Who Devised the Submarine?
Man has always wanted to conquer every part of the earth, be it the land, skies, or the water. He has tried to reach the depths of the deep oceans in order to get pearls or for the simple pleasure of studying the mysterious regions. However, unlike fish, man has not got the ability to stay underwater for long periods of time. So his ingenious brain to devise methods to do so.
In 1578, a British mathematician, William Bourne, published a book in which there was a design of a boat, which was completely enclosed. It consisted of a wooden framework covered with waterproofed leather. However Bourne did not actually build it.
In 1620 a similar boat was built using this design. The Dutch inventor, Cornelius Van Drebbele, launched the first submarine for James I. He maneuvered it in the River Thames many times at depths of up to 3 to 4 metres. The first proper submarine was the Turtle, an egg shaped wooden vessel built by the American engineer, David Bushnell. It was used to attack British boats during the American war of Independence in 1776. It was a one-man submarine that was hand operated by a screw propeller.
Robert Fulton designed a submarine, Nautilus, for Napoleon to use against the British. By 1727, at least 14 different types of submarines had been made in England alone. In 185, the Irish emigrant to US, John Holland, built a series of submarines. These were used extensively by the Americans and the British by the turn of the century. The modern naval submarine has descended from them.
Submarine warfare was established form of naval tactics during the World war I. Submarines from the ocean going to the midget types played a very vital role in both the World wars. The German boats caused great losses to the Allied merchant shipping.
Most submarines these days are used by the navy, all over the world. They patrol the oceans and fire torpedoes or missiles if necessary. There are different kinds of submarines which are used for engineering and exploration purposes. They are very useful in oceanography.
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