Washington sentinel., 1899-03-11
-. 49,, SENTINEL
Are Submarine Boats Dangerous
Toys?

Sunday Special
From the enthusiasm which the
French are displaying over the per-
formances OF the Gustave Zsde, it
might we'll be imagined that her
designer is the first man who has
been able to construct a boat which
can be submerged and remain
some hours below the surface with
out detrlment to its crew, and
which can be handle ed more or less
successfully with a fair amount OF
safety. AS long ago as the early
part OF the seventeenth century
submarine boat was constructed
by a Dutchman called Drebelle,
which was propelled by oars and
was tried in the Thames by the
order Of James |. She carried
twelve rowers besides passengers.
Drebelle had a secret which does
not appear to have been made pub
lie, by which the air in his vessel
was purified and so could be used
over and over again. In I774 an
inventor named Day lost MS life in
an experimental descent in Ply
mouth Sound in a vessel of about
fifty tons burthen. In I77s a Mr..
Bushnell, OF Connecticut, com.
pleted a submarine boat, which
was propelled by screws and could
remain below the surface for halt
an hour The trials OF this vessel
seem to have been very successful.
In 1900, Robert Fulton, another
American, residing in France, CON
structed a submarine boat, with
which many successful trials were
carried out, partially at the eX-
rense OF the French Government,
on the Seine, at Brest and at Rouen,
Compressed air was used for res.
piration, and he remained for four
hours at a depth OF IS feet propel-
ling his boat in any direction. He
also successfully attached a mine
containing gunpowder to the bot
tom of an old vessel lying in Brest
harbor and blew her up.
Coming down 70 modern times,
we find the Confederate" " in 1868,
making use Of a submarine boat
against the Federal blockadins
squadron off Charleston. This
boat, called a David after her in
ventor, was built Of boiler plates
and propelled by hand by eight
men at a speed Of about four knots.
Two side rudders were used for
sinking and raising the boat when
in m otion. She was cigar shaped,
and when advancing to attack, her
top was just on level with the
surface Of the water. Three trial
trips were made, and each time she
sank and failed to rise, her crew
perishlng before they could be res
cued, but at the fourth trial she got
safely out Of the harbor, and
blew up the Housatonic, one Of
the blOckading squadron, but she
did not get clear, and was drawn
down in the vortex OF the sinking
ship. Several Of these Davids
we're afterwards constructed by the
Confederates, but none Of then
again succeeded in inaicting any
serious damage upon the Fedora
ships,
In 1886 a submarine boat va.
built at Stockholm by Nordenfelt
She was driven by steam, and rar
sixteen miles at a speed Of five
knots, but was only immersed fol
FIVE minutes at a time; she de.
cended, however, some thirty feet
and this was repeated several times
Two other similar boats were built
by Nordentelt for the Turkish
Government. ana one for the Greek
with all of which successful exper-
iments were carried out. Another
boat was tried by Nordenfelt al
Southampton in 1867. She wa.
built bY the Barrow Shipbuildine
Company, was I25 feet long, with
a beam Of IL feet, had a displace-
ment OF 23o tons and engines indi
eating 1000 h. p, which gave hei
a speed Of fifteen knots when no.
immersed. With her cupola awash
however, this speed was reduced
to five knots. The Gustave Zede
steamed the other day in a dead
calm some fifty miles from Toulon
TO Marseilles and tais performance
has been applauded as something
wonderful, it baving been forgotten
that nearly twelve years ago the
NOrdenfelt steamed in very rough
weather the whole way from Bar
row-in-Furuess to Southampton,
where she took part in the Jubilee
Review. In ISS8,a boat called the
Nautilus, designed by Mr.. Camp
bell, was successfully tried in the
West India Docks; she was 90 fee
long, with a beam OF 8 feet, was
driven by electricity, and fitted
with two impulse tubes for White.
head torpedoes. Since then we
had the Peral, built at Cadiz, and
the Goubet and GYmnote, built in
France. OF these three the PeTal
was the most successful as she,
some nine years ago, did all that
is now claimed tor the Gustave
Zede. The Gustaye Zede was
launched in 1898, and it has taken
therefore, six years OF experiment
and constant alteration to make
her do what was successfully &C
complishe d by the Peral nine years
ago, and by the Nordenlelt twelve
years ago. Nor is this all. The
Nordenfelt was in every respect a
better and more formidable vessel
than the Gustave Zede; she had
real seagoing qualities, she crossed
the North Sea in rough weather