Though the submarine boat has only recently been brought to a high
degree of practical efficiency, its history extends back to the
seventeenth century, and even beyond. The modern submarine, however,
whether of the American, English, or German type, has followed the
model of J. P. Holland, an American inventor who submitted designs to
the United States government in 1895.
[Illustration: =SUBMARINE WITH WIRELESS EQUIPMENT=]
In 1901 the English Admiralty gave orders to the firm of Vickers, Maxim
& Sons, of Barrow, to construct five of the _Holland_ type and
subsequently several were constructed for the United States government.
To France belongs the credit of making submarine boats a real factor in
naval warfare. In 1881 M. Goubet designed a small submarine boat, and in
1885 an improved _Goubet_, which was sixteen feet five inches in length,
the motive power being electricity. Successful experiments led the
French Admiralty to have the _Gymnote_ constructed at Toulon in 1888;
she was fifty-six feet five inches long, with a displacement of thirty
tons, her motive power being electricity stored in accumulators, which
gave her a radius of thirty-two miles at eight knots. Her trials decided
the French authorities to have more vessels built, and by 1901 there
were some eleven completed.
[Illustration: =THE PERISCOPE OF THE SUBMARINE=
is its ever watchful eye. Ordinarily the top of the periscope extends
about eighteen inches above the waves. Continually revolved at a high
rate of speed by an electric motor, the mirrors bring into focus the
whole panorama of the upper seas so that the commander can follow in the
smallest detail what is passing above him, locate vessels to be
attacked, and submerge at will in the presence of danger.]
In America, the _Hollands_ have been similarly improved, but other types
are also in use. The _Lake_ type, named after the inventor, Simon Lake,
contains an air-lock through which divers may emerge. These vessels
have been adopted by Russia.
Germany started with _Hollands_, which they have developed along their
own lines. The submarine boat is found in all navies now, and has proved
an enormously efficient craft; displacements of one thousand tons are
not unusual and speeds as well as radius of action have shown great
improvement. The Diesel engine has been largely responsible for this. In
manœuvers the craft have come up to expectation completely, the
experience in actual war has shown them to be among the most formidable
of war craft.
There are two distinct types of submarine vessel--the submarine proper,
and the submersible. The submarine sinks through the exhaustion of all
its buoyancy, and she sinks at once; the submersibles are forced under.
The latter, though equipped to travel on the surface of the water, are
specially equipped for sinking quickly out of sight as the occasion
arises. The most improved types, such as the recent German U-boats, have
lofty armor plated conning towers, torpedo tubes, mounted guns,
periscopes, and wireless equipments.
While in the present European war the submarines have shown themselves
to be formidable weapons in skillful hands, they are not so formidable
as to ring the death-knell of the large battleship, still less perhaps
of the swift battle cruiser. Victory has usually rested with the more
powerful ship and the heavier guns.
The present-day submarine suffers from two serious drawbacks: (1)
inability to see under the water; (2) inefficient speed--the latter
being much slower compared with the speed of fast surface boats. The
chief chance of a submarine attacking an enemy with success is to come
upon him unawares.
The periscopes and other optical tubes with which submarines are fitted,
suffer also from many disabilities; and the fact that many collisions
have occurred while using them, shows that they are not yet perfect.
Obviously one showing not only what is forward of the submarine but what
is on the surface of the water on every side is best. One of the
drawbacks from which they suffer is the encrustation of salt on their
reflecting surfaces; and small though the exposed surface of the
periscope may be, there is always the chance of a vigilant enemy
detecting it.
THE SUBMARINE IN PEACE.--It is pleasant to record that this invention,
like many others of its kind, has not been devoted solely to war, but
that peace also can claim its services. The recent remarkable
trans-Atlantic voyages of the German submarine _Deutschland_ to American
ports is an illustration of their importance to commercial
transportation under critical conditions. Since, too, the submarine can
sink or dive down to moderate depths, it is obvious it can be used for
purposes of underwater salvage, construction, and exploration.
As an aid in the construction of breakwaters, the blowing-up of
submerged wrecks in comparatively speaking shallow waters, in searching
for sunken treasures, and as an aid to marine explorations in suitable
waters, the peace or working submarine is likely to be of untold value.
[Illustration: =TORPEDO TUBE OF SUBMARINE--DEADLY TORPEDO SHOWN IN TUBE
ON RIGHT OF PICTURE=]