THE DESTINY OF THE SUBMARINE
Studies of the submarine which deal with the subject solely from the
engineering or military standpoint, or which treat of the development
of this weapon simply in the light of its strategic value, fail to
recognize the human aspects of the problem.
I have stated in the Foreword that at the present time the submarine
is a tremendous factor in the political and industrial economy of the
world, and I believe that a treatment of the submarine which gives
no consideration to it in this broader relationship to the life and
welfare of humanity is altogether incomplete. In my opinion, just as
the submarine is to-day a power to be reckoned with in the world--an
agency the prodigious capacity for destruction of which we realize but
too well--so is it to be in the future an instrument the influence of
which upon the progress and safety of the nations of the earth will be
well-nigh incalculable. Temporarily, it presents itself as a power for
evil, as the weapon, the bludgeon, as it were, of either a misguided
people or of an overbearing and power-thirsty aristocracy; permanently,
I believe, it will prove to be destined to work for the highest good
of humanity, and will serve the noblest and most intimate interests
of men; for, as I have asserted above, the submarine has by no means
been brought to its fullest measure of development. The limit of its
capabilities has not been approached by modern ship constructors,
even remotely. It will have a future; it has a destiny; it will serve
mankind.
There have been many criticisms and attacks directed at the submarine
and against the designers of submarines within the past few years.
These may be classified in general into two main categories: first,
those which discredit the submarine on the basis of its mechanical
limitations, and, secondly, those which assail the submarine on moral
and humanitarian grounds and condemn the use of the weapon as piratical
and murderous. For people who criticise the submarine on the grounds
first stated I have little sympathy; they are those "who have eyes and
see not, and having ears, hear not." They disavow the very testimony
of the senses. I can, however, fully sympathize with those who attack
the submarine on the latter basis; the events of the past three years
may have borne this conviction upon them. Yet they also fail to realize
that the submarine, in the end, will render great benefits and service
to the world. They judge too much from the present and look too rarely
into the future. By way of answering these criticisms I will be able to
present the facts concerning the future of the submarine as they appear
to me after years of thought and experimentation in this field.
[Illustration: THE "ARGOSY AND ARGONAUT III"
A house boat with submarine and access tube attached, built by the
author in 1917, for pleasure and experimental purposes in making
underwater explorations and investigation of sea coast waterbed
formation, in locating beds of shellfish, wrecks, etc., and to
demonstrate the practicability of their recovery. The house boat is 100
ft. overall, 20 ft. beam. The submarine can operate up to depths of 150
ft. by adding additional lengths of access tube.]
There are many who believe that the submarine is limited in its power
because of the inherent nature of its operation. These are the people
who erroneously conceive that the submarine designers in some peculiar
and miraculous way manage to get around the laws of the universe. They
think that the activity of the submarine is in defiance of the law of
gravitation; that it performs unnatural feats. People with such views,
of course, are inclined to believe that the submarine by now must
have reached the height of its development, and that in any case it
is an unreliable mechanism. Criticism from such sources is worthy
of notice solely because of its positive stupidity. Inventors never
perform miracles and they never defy nature. Man can never master
nature nor override her dictates. The inventor, rather, is one who
comes to know the laws of nature with intimacy, and devises ways to
turn them to his use. He works in harmony with nature, perhaps a little
more closely than ordinary men; the secret of inventors' successes
lies in the fact that they are those who best know how to coöperate
with nature. Just so the submarine, as we have seen, acts in response
to the laws of gravity, hydraulics, pneumatics, and other natural
sciences, and is in complete accordance with nature's dictates; it has
no limitations set by nature upon its operation. Objectors on these
grounds are in the same class with those who asserted some years ago
that an iron ship could not float.
[Illustration: DIAGRAM OF THE "ARGOSY AND ARGONAUT III"
Sketch showing the submarine "Argonaut III" on the bottom and operator
in diving compartment inspecting the waterbed through the open diver's
door.]
There is also a very numerous class of persons who hold that the
submarine is a very risky and dangerous mechanism; they feel that
the principles of its operation have not yet been brought to a point
of safety or certainty. The facts upon which they base this judgment
are found by them in the accounts of the many accidents which have
occurred to submarines in recent years. As a matter of fact, these
accidents have been due, as a rule, to either of two causes; namely,
faulty construction or carelessness. There is not a case on record of
a properly constructed, well-handled submarine coming to grief through
any cause related to the principle of her operation. The principles
of successfully navigating under the water were discovered twenty
years ago, and have been applied with perfect safety ever since.
Many designers since that time have failed to recognize the correct
principles, and their incorrectly built boats have given trouble;
hence accidents have occurred. To-day, however, the true principles
of construction are universally recognized. The modern submarine has
passed the stage of experimentation.
Another source for notions of this same sort, as to the unreliability
of submarine navigation, is the constant repetition in the daily press
that our submarines are not operating satisfactorily. These complaints
also lead people to conclude that the mechanical demands of under-water
navigation are not completely fulfilled. Now, submarine vessels may be
constructed to-day which are a great deal more trustworthy in their
operation and considerably less dangerous to go about in than are
certain well-known United States railroads. Nearly every submarine
in use in the navies of the world at the present day is capable of
functioning in perfect safety, so far as submergence and emergence
are concerned. They may be operated with almost exact precision while
located many feet beneath the surface. If given sufficient static
stability, there is no danger that they will dive to the bottom or that
they will not come up again.
The cause of all these complaints about our submarines is traceable
to a single difficulty. The reader by this time realizes that the
difficulty is with the engines, and not with the principles of
submarine construction. The modern submarine builder cannot find
an engine of sufficiently light weight to install with safety in a
submarine hull which will give all the speed which the government
demands that his boat should produce. On attempting to attain speed
much engine trouble has developed, due to experimentation and trial,
and from this source have sprung all the criticisms of the operation
of our vessels. There is no such natural limitation to the possible
utility of the submarine as many people believe; the only limitation is
that of speed. Our boats are safe, they are seaworthy, they are capable
of a tremendous radius of action. Sooner or later a reliable engine
will be developed which will meet the needs of military submarines
and which will deliver power sufficient to give the submarine
battleship speed. This is at present the only limitation upon submarine
development, and it is not an insuperable obstacle.
Those critics of the submarine who base their opinions upon moral and
humanitarian notions are as self-deceived as those who disparage the
mechanical success of the under-water vessel. People in this latter
class, however, are not afflicted with a distorted vision of the truth,
as are those of the other group, but rather, we may say, they suffer
from nearsightedness. They do not look far enough ahead to judge as
to the permanent utility of the submarine. They base their inferences
entirely upon the use which one of the belligerent powers has made of
its submarines. It is true, indeed, that the activities of a great
many submarine commanders, and the policy of frightfulness which has
been so consistently maintained throughout the course of the war by a
certain group of autocrats, have temporarily put a moral stigma upon
the submarine as a justifiable naval weapon. They have made it appear
that the submarine cannot play a humane and legitimate part in warfare.
While I have firmly maintained, and still believe, that a submarine
blockade is a legitimate use of this weapon in warfare, I do regret
that many acts committed by the submarines of one of the belligerents
in the present war have been little short of outright piracy.
Strange to say, from the time when I first went into submarine work
a fear has always possessed me that the submarine might be turned
to piratical uses. I have often thought that some unscrupulous and
adventurous group of men might terrorize the commerce of the world
in times of peace by taking advantage of the invisible qualities of
submarine vessels. Such a group of men with the use of such a weapon
might make submarine attacks on peaceful merchant vessels and escape
detection and capture for years. I did not, however, nor did any other
submarine inventor, anticipate that any of the world's recognized
governments would sanction piratical and barbarous actions on the part
of their naval officers. In fact, it has been the aim of submarine
inventors, from Fulton's time to the present, to devise a weapon that
would ultimately bring war between maritime nations to an end. They
have not had in mind the murderous designs which have been accredited
to them from the very outset. It is my firm conviction that it is the
destiny of the submarine to put an end forever to the possibility of
warfare upon the high seas, and to eliminate warfare between nations
which have no other access to each other except by sea. This is the
wonderful opportunity of the submarine, and the submarine inventor has
been and will be a laborer in the cause of peace, and not the cause of
war and bloodshed.
Robert Fulton pointed out this possibility when he was working upon his
own devices. In a letter upon the subject he stated:
"All my reflections have led me to believe that this application of
it (the use of the mines placed by submarines) will in a few years
put a stop to maritime wars, give that liberty on the seas which
has been long and anxiously desired by every good man, and secure
to Americans that liberty which will enable citizens to apply their
mental and corporeal faculties to useful and humane pursuits, to
the improvement of our country, and the happiness of the whole
people."
Later on it was Josiah L. Tuck who recognized the same fact, and
entitled the vessel of his construction _The Peacemaker_.
The reason which underlies this conviction held by submarine inventors
was succinctly expressed by the late Mr. John P. Holland. He pointed
out the fact that "submarines cannot fight submarines," the submarine
inventors have long since grasped the significance of this fact,
realizing as they have that the submarine eventually was to drive the
battleship from the sea.
When the day comes that submarines are equipped with engines of
battleship speed, and thus take away from the battleships the only
means of defence which they now have--namely, the ability to run away
from the submarine--the submarine will dominate the surface of the
high seas. Submarines may be built of almost any conceivable size, and
carry large-calibre disappearing guns and ten, fifty, or one hundred
torpedoes. The battleship will be powerless before the submarine of the
future; the advantage will always be with the submarines, as they are
invisible.
When every country with a sea-coast is equipped with a sufficient
number of defensive submarines, even of very low speed, attacks by
invasion of their sea-coasts will become impossible. In case two
maritime nations go to war, the submarines belonging to each will
effectively blockade the ports of the other. Commerce will come to
an end, but there will be no invasions and no naval battles. The
submarines, not being able to see each other, will not be able to
fight. The worst that can happen is a deadlock, and a commercial
deadlock of this sort will soon be ended by mutual agreement. The
smallest of countries may fear no country, however large, whose sole
access to her is by way of water. With a few defensive submarines she
may adequately protect herself from invasion. Her shipping may be
bottled up, but she needs to stand in no fear of invading hosts and
of rapine by armies from across the ocean. She stands prepared, with
a fleet of a few tiny submarines, to stand for her rights and for her
liberty.
Offensively the submarine will be of little value when brought to
its highest point of development, for when every nation is fully
equipped with submarines the menace of these vessels will keep enemy
surface ships from venturing on the sea. There will be nothing for
the submarines to attack except ships of their own kind, and that,
of course, will be impossible. Thus wars between maritime nations
will come to be nothing more than a mutual check; no surface ships or
transports will dare to move in any direction. Offensive warfare will
thus end, and each nation will be playing a waiting game, relying upon
her submarines for defence.
This is the destiny of the submarine. This has been the aim and the
prophecy of the pioneers in submarine development. There is nothing
which will stand in the way of the accomplishment of this happy
result. The success of the submarine in the present war has at last
forced those in power--and among them many who bitterly opposed its
development--to recognize the value of this weapon. Submarine designers
and submarine inventors will from now on receive the encouragement and
the attention of naval authorities throughout the world. Hence we may
expect to see the submarine developed and improved until it has many
times the efficiency, speed, and destructive power which is possessed
by it to-day. We may also expect to see the industrial possibilities
of the submarine developed to a high degree within a few years. Travel
will be made safer, rich cargoes will be recovered, and the ocean will
be forced to give up its wealth and its products to the uses of man in
greater quantity than ever before. Thus, instead of following a career
of murder and of piracy, the submarine is destined to protect the weak,
to strengthen the strong, and to serve humanity in general as an agent
for prosperity and for peace.
INDEX
A
A-8, English submarine, 47
A-1, English submarine, 48
Abbott, Leon, 123
Aerial torpedoes, 240
Aeroplanes, 234ff
Air supply, question of, 49-51
"Alligator," Russian submarine, 67
"American Turtle," 79, 80, 149ff
"Amphibious" submarines, 202ff
Anchoring weights, 20, 21
Appropriation, U. S., 1893, requirements, 161ff
Appropriation, U. S., 1915, requirements, 175
"Argonaut," 1, 7, 10, 36, 41, 50, 55, 58, 60, 70, 125, 177ff, 264,
270, 276
"Argonaut, Junior," 125, 127, 176ff
Asphyxiation, 32, 70
B
Baker, G. F., 121, 161, 163
Ballast tanks, 9
"Battle of the Kegs," 81
Becklemechief, Capt., 65
Berg, H. O., 137
Blinding the submarine, 244
Board on Submarine Defense, report of, 209ff, 215ff
Bombs, 248
Bonaparte, Napoleon, 81
Bottom wheels, 216, 219
Bourgois and Brun, 153
Brayton engines, 94
Bubonoff, Constructor, 65
Buoyancy, negative, 18-19
Buoyancy, positive, 18-19
Buoyancy, reserve of, 9
Bushnell, Dr. David, 79, 149
C
Carbonic acid gas, engine, 10
Cargo-carrying submarines, 251ff
Champion, S. T., 127
Champion, B. F., 128
Churchill, Winston, 217
Classes of submarine, 206
Coast defense submarines, 197
Compass, adjustment of, 180, 181
Compressed air engine, 10
"Congress, The," 87
Conning tower (invisible), 26
Converse, G. A., 162
Convoy, 249
Criticisms of submarine, 290ff
Cruiser submarines, 199ff
"Cumberland, The," 87
D
Dangers of submarining, 32ff
Daniels, Josephus, 139
Dawson, Sir Trevor, 174
Day, 79
Debrell, Cornelius, 77, 78
Deck guns, 239
Decompression, question of, 278
Defensive devices, 232
"Delphine," Russian submarine, 65, 66
Depth control, 17ff, 216
Destiny of submarine, 296, 297
Detection of surface ships, 257
"Deutschland, The," 251
Dickey, 91
Diesel engines, 13ff
Dirigibles, 234ff
Discs, whirling, 248
Divers, 59, 276, 277ff
Divers' compartment, 30, 51ff, 221
Dixon, Lieut., 39
Doyle, A. Conan, 4
Dunkerly, 91
"Dzrewiecke apparatus," 192
E
E-2, American submarine, 76
"Eagle, The," 79, 80, 150
Echo device, 241
Edison, Thos. A., 16, 141
Electric Boat Company, 114
Engines, 9ff
Engines, difficulty with, 11ff, 292, 293
"Even-keel," 173ff, 183
Exius, Otto, 140
Explosions, 70ff
F
F-1, American submarine, 76
F-4, American submarine, 76
"Farfadet," French submarine, 76
Fenian movement, 96, 157, 158
"Fenian Ram," 96ff, 157, 158
Fessenden, Prof., 27, 238
Fisher, J. J., 56
Fleet submarines, 199ff
"Foca, The," 13
Folger, Commander, 162
"Fortuna," 63
Freight submarine, 58
"Fulton," American submarine, 76
Fulton, Robert, 81, 151, 294, 295
G
Gadd, Capt. Alex., 44
Garrett, G. W., 158
Geological investigation (submarine), 264
Goubet, M., 160
Government aid to inventors, 138ff
Grubb, Sir Howard, 25
"Gustave Zédé," French submarine, 162
"Gymnote," French submarine, 162
Gyroscope, 29
H
Hale, Senator, 125
Halstead, O. S., 155
Hanson, Capt. Scott, 263
Hasker, C. H., 38, 152
Haswell, C. H., 126
Holland, J. P., 84ff, 157, 163, 295
Holland, J. P., Jr., 85
"Holland, The," American submarine, 190, 191
Hopkinson, Francis, 81
"Housatonic," S. S., 39
Hull, construction of, 6, 7
"Hunley, The," 37, 38, 152, 158
Hydrogen, 16
Hydrographic investigation, 269ff
Hydroplanes, 17, 171ff
I
"Intelligent Whale, The," 155ff
Internal combustion engines, 10
International peace, influence of submarines, 295
Installation of batteries, 16
Inventors, proposed institution for, 146ff
"Irish Ram." See "Fenian Ram."
J
Jonson, Ben, 77
K
Koenig, Capt. Paul, 251
Krupps, 183, 184
L
Lake, 1893 design, 169ff
Lauboeuf, M., 2, 173, 183
Laurenti, naval constructor, 183, 186
Lees, Capt. Edgar, 174
Legitimacy of the submarine, 294
Limitations of the submarine, 290ff
Lister, John, 91
"Lutine, The," 76
M
Magnetic devices, 247ff
Malster, W. T., 131
Maxim, Sir Hiram, 137
"Merrimac, The," 86
Metacentric height, 8ff
Microphone, 198
Mines, 80, 220
Mine-evading submarine, 206, 216ff
Mine-laying submarine, 208, 216ff
Mirabello, Admiral, 185
"Monitor, The," 86
"Morse, The," French submarine, 191
N
Nansen, Capt., 263
"Narval, The," French submarine, 191
"Nautilus, The," 81
Nautilus Submarine Boat Co., 109
Naval Consulting Board, 139, 141ff
Nets, used _vs._ submarines, 242ff, 245ff
Net-evading submarines, 206, 216ff
New Orleans submarine, 39, 152, 153
_New York Herald_, 129, 141
Nordenfelt, 158, 159
O
"Obry" gear, 29
Offensive devices, 232
Officina Galileo, 24
Omniscope, 25
One-man submarines, 205
Oscillator, Fessenden, 27, 238
P
Paget, Lord, 87
Patent attorneys, 134
Patent laws, 187
Patent "sharks," 134
Payne, Lieut., 38
"Peacemaker, The," 83, 160
Peral, Lieut. Isaac, 160
Periscope, 22ff, 47, 48
Perpetual motion machine, 135, 136
Piratical submarine, 294
Pitt, William, 83
Planté storage battery, 15
"Plongeur, Le," French submarine, 153, 154
"Plunger, The," 166ff, 176, 188ff
"Pluviose, The," French submarine, 76
Promoters, 130ff
Propelling mechanism, 9ff
"Protector, The," 43, 50, 62, 209ff, 235, 260, 262
R
"Resurgam, The," 158
Rice, Isaac, 115, 192
Richards, G. M., 98, 99, 102
"Running down," danger of, 42ff
Russian experiences, 63ff
S
Sampson, Admiral, 96, 124
Salvaging, 57, 275
"Schwartzkopf" torpedoes, 247
_Scientific American_, 242
Scott, Sir Percy, 3
Searching for wrecks, 275, 276
Searchlights, 240
Shell-fishing, 285ff
Smoke screen, 249
Sound receivers, 27ff
Sound detectors, 237ff, 239
Spear, L. Y., 173
Speed, demand for, 11-19
Stability, 7ff, 70, 150
Storage batteries, 9, 15ff
Submarine engineering, 287
Submarine guns, 240
Submarine supply boats, 223ff
Submarine _vs._ submarine, 244
Sueter, Murray F., 173
Superstructure, 7, 182
T
Tillian, Capt., 67
Torpedoes, 28ff, 247
Torpedo tubes, 28
Triangular drag, 165
Trinitrotoluol (T-N-T), 30
Tuck, Josiah L., 83, 84, 160, 295
Turret, armored, 235
U
U-1, Austrian submarine, 48
U-2, Austrian submarine, 48
U-boats, German, 3
Under-ice navigation, 260ff
Unsinkable ships, 248
V
Verne, Jules, 1, 119
Vickers Company, 193
Vision, underwater, 236, 241
W
Waddington, 160, 161
"Wake" of a periscope, 233
Ward, Dr. Francis, 266, 267
Washington, George, 150
Weddingen, Lieut., 4
White, Sir William, 192
Whitehead torpedo, 2, 28, 29, 247
Williamson Brothers, 265ff
Williamson, Capt. Charles, 265
Wireless, 28, 198
Wrecking work, 57
Wright Brothers, 137
Z
Zalinski, Capt., 109
Zigzag course, 250
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Probably "The Intelligent Whale."
[2] NOTE.--The blockade of Alexandria was in progress at that time.
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
Bold text is denoted by =equal signs=.
The oe ligature has been replaced by 'oe'.
Obvious typographical and punctuation errors have been corrected
after careful comparison with other occurrences within the text and
consultation of external sources.
Except for those changes noted below, inconsistent or archaic spelling
of a word or word-pair within the text has been retained. For example:
gasolene gasoline; waterbed water-bed; air lock air-lock; under-sea
undersea; conquerer; to-day.
List of Illustrations:
p xi. 'Tubes Assembled for' changed to 'Tubes Assembled Ready for'.
p xi. 'Built in August,' changed to 'Built. Launched in August,'.
p xii. 'of "Argosy" and' changed to 'of the "Argosy" and'.
p xii. 'Le Plungeur' changed to 'Le Plongeur'.
p 117. 'blank space' replaced by '__________'.
p 194. (caption)'Laubeuf' changed to 'Lauboeuf'.
p 301. 'Schwarzkopf' changed to 'Schwartzkopf'.
End of Project Gutenberg's The Submarine in War and Peace, by Simon Lake