The Historical Impact andInnovation of the Submarine Andrew Chen

The First Submarine• The first plan for a submarine was published by William Bourne in 1578

• The first real working submarine was invented by Cornelius Jacobzoon Drebbel, who was working as an inventor for James I of England

Bourne’s Plan

Cornelius Drebbel

The First Submarine cont• Drebbel had to use human powered oars to propel under water. Once the people inside stopped rowing, the submarine would rise again. It could submerse up to fifteen feet• It did not become popular and it was never used in combat

Scaled Replica of Drebbel’s Submarine

Revolutionary War Sub• The first American

submarine was invented by David Bushnell during the American Revolution. It was named the Turtle

• It submerged by letting water into a tank and ascended through the use of a hand pump. It was powered by hand crank propellers

• In theory, a needle with explosives was supposed to drill into an enemy ship and blow up. The Turtle became the first combat submarine, although it failed in destroying its target

The Turtle

Submarines in the Civil War• Submarines did not really

affect the outcome of the Civil War

• The Union Alligator never saw battle, for it was lost at sea while being towed to Charleston

• The Confederate Pioneer never did much of anything. It was deliberately sunk and sold.

The Alligator

The Pioneer

The H.L. Hunley Confederate Sub• Used a crank shaft propeller,

powered by humans• The Hunley sank itself three

times in one year• The H.L. Hunley became the

first submarine to actually sink a ship. It used a spar torpedo to destroy the U.S.S Housatonic. However, something went wrong and Hunley never returned to port

Remains of the Hunley

Non-Human Power

• The first submarine powered mechanically was the French Plongeur, powered by a compressed air reciprocating engine

• The first steam powered sub was the Ictineo II by a Spanish inventor named Narcis Monturiol

Model of Ictineo II’s Engine

Advancing Weaponry• The first self-propelled

torpedo prototype was invented by Giovanni Luppis, Robert Whitehead, and a naval officer. It used clockworks to travel forward

• Whitehead improved on Luppis’s design to create the Minenschiff, which used compressed air to launch forward

Navigation• The ASDIC system was

the first sound detection device. It pin pointed objects by sending out sound waves and receiving the bounceback

• The United States later coined it SONAR for a better sounding name and comparing it to RADAR

World War One

• German U-Boats were a nuisance for allied troops, giving unexpected attacks to supply ships

• Germany declared unrestrained submarine warfare about 3 years into the war

• Submarine aircraft carriers, that could carry airplanes, were developed during the war and later used during the second world war.

The RMS Lusitania passenger ocean liner was sunk by a U-Boat

A British submarine aircraft carrier

• The majority of destroyed Japanese ships were sunk by United States submarines

• Japan had the most technologically advanced submarines during World War Two, but chose to only go after warships, not merchant ships. This made them less successful

• Germany was not as successful during World War Two, due to the detection of their submarines using sonar

World War Two

USS Lagarto

Japanese Type 95 Torpedo

Nuclear Submarines• The first nuclear powered submarine was the USS Nautilus

launched in 1955• Nuclear subs do not need to surface as often as ordinary

submarines. The Nautilus could stay underwater significantly longer than even the most advanced conventional subs

• Unfortunately, nuclear subs are also very expensive

Recent History• Devices placed inside

some submarines that take oxygen from the surrounding water paired with nuclear subs mean that submarines can submerge much longer

• Submarines are now sometimes used for underwater exploration for tourists

Tourist Submarine

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