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7/28/2019 Submarine History 1870-1914_ a Timeline of Development
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► Structural Design ► Submarine ► Structural Steel ► Structural Beams
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1885Thorsten
Nordenfeldt
1887"Nordenfeldt III"
1887USN First
Submarine
Competition
1888Gustave Zede
"Gymnote"
1889Isaac Peral
1893USN Second
Submarine
Competition
George C. Baker
Simon Lake
1895Holland "Plunger"
Lake "Argonaut"
1896Gathmann submarine
and torpedo
1897"Holland VI"
1898Spanish-American
War
"Holland VI" trials
"Argonaut I"
Electric BoatCompany
1898"Gustav Zede"
1899Modified
"Holland VI"
1900USS Holland
1901French president
goes to sea
1902D'Equevilley
First German
submarines
"Forelle"
"Karp"
1904
, , .
(Return to top)
1879 Anglican Reverend GEORGE W. GARRETT tested the steam-powered
"Resurgam:" steam for a boiler for surface operations, steam stored in pressurized
tanks for submerged operations. The boat passed initial trials, but sank while
under tow (rediscovered in 1996). Out of funds but not undeterred, Garrett took hisideas to a wealthy Swedish arms manufacturer, THORSTEN NORDENFELDT.
See below.
1881HOLLAND launched the "Fenian Ram" – 31 feet long, armed with a ram bow and
an air-power cannon. Tests continued for two years, to depths of sixty feet for as
long as one hour. Surface and submerged speeds were about the same, 9 knots.
However, the Fenians became increasingly frustrated with Holland's delays, and,
faced with some internal legal squabbles, stole their own boat and hid it in a shed
in New Haven, CT, where it remained for thirty-five years. Holland had nothing more
to do with the Fenians; the boat was eventually donated to the city of Patterson,
where it is now on display in West Side Park.
1883
HOLLAND and several investors formed the Nautilus Submarine Boat Company,
hoping to sell a submarine to the French, then at war in Indochina. The company
prototype, dubbed the "Zalinski Boat" after one of the investors, was launched in
1885. Too heavy for the launching ways, the boat smashed into some pilings and
was badly damaged. Repaired, she made some token trial runs but the French war
had ended and the company went bankrupt.
(Return to top)
1885
French designer CLAUDE GOUBET built a battery-operated submarine, tooawkward and unstable to be successful. He followed up in 1889 with "Goubet II" –
also small, electric, and not effective.
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ompe on
Lake "Protector"
EB "Fulton"
1904British fleet
maneuvers
with Hollands
1904Holland forms
new company
1905TheodoreRoosevelt
goes to sea
1906U-1 launched
1909Lake "Seal"
1910British fleetmaneuvers
D-1
1911USN replaces
gas engines
with diesel
1912Chester Nimitz
on submarine
operations
1912British fleet
maneuvers
1912Germany "30's"
series U-boats
1914Status of forces
The War Below
James Scott
New
1885American JOSIAH H. L. TUCK demonstrated "Peacemaker" – powered by a
chemical (fireless) boiler; 1500 pounds of caustic soda provided five hours
endurance. Tuck's inventing days ended when relatives – noting that he had
squandered most of a significant fortune – had him committed to an asylum for the
insane.
M
(Return to top)
1885"Nordenfeldt I" – 64 feet, armed with one external torpedo tube – was launched.
Powered by steam on the surface -- and "accumulated" steam while submerged.
(See "Resurgam.") It took as long as twelve hours to generate enough steam for
submerged operations and about thirty minutes to dive. Once underwater, sudden
changes in speed or direction triggered – in the words of a U. S. Navy intelligence
report – "dangerous and eccentric movements."
However, good public relations overcame bad design: Nordenfeldt always
demonstrated his boats before a stellar crowd of crowned heads, and
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Shadow Divers
Robert Kurson
New
Shadow Divers
Robert Kurson
New $12.98
Submarine!
Edward L. Beach
New
The Silent
Service in World
War II
Michael Green,
Edw...
New
Steel Boat, Iron
Hearts
Hans Goebeler,
Joh...
New
Privacy Information
Nordenfeldt's submarines were regarded as the world standard.
The Greek Navy took delivery of "Nordenfeldt I" in 1886, and seems to have done
nothing with it. Bitter rival Turkish Navy ordered two of the larger "Nordenfeldt II"
boats – 100 feet with two torpedo tubes. When a torpedo was fired on a test dive,
the first boat tipped backwards and sank, stern first, to the bottom. The second
Turkish boat was left unfinished.
The 1887 "Nordenfeldt III" – 123 feet, rated to a depth of 100 feet and with an advertised surface
speed of 14 knots – was sold to Russia, but ran a ground en route. The Russians refused to accept
delivery; the boat was scrapped.
(Return to top)
1887
The U. S. Navy announced an open competition for a submarine torpedo boat, with
a $2 million incentive. The specifications were based on presumed Nordenfeldt-
level capabilities and presumed a steam-powerplant of 1000 horsepower.
Bidders included Nordenfeldt, Tuck, and Holland. Holland's design won, but
because of contracting complications, the award was withdrawn.
The competition was re-opened a year later, Holland was again the winner – but a
new Secretary of the Navy diverted the $2 million to surface ships. Nordenfeldt lost
interest in submarines; Tuck went into the asylum; Holland got a job as a
draftsman, earning $4 a day.
1888GUSTAVE ZEDE built "Gymnote" for the French Navy – a 60-foot, battery-
powered boat capable of 8 knots on the surface but limited by the lack of any
method for recharging the batteries while at sea. Her naval service was largely
limited to experimentation.
1889Spaniard ISAAC PERAL's "Peral" successfully fired three Whitehead torpedoes
while on trials, but internal politics kept the Spanish Navy from pursuing the
project.
(Return to top)
1893 With a new Administration in office, the U. S. Congress appropriated $200,000 for
an "experimental submarine" and the Navy announced a new competition. There
were three bidders: Holland, GEORGE C. BAKER, and SIMON LAKE.
Holland and Lake submitted proposals; the politically well- connected Baker
actually had a submarine, which he was demonstrating on Lake Michigan. A novel
feature: a clutch between the steam engine and an electric motor allowed the motor
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to function as a dynamo, to recharge the batteries for submerged running. A
troubling feature: a pair of amidships-mounted propellers that swivelled up or
forward, through a clumsy period of transition.
When Holland's design once again won the competition, Baker complained to his
friends in Washington. The whole business seems to have been put on "hold."
The scheme that Simon Lake submitted included a set of wheels by which the boat could run along
the bottom. He tested this theory in 1894 with small wooden "test vehicle" dubbed "Argonaut Jr."
and financed by relatives. Public demonstrations brought in enough money to build a larger boat,
"Argonaut I." See photo, below.
Lake's basic patent, granted Apr. 7, 1896
(Return to top)
1895
Holland took a leaf from the Nordenfeldt playbook – in this case, good publicrelations to overcome political intransigence – and let it be known that he was
entertaining offers from foreign navies. On March 3, the John P. Holland Torpedo
Boat Company was awarded $200,000 to build an 85-foot, 15 knot, steam-powered
submarine to be called "Plunger."
Holland was only somewhat pleased – he didn't like the imposition of a steam
engine, as well some changes the Navy insisted upon: the Navy knew what it
wanted, but didn't know what it was doing. Congress was thrilled, and immediately
authorized two more submarines of the Plunger type at $175,000 each.
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Simon Lake's prominently-wheeled "Argonaut I" – coincidentally under construction in the samegraving dock as Holland's "Plunger." This boat used a gasoline engine for both surface and
submerged running (drawing air from the surface through breathing tubes),
"Plunger," launched in 1897, failed before ever leaving the dock. The temperature in the fireroomreached 137 degrees at only 2/3 rated output. As one of Holland's employees was later to testify,
"They forced us to put steam in the "Plunger" against Mr. Holland's advice. When we . . . put the
steam on, we found it was so hot we could not live in her." (In what must be an unwitting irony, thefirst U. S. Navy submarine with built-in air conditioning was the 1935 SS-179, "Plunger.")
(Return to top)
1896Upon his death in 1917, Louis Gathmann (correct spelling) may have amassed
more patents than any other person, in a wide range of investigation. Much of his
work was devoted to large-calibre artillery; however, according to the below article
in the January 19, 1896 St. Paul Daily Globe, he was also interested in the design of torpedoes and submarines. I have found no evidence that he ever built either . . .
and would welcome any information!
Clipping, courtesy, www.navsource.org
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1897Even before "Plunger" had failed, Holland began construction of a new, smaller (54
feet), slower (7 knots), gasoline-powered boat, "Holland VI." Armament: one
dynamite gun (air-launched 222-pound projectile with seven loads) and a
Whitehead torpedo (three loads). Crew: six men. Habitability: included a toilet, to
support operations as long as forty hours. Holland began a series of public
demonstrations.
New York Times, May 17, 1897: ". . . the Holland, the little cigar-sharped vessel
owned by her inventor, which may or may not play an important part in the navies
of the world in the years to come, was launched from Nixon's shipyard this
morning,"
1898 The impending Spanish-American War intruded on Holland's efforts to sell his new
boat to the Navy, although Theodore Roosevelt – at the time, Assistant
Secretary of the Navy – told his boss, "I think that the Holland submarine boat
should be purchased." The war begun, Holland offered to go to Cuba and sink the
Spanish fleet –if, upon being successful, the Navy would buy his boat. The Navyproperly was horrified at the thought of a private citizen using a private warship to
sink foreign ships; times had changed since Bushnell and "Turtle" and the days of
the privateers.
In September, SIMON LAKE'S 36-foot "Argonaut I" made an open-ocean passage
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rom or o , , o an y oo , , promp ng u es erne o sen a e a
cable: "The conspicuous success of submarine navigation in the United States will
push on under-water navigation all over the world . . . . The next war may be largely
a contest between submarine boats."
By November, with the war ended, the Navy held an "official" trial of "Holland VI."
There were some problems; Holland did not have enough money to fix them, so he
joined forces with another manufacturer to form the Electric Boat Company. He
was designated Chief Engineer.
Holland VI, as pictured in the December, 1898 Scientific American.
(Return to top)
1898 The French fielded the 148-foot, 266-ton "Gustav Zede" – named for the recently-
deceased designer. On maneuvers, the submarine "torpedoed" an anchored
battleship, to the consternation of some, and pride among other, French naval
officers.
The success of "Zede" prompted an international competition for a submarine with
a surface range of 100 miles and a submerged range of 10 miles. There were
twenty-nine entries; the winner was MAXIME LAUBEUF'S "Narval," 188-feet, 136-
tons, which began life with steam power that soon enough was switched to a
diesel engine.
(Return to top)
1899 A modified "Holland VI" passed the Navy trials; the company made a formal offer to
sell the boat to the Navy, and moved it down from New York to Washington, DC to
enhance the PR effort with some demonstrations for members of Congress.
Simon Lake's "Argonaut I" was enlarged, improved, and redesignated "Argonaut
II."
1900
On April 11, the U. S. Navy bought "Holland VI" for $150,000 and changed the name
to USS Holland. The boat had cost $236,615 to build, but the company viewed it as
a loss-leader. The Navy ordered another submarine.
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Congress held hearings. One admiral testified: "The Holland boats are interesting
novelties which appeal to the non-professional mind, which is apt to invest them
with remarkable properties they do not possess." However, Admiral George
Dewey – the senior officer of the Navy – noted that if the Spanish had had two
submarines at Manila, he could not have captured and held the city. Besides, he
said, "Those craft moving underwater would wear people out." In August,
Congress ordered six more Holland submarines.
USS Holland in drydock.
(Return to top)
1900By October, the British had five Hollands on order, but not until senior naval
leadership had wrestled with a moral dilemma: they, like many others through the
years, believed that covert warfare was, basically, illegal. Gentlemen fought each
other face to face, wearing easily recognized uniforms. The Navy agreed to
proceed with caution, primarily to "test the value of the submarine as a weapon in
the hands of our enemies."
However; Rear Admiral A. K. Wilson assured himself of a certain immortality by
declaring that the submarine was "underhand, unfair, and damned UnEnglish."
The government, he wrote, should "treat all submarines as pirates in wartime . . .and hang all crews."
1901
President of France Emil Loubet became the first chief executive to go for a
submerged ride, aboard "Gustav Zede." He did so in full formal dress, frock coat an
all. Three months later, on maneuvers three hundred miles from her base, "Zede"
put a practice torpedo into the side of the moving battleship "Charles Martel" to the
reported "general stupefaction" of those aboard the battleship.
Submarines had become so popular in France that the newspaper Le Matin had
launched a public fund-raising drive to build submarines for the Navy: "Francais"launched in 1901 and "Algerien" launched in 1902.
1902
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Spanish submarine designer RAIMONDO LORENZO D'EQUEVILLEY, looking
for work, was rebuffed by the German Navy; Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was on
record, "The submarine is, at present, of no great value in war at sea. We have no
money to waste on experimental vessels." D'Equevilley took his plans to the Krupp
Germania shipyard, which built the 40-foot "Forelle" (Trout) on speculation.
Powered only by electricity and without an underway recharging system, – like the
French "Gymnote" – "Forelle" was not a practical warship. However, Kaiser
Wilhelm II was impressed and his brother, an admiral, took a ride.
D'Equevilley turned his hand to marketing, publishing a book (in Germany) in
which he traced the history of submarines. "As exaggerated as it may sound," hewrote, "who knows whether the appearance of undersea boats may put an end to
naval battles." Krupp worked on a larger, improved design – the "Karp" class –
powered by gasoline engine on the surface, with an onboard battery recharging
system. Russia ordered three. The German Navy ordered one, but asked for a
kerosene rather than gasoline engine.
(Return to top)
1904
On their first fleet maneuvers, the five British Hollands were assigned to defend
Portsmouth – and managed to "torpedo" four warships. Of this, Admiral John
Arbuthnot (Baron) Fisher – known as "Jacky" in a profession which cherished
nicknames almost as much as tradition – wrote, "It is astounding to me, perfectly
astounding, how the very best amongst us fail to realize the vast impending
revolution in Naval warfare and Naval strategy that the submarine will accomplish!"
On a more somber note: "A-1" – first of a brand-new British designed class of
improved Hollands – was run over by an unwitting passenger ship, and sank with
the loss of all hands. "A-1" was salvaged and put back in service.
The British Holland "No. 3," in service from 1902 to 1912.
(Return to top)
1904
Holland, squeezed out of management and increasingly ignored, resigned from
Electric Boat and formed John P. Holland's Submarine Boat Company. He sold
plans for two larger, improved submarines, to be built in Japan under the
supervision of a Holland associate; one achieved a remarkable underwater speed
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of 16 knots, about twice that of the five earlier model Hollands in Japan.
Holland solicited business from around the world, but quickly discovered that all of
his patents were controlled by Electric Boat – a fact of which the company made
certain that all potential customers were aware. He tried to interest the U. S. Navy in
a new, fast hull design; tested in an experimental tank at the Washington navy
Yard, it promised submerged speeds as high as 22 knots. The Navy offered the
opinion that it would be too hazardous for submarines to go faster than 6 knots
underwater.
He was sued by Electric Boat for breach of contract, for unethical conduct, and
even for using the name "Holland." The suits were eventually dismissed by the
courts, but Holland's business never recovered.
1904Simon Lake, blocked from competing for submarine contracts, challenged what
had become a monopoly business for Electric Boat. He won, and the Navy agreed
that the next procurement would be through an open competition. Lake planned to
enter "Protector," launched in 1902, as a template for a new class of submarines.
Electric Boat planned to enter "Fulton," a company-financed prototype of an
"improved" Holland.
However, Lake was desperately short of cash, and grabbed the opportunity to sell
"Protector" to Russia, just then at war with Japan (and took orders for five more).
Thus, as the only entrant, "Fulton" won the design competition, leading to
continued orders from the U. S. Navy – but within a month, in an amazing display of
impartiality, "Fulton," too, was en route to new owners in Russia. Impartiality? Only
a few months earlier, Electric Boat had received a contract to deliver five Hollands
to Japan.
Lake's "Protector," taken out of the competition and sold to Russia in a desperate bid for cash.
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"Fulton," about to be loaded on a barge to begin its journey to Russia.
(Return to top)
1905Theodore Roosevelt became the first U. S. president to take a submerged ride – in
the A-1 "Plunger" (not the unfinished steamboat, but a later Holland model. The
first "Plunger" became a training target for Navy divers). He was so impressed with
the hazards and hardships of the duty that he instituted submarine pay for crewmembers.
1906
U-1, the first German "U-Boat" (for unterzeeboot), was launched. This modified
"Karp" was 139 feet long, displaced 239 tons, had a surface speed of 11 knots, a
submerged speed of 9 knots, and a range of two thousand miles. It was joined in
1908 by a twin, U-2. By this time, the French had a submarine force of sixty boats,
the British almost as many. Germany finally took notice.
1909
Simon Lake received his first U. S. Navy contract. However, Simon Lake was an
inveterate tinkerer, unable to keep his hands off a design even when a boat was
almost finished. The first submarine he managed to sell to the U. S. Navy – "Seal,"
laid down in February 1909 – was delivered two years, five months and fifteen days
late.
Virtually obsolete by the time she entered service, Simon Lake's "Seal" nonetheless set a depth
record, 256 feet, in 1914. The Lake Torpedo Boat Company had some World War I contracts, butwent out of business in 1924.
1910
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British doctrine held that submarines were limited to harbor operations; of course,
but the people who wrote the doctrine had not been paying attention. The question
could be, operations in whose harbor? In the annual fleet maneuvers, the first of
the new "D" class "torpedoed" two cruisers as they left port – 500 miles from the
submarine's home base.
The British D-1, 1908-1918. Note the marked shift from the Holland porpoise-like hull shape to that of
a surface ship – a shift common in all navies of the day. It was an acknowledgment that
submarines would spend most of their lives on the surface and needed sea-keeping qualities not
found in a streamlined "underwater" hull.
1911The U. S. Navy purchased a set of plans from the Italian designer Laurenti. It was
not a happy move. While the Laurentis had some advanced features, they weredifficult to build and awkward in service.
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Laurenti G-4, the 26th U. S. submarine, at the Cramp shipyard in Philadelphia one year after
launching, one year before commissioning
1911
Thanks in large part to the efforts of a 26-year old Navy lieutenant, Chester Nimitz –
who by this time had commanded three U. S. submarines – the obnoxious and
dangerous gasoline engine was replaced by diesels, beginning with Nimitz' fourth
submarine command, "Skipjack."
1912
Lieutenant Nimitz addressed the Naval War College on "Defensive and Offensive
tactics of Submarines." A highlight: he offered an innovative method for forcing
enemy ships into submarine-patrolled waters: "drop numerous poles, properly
weighted to float upright in the water, and painted to look like a submarine's
periscope."
1912
In the annual fleet maneuvers, two British submarines slipped into a theoretically-
safe fleet anchorage and "torpedoed" three ships. A staff evaluation warned that
enemy submarines might prove a serious menace to the fleet. The Navy Board
scoffed.
1912
Germany began to get serious about submarines with the "30s" series – U-31 to U-
41. These diesel-powered boats displaced 685 tons, carried six torpedoes and one
88mm deck gun, had a surface speed of 16.4 knots, submerged 9.7 knots – and a
maximum range of 7,800 miles at 8 knots.
1914
On the eve of World War I, the art of submarine warfare was barely a dozen years
old, and no nation had submarine-qualified officers serving at the senior staff level.
Ancient prejudice against submarines remained: they represented an unethical
form of warfare, and they did not "fit" in the classic, balanced structure of a navy –
where battleships were king. No nation had developed any method for detecting
submarines, or attacking them if found.
Global scorecard: professional intransigence aside, and thanks largely to the
efforts of Admiral Fisher, Great Britain had the world's largest submarine fleet;
Germany, with a late start, had the most capable.
Great Britain: seventy-four in service, thirty-one under construction, fourteen
projected.
France: sixty-two boats in service, nine under construction.
Russia, forty-eight boats (five Hollands and eight Lakes, the rest from Britain,
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France and Germany).
Germany: twenty-eight in service, seventeen under construction.
United States, thirty in service, ten under construction; Italy, twenty-one in service,
seven under construction; Japan, thirteen and three; Austria, six and two.
Excluding freelance designers, adventurers and Civil War experience, the
submarine safety record was surprisingly good. The U. S. Navy had one accident,
two men killed. The German Navy, one accident with three men killed. Japan and
Italy had each lost a submarine, each with a crew of fourteen. At the other end of the scale, Great Britain: eight accidents, seventy-nine killed; France, eleven
accidents, fifty-seven killed; Russia, five accidents, seventy killed.
1914In June, British Admiral Percy Scott wrote letters to the editors of two newspapers.
In one, he said "as the motor has driven the horse from the road, so has the
submarine driven the battleship from the sea." In the other: "Submarines and
aeroplanes have entirely revolutionized naval warfare; no fleet can hide from the
aeroplane eye, and the submarine can deliver a deadly attack even in broad
daylight." He called for more submarines, and no more battleships.
He was loudly attacked from all sides, by other senior naval officers, by the
government, by the conservative press. In summary: his theory was "a fantastic
dream."
By August, Great Britain and Germany were at war.
On September 5, U-21 sank the British cruiser "Pathfinder" with one torpedo. From
weapon launch to sunk took three minutes. There were nine survivors of a crew of
268. A week later, the British had their turn when E.9 sank the German light cruiser
"Hela" with two torpedoes.
Then, on September 22, 1914, one virtually prehistoric German submarine, U-9,sank three British cruisers. On the same day. Within slightly more than 90 minutes.
A month later, U-17 became the first submarine to sink a merchantman. A month
after that, U-18 penetrated the British fleet anchorage at Scapa Flow; although she
did no direct damage and was captured, the effect upon the British Navy was
electric: this one small boat forced the most powerful battle fleet in the world to
shift to a base on the other side of Scotland.
The face of naval warfare was, indeed, changed forever.
1580-1869 1914-1945 1945-2000
eGet the whole story:
The Navy Times Book of Submarines: A Political, Social and Military History"
December 7, 2011