Being safely submerged underwater has been and
idea for a very long time dating back to the days of Alexander
the Great. There is even a tale of Alexander the Great being
lowered into the sea in a glass barrel to study aquatic life.
Unfortunately, it is only recently that technology has allowed
us to design and produce such advances as the submarine.
The first serious idea for a submarine was in 1578 when English mathematician described the principle of of making a boat sink and rise by changing its volume. Expanding it would make it rise and reducing it would cause it to sink. This was never tested because of the lack in feasible materials and techniques. However, around 1620 Dutchman Cornelius van Drebbel made the first working "submarine." This was essentially an enclosed rowboat manned by oarsmen. It was designed in such a way that its forward motion would force the ship to be submerged in the water. Of course this was not very effective over any sort of amount of time. The next advancement came in 1636 when Frenchman Marin Merseene changed the design to a long cylindrical shape and added an engine which ran on compressed air. He said that this would help the submarine withstand the pressure and it was the first submarine which did not rely on human propulsion.
It wasn't long before people started to realize the huge military potential that submarines held. This led to a new wave in designs and advancements to the submarine. The first was essentially a giant battering ram which was designed to make contact with enemy ships, punching a huge hole in their side. This never saw combat. The next combat submarine was named the "Turtle" and it was similar to the battering ram design but it was designed to be operated by one man using hand-cranked propellers for both horizontal and vertical motion. It was supposed to make contact with an enemy ship and then the pilot would stuff a keg of gun powder into its hull while the submarine made its escape. This ship saw combat, but was never effective because it could easily be seen coming and avoided by its target.
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| Alexander the Great views fish from an
underwater "submarine" as the tales goes. http://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/35/white_glass_FINAL.jpg |
The first serious idea for a submarine was in 1578 when English mathematician described the principle of of making a boat sink and rise by changing its volume. Expanding it would make it rise and reducing it would cause it to sink. This was never tested because of the lack in feasible materials and techniques. However, around 1620 Dutchman Cornelius van Drebbel made the first working "submarine." This was essentially an enclosed rowboat manned by oarsmen. It was designed in such a way that its forward motion would force the ship to be submerged in the water. Of course this was not very effective over any sort of amount of time. The next advancement came in 1636 when Frenchman Marin Merseene changed the design to a long cylindrical shape and added an engine which ran on compressed air. He said that this would help the submarine withstand the pressure and it was the first submarine which did not rely on human propulsion.
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| http://www.submarine-history.com/NOVArotterdam.gif |
http://www.submarine-history.com/NOVAborelli.gif |
It wasn't long before people started to realize the huge military potential that submarines held. This led to a new wave in designs and advancements to the submarine. The first was essentially a giant battering ram which was designed to make contact with enemy ships, punching a huge hole in their side. This never saw combat. The next combat submarine was named the "Turtle" and it was similar to the battering ram design but it was designed to be operated by one man using hand-cranked propellers for both horizontal and vertical motion. It was supposed to make contact with an enemy ship and then the pilot would stuff a keg of gun powder into its hull while the submarine made its escape. This ship saw combat, but was never effective because it could easily be seen coming and avoided by its target.
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| http://u-boat.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/turtle.png |
http://www.drgeorgepc.com/TurtleSub.gif |