Long Lance").

Related Topics:
World War II - Kaiten - Ko-hyoteki - Kairyu - Sentaka ''I-200'' - Sentoku ''I-400'' - Type 95

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Overall, despite their technical prowesses, Japanese submarines were relatively unsuccesful. They were often used in offensive roles against warships (per the doctrine of Alfred T. Mahan, to which all major navies adhered), which were fast, maneuverable and well-defended compared to merchant ships. In 1942, Japanese submarines managed to sink two fleet aircraft carriers, one cruiser, and a few destroyers and other warships, and damage several others, including two battleships. They were not able to sustain these results afterwards, as Allied fleets were reinforced and became better organized. By the end of the war, submarines were instead often used to transport supplies to island garrisons. During the war, Japan managed to sink about 1 million tons of merchant shipping (184 ships), compared to 1.5 million tons for Great Britain (493 ships), 4.65 million tons for the US (1,079 ships) and 14.3 million tons for Germany (2,840 ships).

Related Topics:
1942 - Aircraft carriers - Cruiser - Destroyers - Battleships

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Early models were not very maneuverable under water, could not dive very deep, and lacked radar. (Later in the war units that were fitted with radar were in some instances sunk due to the ability of US radar sets to detect their emissions. For example, Batfish (SS-310) sunk three such equipped submarines in the span of four days). After the end of the conflict, several of Japan's most original submarines were sent to Hawaii for inspection in "Operation Road's End" (I-400, I-401, I-201 and I-203) before being scuttled by the U.S. Navy in 1946, when the Soviets demanded access to the submarines as well.

Related Topics:
Radar - ''Batfish'' (SS-310) - ''I-400'' - ''I-201''

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United States

Meanwhile, the US used her submarines to attack merchant shipping (commerce raiding or guerre de course), her submarines destroying more Japanese shipping than all other weapons combined. Where Japan had the finest submarine torpedoes, the USN had perhaps the worst, the Mark XIV, with a Mark VI magnetic influence exploder and Mark V contact exploder, neither of which worked correctly for the first twenty months of the war. Senior Submarine Force commanders (including one member of the Mark XIV's design team) ignored crew complaints.

Related Topics:
Merchant ship - Japan

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While the British and Japanese also fielded attack submarines, they were used in fleet actions where they were somewhat ineffective due to their low speeds.

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Diesel submarines needed air to run their engines, thus they carried very large batteries for submerged travel. These limited the speed and range of the submarines while submerged. The schnorchel (a prewar Dutch invention) was used to allow German submarines to run just under the surface, attempting to avoid detection visually and by radar. The German navy experimented with engines that would carry hydrogen peroxide to allow diesel fuel to be used while submerged, but technical difficulties made this infeasible. On the other side, the Allies experimented with a variety of detection systems, including chemical sensors to "smell" the exhaust of submarines.

Related Topics:
Batteries - Schnorchel - Radar - Hydrogen peroxide - Smell

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Modern submarines

In the 1950s, nuclear power partially replaced diesel-electric propulsion in those nations with access to nuclear technology. Equipment was also developed to extract oxygen from sea water. These two innovations gave submarines so equipped the ability to remain submerged for weeks or months, and enabled previously impossible voyages such as USS Nautilus's crossing of the North pole beneath the Arctic ice cap in 1958. Most of the naval submarines built since that time in the United States and the Soviet Union/Russia have been powered by nuclear fission reactors. Use of nuclear power instead of fossil fuel enables submarines to travel around the world submerged and essentially hidden for months at a time. The most limiting factors in the length of time staying submerged now are food supply and willingness of the crew to remain in the space-limited submarine.

Related Topics:
1950s - Nuclear power - Oxygen - USS ''Nautilus''

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While the greater endurance and performance from nuclear reactors mean that nuclear submarines are the norm, conventional diesel-electric submarines have continued to be produced by both nuclear and non-nuclear powers. Conventional submarines are cheaper to build. When running on batteries they are often quieter than nuclear submarines, giving a tactical advantage.

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During the Cold War, the United States of America and the Soviet Union maintained large submarine fleets that engaged in cat-and-mouse games; Russia continues this tradition today. The Soviet Union suffered the loss of at least four submarines during this period: K-129 was lost in 1968 (which CIA attempted to retrieve from the ocean floor with the Hughes-designed ship later named Glomar Challenger), K 8 in 1970, K -219 in 1986 (subject of the film "Hostile Waters"), and Komsomolets (the only Mike class submarine) in 1989 (which held a depth record among the military submarines—1000 m). Many other Soviet subs, such as K-19 (first Soviet nuclear submarine, and first Soviet sub at North Pole) were badly damaged by fire or radiation leaks. The United States lost two nuclear submarines during this time: USS Thresher and Scorpion, both to equipment casualties.

Related Topics:
Cold War - United States of America - Soviet Union - Russia - ''K-129'' - 1968 - ''K 8'' - 1970 - ''K -219'' - 1986 - ''Komsomolets'' - 1989 - ''K-19'' - USS ''Thresher'' - ''Scorpion''

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The United Kingdom employed nuclear-powered submarines against Argentina in 1982 during the two nations' dispute over the Falkland Islands. The sinking of the antiquated cruiser ARA General Belgrano by HMS Conqueror was the first sinking by a nuclear-powered submarine in wartime.

Related Topics:
Argentina - 1982 - Dispute - Falkland Islands - ARA ''General Belgrano'' - HMS ''Conqueror''

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Major submarine incidents since 2000

Main Article: Major submarine incidents since 2000

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Since submarines have been actively deployed, there have been several incidents involving submarines which were not part of major combat. Most of these incidents were during the Cold War, but some are more recent. Since the year 2000 there have been 8 major naval incidents involving submarines. There were three Russian submarine incidents, in two of which the submarines in question were lost, along with three United States submarine incidents, one Chinese incident, and one Canadian incident. In August 2005, the Russian PRIZ, an AS-28 rescue submarine was trapped by cables and/or nets off of Petropavlovsk, and saved when a British ROV cut them free in a massive international effort.

Related Topics:
2000 - Russian - United States - Chinese - Canadian - AS-28

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