The record-union., 1898-04-17
SUBMARINE BOATS.
THE NEW UNITED STATES BOAT
PLUNGER.
America the First in the Field
Other Nations Are Now
Experimenting.


fait accompli. Surface navigation
that carried on in steamships, sailing
vessels and pulling boats-and aerial
navigation-that experimental with
in balloons, aeroplanes and kites-are
branches of the subject of navigation
with which most people are tolerably
familiar.
Everybody almost has seen a ship
under way, and nearly every body has
seen a balloon sailing through the air,
but the number of people who have
seen a boat at one moment moving
quietly and unconcernedly along the
surface of the water and at the next
moment have noticed her suddenly dip
down and go clear out of sight below
the surface of the water and remain
there out of view five, ten, fifteen, per-
haps thirty or forty minutes, and then
just as quickly and Unexpectedly
emerge from the depths at some dis
lance, often miles from the place where
she first plunged under, and proceed
on her surface voyage as though moth
ing unusual had happened-the num-
Der of persons who have seen all these
wonderful aquatic performances is very
small, for though many attempts at
submarine navigation have been made
time and again, the recorded number
of successful ones is not large
INVENTORS ENCOURAGED.
However, while. ali the requirements
demanded of a submarine torpedo boat
have not yet been altogether satisfied,
several boats have. been made to dive
below the surface of the water at the
will of the operator and to come again
to the surface safe and sound. This
encouraged inventors, so that for many
years there has been steady develop
Iment toward perfeeting subaqueous
1 navigation, until to-day the desired
Ecraft looks to be near at hand, ready
lat a moments call to get in her deadly
Ework by diving below the surface OF
/ the water out of sight and sound and
steering while thus submerged to with
in striking distance of her enemy, when
her torpedo will be let go, to the total
destruction of the finest warship that
ever f1oated
There are two submarine vessels OF
which much is expected building in the
United States to-day; one of them
known as the Holland boat, already
! described in the Herald is lying al
her dock at Perth Amboy, n. j., prac-
tically completed and ready for deliv-
cry to whomsoever wishes to purchase
her. The other is a boat known as
the Plunger, building at the Columbia
Iron Works, Baltimore She is not sc
far along toward completion as the 9TH
er. Both ares Holland boats so called
because j. P. Holland is their inventor
But while the one at Perth Amboy
named the HollaAd is a private in
vestment, the other. the Plunger. is
building for the United States Navy
under contract with the J. P. Holland
Torpedo Boat Company It is we'll to
bear this in mind so that when read
ing about the trials and performances
of the Holland boat the reader will
not confuond her with the Govern
ment boat at Baltimore, the Plunger
to be described later on.
AMERICA FfRSrrN THE FIELD
Perhaps to one of our own country
men should be ascribed the credit OF
making and operating the first under.
water boat-notably is this true if we
take into consideration the fact thai
this was submarine torpedo boat
In 1916 young man of the name Of
David Bushnell of Yale College. New
Haven, constructed the first .subma.
rine boat, designed especially for ar
attack against a vessel under, water
This boat was intended to be used t.
blow up the English man-of-war Eagle
The attempt was seriously made. L
failed, not because of the faulty con.
struction of the boat, but because O,
mismanagement
In appearance Bushners boat re-
sembled two turtle backs screwed to.
gether. She was so small that onl,
one man could occupy her, and she was
not at all comfortable craft Ali
to last only half an hour was supplied
The occupant of the boat, who was ex-
pected to work by hand the screw
which propelled the boat, was also sup,
posed to be able to pump in and out
water ballast to enable her to descend
to the desired depth, to maintain the
craft on an even keel while submerged
and to detach two hundred pounds OF
ballast weights in order to rise AGAR
to the surface
The explosive mine, containing 15(
pounds of gunpowder was lowed alons
side until the bottom of the enemy's
ship could be reached, when, the mine
having been fastened to the enemy's
bottom, clockwork arrangement. sci
by the operator, would ignite the
charge. Nothing practical resulted
from the attempt at blowing up the
Eagle, though it is conceded that Bush.
nell's boat contained in her design and
general arrangement the principles
which are observable in nearly all the
subsequent submarine torpedo boats
laid down the world over.
| FIT TOMS po.r
The great genius of Robert Fulton
was for time devoted to submarine
navigation. About the year 1900 he
put in the water the Nautilus, a boat
modelled after Bushnell's, but some
what larger, having reservoirs contain
ing compressed air, to enable the op-
orator to stay longer time under wa
ter. The Nautilus made an under wa
ter speed of two knots; the longest
time she ever remained submerged was
nearly four hours With this craft
Fulton succeeded in blowing up a small
vessel at anchor in the harbor of Brest
France, by attaching to her bottom 6
mine of twenty pounds of powder.
The French were highly pleased al
this exhibition. However Fulton fail
ed of his purpose when he made an
attempt against an English man-of-
! war. The war ship, unknown to Full
ton, shifted her anchorage; hence, the
Nautilus could not find her Fulton's
partial success stimulated others to try
their inventive genius. In 1920 a Cap,
tain Johnston of England brought for
ward a submarine boat carrying a tor
pedo on its back, the intention being
to fasten this torpedo to the bottom
of a hostile ship. Though the trials