Chapter I: Foreword

Some twenty years ago the author began to collect data with the idea of publishing a book on the submarine at a future time. There was very little information concerning submarines available at that date, as the early experiments in this field of navigation were generally conducted in secrecy. There had been constructed, up to that time, no submarine vessel which was entirely successful, and for this reason inventors and designers were disinclined to reveal the features of the vessels upon which they were experimenting.

Since then there has been considerable dissemination of facts about the submarine; much of this knowledge has found its way into print, some in short historical sketches published by the author and other designers. However, most of the publications on this subject have come from the hands of professional writers and newspaper men, some of whom have not had the engineering knowledge to sift the practical from the impractical, and who have not had any actual first-hand acquaintance with the facts. They have not understood the mechanical details of the submarine and the principles governing its operation well enough to comprehend or to elucidate the various phases of the development of this type of vessel. The result has been that many inaccuracies have been published, both in respect to the history of the development of the submarine and in regard to the practical operation of such vessels.

There have been published one or two good works dealing with this subject in a very complete and intelligible manner, but intended for those engaged in engineering pursuits. One of the best of these was "The Evolution of the Submarine Boat, Mine and Torpedo, from the Sixteenth Century to the Present Time," by Commander Murray F. Sueter, of the Royal British Navy, published in 1907.

When this book first appeared the present writer felt that the subject had been so fully covered that there was no need for him to publish his own information. However, since the beginning of the world-war the prominent part played by the submarine has led to a demand for more knowledge about the workings of this weapon of mystery, and for information concerning its future possibilities.

The aim of this work, therefore, is to present to the reader in a simple, interesting way the facts relating to the submarine; its mechanical principles; the history of its development; its actual operation; the difficulty of combating it; and its industrial possibilities. These facts are presented, together with descriptions of the experience of the author and other inventors, in order to clarify in the reader's mind the difficulties, the trials and tribulations of both the submarine operator and the inventor. Furthermore, the narrative is not restricted to a discussion of the submarine question from a mechanical standpoint. The submarine to-day is a factor in the political and industrial life of the world. The submarine problem transcends a mere matter of mechanical detail, and a book upon this topic must, of necessity, deal with it in its broadest aspects.

SIMON LAKE

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. WHAT THE MODERN SUBMARINE IS 6

II. COMEDY AND TRAGEDY IN SUBMARINE DEVELOPMENT 36

III. EXPERIENCES OF PIONEER INVENTORS OF THE SUBMARINE 77

IV. THE EVOLUTION OF THE SUBMARINE 149

V. USE OF THE SUBMARINE IN WAR 196

VI. THE POSSIBILITY OF DEFEATING THE SUBMARINE 228

VII. THE SUBMARINE IN TIMES OF PEACE 259

VIII. THE DESTINY OF THE SUBMARINE 289

ILLUSTRATIONS

DOUBLETONES

PAGE

Simon Lake _Frontispiece_

The Pigmy Conquerer of the Sea 2

Storage Battery Cell 14

A Submarine Cell Completely Assembled Ready for Installation 14

On Picket Duty 20

The Lower Portion of Galileo Periscope 22

The Voice and Ear of the Submarine 26

Torpedo Tubes Assembled Ready for Installation in a Submarine Boat 27

A Whitehead Torpedo 28

Rear End of the Whitehead Torpedo 29

Rapid-firing Guns 30

A Modern Submarine Cruiser, or Fleet Submarine (Lake Type) 32

The Launching of the "Protector" 62

The "Delphine" 66

The "Fenian Ram" 96

"Argonaut, Jr.," 1894 128

Sketch of the Confederate Submarine "Hunley" 150

The New Orleans Submarine 152

The "Intelligent Whale" 153

"Argonaut" as Originally Built. Launched in August, 1897 176

Submarine with Cushioned Bottom Wheels 178

The "Argonaut" after being Lengthened and Rebuilt, in 1898,
Showing Ship-shaped, Watertight, Buoyant Superstructure 182

The "Holland" Running on the Surface 190

"Amphibious" Submarine 202

The "Protector" (Lake Type, 1901-1902) 210

Official Drawing of the Captured German Mine-planting Submarine,
U C-5 214

A Bottom-Creeping Submarine Passing Through a Mine Field 216

A Mine and Net Evading Submarine Under-running a Net 217

Mines Placed Under Ships at Anchor 220

Submarine Supply Station 221

Submarine "Seal"--Lake Type U.S. 226

British Submarine B-1 (Holland type) 227

British Submarine C-2 Arriving at Portsmouth in a Gale 230

Germany's U-9 and Some of Her Sister Submarines.--Aeroplane
and Submarine 234

Russian Cruiser-Lake Type Submarine in Shed Built by Peter
the Great--1905 236

A Group of German U-boats 238

Russian-Lake Type Cruising Submarine "Kaiman" making a Surface
Run in Rough Weather in the Gulf of Finland 239

The U-65 242

Russian-Lake Type 243

C-1, One of the Later Type French Submarines 248

Cargo-Carrying Submarines of the Author's Design 249

The "Deutschland" 252

Torpedo being Fired from the Deck Tubes of the Submarine "Seal" 256

British Submarine No. 3 Passing Nelson's Old Flagship "Victory" 257

Under-ice Navigation 260

A Submarine Garden at the Bottom of the Sea 266

Submarines for Hydrographic Work and Wreck Finding 267

The "Argonaut" Submerged 276

Experimental Cargo-Recovering Submarine 278

Sketch Drawing Illustrating a Method of Transferring Cargoes from
Sunken Vessels to Submerged Freight Cargo-Carrying Submarines 278

Semi-submergible Wrecking Apparatus 280

Submarine Oyster-Gathering Vessel 286

The "Argosy and Argonaut III" 290

Diagram of the "Argosy and Argonaut III" 291

LINE CUTS

Method of Control in Diving Type Boats 17

Method of Controlling Hydroplane Boats 18

How Hydroplanes Control Depth of Submersion 19

Showing Various Conditions in Which a Submarine of the Level Keel
Type Fitted with Bottom Wheels, May Navigate 21

The Periscope is the Eye of the Submarine 23

Diving Compartment 31

Bushnell's Submarine, the "American Turtle" 79

Robert Fulton's Submarine 82

Tuck's "Peacemaker" 84

Longitudinal Section of the French Submarine "Le Plongeur" 153

The "Plunger" (Holland Type Submarine), Launched in August, 1897 167

Lake Design as Submitted to the U. S. Navy Department in 1893 170

The "Argonaut" after Lengthening and Addition of Buoyant,
Ship-shaped Superstructure, Increasing the Surface Buoyancy
over 40 Per Cent 178

The "Holland" 190

Various Types of Modern Foreign Submarines 194

An Amphibious Submarine being Hauled out of the Water 204

The "Caviar Map" of Shipping's Greatest Grave-yard 283

CHART

Diagram to Illustrate the Comparative Visibility and Consequently
the Comparative Safety of Surface Ships and Cargo-Carrying
Submarines 254

THE SUBMARINE IN WAR AND PEACE