Submarines are primarily used in naval warfare but it is still fascinating to see why they were first introduced and how they work exactly. They really are a milestone of engineering as they can function in ways that other sea vessels simply can’t.

First Submarine

The man credited with building the very first submarine was Cornelius van Drebel who was an inventor from the Netherlands. King James I was heavily involved in this project and was apparently one of the first people to board the submarine after it had been completed. The vehicle Drebel constructed looked similar to a rowing boat with _____1_____ and was mostly made of wood. The structure had a layer of leather applied to the outside to give it waterproof properties and had floats with air tubes leading up to oxygen supplies on the surface.

It could fit twelve people and was tested on the River _____2______ in London, England. Drebels’s submarines could submerge up to 15 feet deep underwater and also travel at that depth. In addition, he managed to remain underwater for about _____3_____ hours. After this success, Drebel tried to replicate the submarine on a larger scale by building bigger vessels. More and more patents for submarines were registered in the 18th century.

Important Figures

______4_____ is known for inspiring many inventions and the submarine is one of them. You can definitely see submarine-like vessels in his old drawings from approximately 1515. In 1578, an English writer and mathematician by the name of William Bourne came very close to inventing the first submarine. However, he only had plans for it and couldn’t see the project through to the end.

Connecticut man and Yale graduate David Bushnell designed the first American submarine which he called the “_____5_____“. However, it only had enough room for _____6_____. This was meant to be used to fight the British during the American Revolution. America planned to use this sub for planting timed explosive devices on enemy warships undetected. The submarine was powered with a manual propellor that was hand operated by the person on board. In 1876 John Philip Holland built an early submarine called the Holland I prototype and the US navy chose to purchase Holland’s submarines.

Capabilities

A submarine has the ability to function and travel underwater. They can even operate better underwater than submersibles. This type of vessel rises and falls based on whether its mass is equal to the water displaced around it. An early method of submergence was to attach water bags made from _____7_____ to the bottom of the submarine. The bags would drain or fill with water depending on whether you wanted to go higher or lower. This mechanism was said to have inspired the ballast tank on a modern submarine.

A submarine can stay underwater for several days, sometimes even a few months. Their underwater endurance is determined by fuel, supplies, and food. Diesel submarines normally last the ______8_____ amount of time submerged.

Additionally, submarines can travel on the surface of the water like conventional ships and they have the advantage of not being easily seen. Most Submarines are used by the military but there are certain subs available for private use. The cheapest recreational submersible can set you back around $600,000. Although, naval Submarines can cost billions of dollars to construct.

Achievements

Robert Fulton (an American artist and inventor) developed the “Nautilus” in 1800. Prior to this, Fulton had experience designing steamboats. In 1955, this was further developed into the USS Nautilus and was the first-ever ____9_____ submarine. The sub made its maiden voyage 3 years later in 1958.

Warfare

The submarine wasn’t used in naval warfare until the 19th century. Navies of Japan and Russia both decided to purchase Simon Lake’s submarines at first. The first world war saw a large number of submarines in operation. Germans liked to label their submarines as U-boats. This is an abbreviation of “unterseeboot” which translates as “_____10____” in the English language.

Furthermore, submarines are often used as _____11____ to stop foreign naval forces from invading bodies of water. They are capable of tracking other surrounding vehicles both on the sea and in the air. Military submarines often have the ability to launch torpedoes which are special missiles that can travel underwater with the power of individual electric motors. _____12_____ is said to have the most active submarines, closely followed behind by the United States and Russia.

Submarines are impressive when you consider how far they can travel below the depths of the deepest oceans. One can only imagine how hard it was to create something that could withstand the crushing pressure of the underwater world.