[Sidenote: =Bushnell and Fulton and the undersea boat=]
=211. The Submarine.= During the War of the Revolution an American
named Bushnell worked on the problem of making a boat that would sail
under the surface of the sea. He was the first to work on this problem
and is called the Father of the Submarine. Some years later Robert
Fulton (page 257) became interested in the submarine. In 1801 he built
one for the French government. But Fulton turned his efforts to making
steamboats and did not continue his plans for a successful diving boat.
[Sidenote: =John P. Holland, 1842=]
=212. John P. Holland.= John P. Holland was born in Ireland in 1842. He
was a studious boy and became a teacher. The stories of Bushnell and of
Fulton interested him and he studied carefully what they had done.
He came to America and settled in New Jersey. There he got a position
as teacher in a parochial school. He continued his study of the
undersea boat making many experiments and tests.
Holland's first submarine became stuck in the mud. But he did not give
up. His next boat he called the "Fenian Ram." It frightened people when
it suddenly raised its head out of the water and as quickly disappeared.
[Illustration: JOHN P. HOLLAND
_From a photograph_]
In 1895, after a number of severe tests, Holland succeeded in
interesting the United States Government in his plans. He built for it
a submarine which he named the "Plunger."
[Illustration: A SUBMARINE]
Holland now formed a company to build his boats. In 1898 he produced
the famous Holland submarine. This boat settled any doubt about what
submarines could do. It was only fifty feet long, but it could dive
under water and rise again at the will of the inventor. From that time
the Holland company built many submarines for all the great nations of
the world.
[Sidenote: =The periscope=]
From the top of the submarine there extends upward a long slender
tube called a periscope. When the boat is under water the end of this
tube extends above the surface. By means of a certain arrangement of
lenses and mirrors in this tube, the observer in the submarine can see
everything on the surface of the water. In this way the boat can be
guided in any direction.
Holland died in 1914.
[Sidenote: =Value in war=]
=213. The Submarine in War and Peace.= The submarine is much used in
war time. The war diver is provided with one and sometimes two tubes
through which torpedoes or bombs may be fired at enemy ships while the
submarine is hidden under water. It is very hard to detect a submarine
when it is under the water. The only sign of its approach is a slight
ripple on the surface. But if we look straight down at the water from
high up in the air, then the outlines of the boat can easily be seen.
In war time airplanes are used in spying out the submarine.
[Sidenote: =Use of the submarine in peace=]
In times of peace, too, the submarine is of great value. It is not
exposed to great storms on the sea, since it can escape the waves by
submerging. These boats can cross the ocean and are large enough to
carry cargoes of valuable goods. In July, 1916, the world was startled
by the arrival of the merchant submarine, "Deutschland," at Baltimore.
Loaded with articles of trade, mainly chemicals, she left Bremen,
dodged the British and French blockade, and in fifteen days reached
America.
One cause of America's entering the World War was Germany's attempt to
starve England by a submarine blockade.
[Sidenote: =Fighting the submarine=]
=214. Other Inventions in the War.= The "depth bomb" was an out and out
new invention. 11 could be "dropped" over the spot where a submarine
was seen. Very often it blew the submarine to pieces.
The "tank" was a "moving iron fort" drawn by a tractor. It could tear
wire entanglements to pieces and cross enemy trenches. The "depth bomb"
and "tank" were used mainly by the Allies.
The wide use of "poison gas" was first introduced by the Germans. Guns
able to shoot many miles were invented. One of them carried seventy
miles or more.