The History of the Submarine - Essay Example

? The Submarines An Overview on their History and Usage ID: Word Count 359 Outline Introduction Submarinerefers to an underwater ship or a water craft that is capable of carrying underwater opertations. Submarines are used in war, in order to attack the opposite group or enemy.The common submarines are about 200 feet to 550 feet and the designed round hulls measure 30 feet in diametre. It can carry almost 150 people inside, living and working under water. A submarine has to settle underwater for its effective usage. My goal in this paper is to highlight the historical evidences as well as the usage of submarines in the present times. To achive this goal, I have divided this study into five sections. I will start by introducing submarines, followed by its background and invention hstory, as well as its developments through decades of advancements in technology, how it proved to be helpful in military operations and why is it necessary to carry out many underwater navigations, advanced models of submarines in the 21st century. This paper’s data are supported by articles, websites and some prominent books. History According to Farmhand, the idea of underwater navigation is quite old and dates back even before 1624. He mentions that an Englishman William Bourne in 1578 suggested in his book the idea and value of a boat that sails below the surface of water and carries a hollow mast for ventilator (Farmhand 2010). Captain Braxton Harris who is the author of the book The Navy Times Book of submarines: A Political, Social and Military History mentions in this book that Cornelius Drebbel was hired by James I and he, supposedly, built the first submarine. Yet there seem to be no credible image of his boat or accounts of its usage. In the year 1654, "Rotterdam Boat" was designed by D.E. Son who was a Frenchman; it was 72 foot long and was built by the Southern Netherlands to attack an enemy from the English Navy (Brayton). Fig. 1.2 - “Rotterdam Boat” (Brayton). Development and Design In between 1620 and 1624, many improved concept of submarines were introduced. Although initially the first underwater vehicle was meant for exploring underwater, but soon it encouraged inventors to use this tool to strengthen and broaden the military operations. In 1648, this new startegic concept was executed by Bishop John Wilkins from England in Mathematical Magic. The first ever model to be used for military operations was developed in 1775, it was called Turtle. It had screws for propulsion and was used during American revolutionary war, it failed to sink the warship of Britisher, HMS Eagle. Then in 1804 in France, 'Nautilus' was designed by an American Rober Fulton. In the following years, many underwater ships were developed by many inventors and used in war operations. Successful models to be used from both side were executed in the American civil war. All these ships were manually opearated and, hence, had to go through many failures and as a result, many sank in their very first trials. The very first machine to feature under mechanical operation is Plongeur, devised in the year 1863. Ictieneo II is the first independent and combustion powered submarine (Brayton). Fig. 1.2 – “Plongeur” (Captain Brayton). Fig.1.3- In 1885 an American Josiah H. Tuck developed "Peacemaker" (Brayton). In the late 19th century, many experimented designs were introduced and in the early 20th century, its true usage and improvement in design, structure and execution was effectively been researched upon by ample involvement of the government (Farmhand 2010). Usage and Technological Advancement The 20th centruy was a pivotal period for the development and usage of submarines. Every nation was interested in including its own submarine in their effective military execution. New technological advancement ensured improved machinery and effective performances of these underwater ships. It was used widely by many nations for the coming World War I. The first submarines which were mechanically powered were put into service by the navies of countries like Japan, Great Britain, the United States of America, and Russia.These were water crafts developed by Irish designer John Philip in 1900.These were also used in war by Russia and Japan in 1904-1905 (O’Connell 2010). In August 1914, a flotilla of 10 U-boats sailed from base in Heligoland to attack Royal Navy in the first submarine war. They aimed to sink the ships of the British fleet, to reduce its numerical superiority over the High Seas Fleet of Germans, but it failed to succeed. In World War II, Germany had the maximum submarine fleet. The Treaty of Versailles limited the surface of Navy, Germany started building its underwater forces only before the outbreak of World War II (Theodore 1949). Fig. 1.4- German submarine U-175 (Brayton). Modern Submarines and 21st century Tunny and Barbero were the first nuclear deterrent patrol submarines of the United States. Two other submarines were also introduced in 1958; their name were Grayback and Growler. Followed by another submarine called the Halibut which was a nuclear submarine. In the late 1950, conventional submarines that operated with diesel and electricity were replaced by nuclear powered water ship. Advanced equipments were used in these water crafts which extracted the oxygen and because of this technology it was possible to take these submarine in the surface of sea for several day and even months. When the cold war started between the USA and the Soviet Union, a strategic operation was established by the two respective nations which was called the ballistic missiles submarines, between 1950 to 1960 and these were first of its kind (Stumpf 1996). Fig 1.5 – Nuclear Submarine ("Submarines Newsletter") The nuclear reactors in the submarines were helpful in carrying out targets which were meant for long distance, it also provided protection to the fleet during war time, but it was easy to find its location as it made heavy sound. This was due to the cooling pumps of the reactor which made loud noises in comparison to the old model of submarines. In the following years, with the help of advanced technological system and voice damping technique, this drawback was taken care of and its performace became much quiter (Stumpf 1996). In the age of atomic power,the designs and perfomrance of submarines were engineeered with major advancement. Submarines equiped with nuclear reactor have a phenomenal capacity and remarkable power, they can travel with a speed of more than 30 knots, they are so powerful that they can stay underwater for countless number of days. USS George Washington fired a missile in 1960 and became the first of its kind to be attacking enemies through underwater submarines while U.S.S. Triton was the very first submarine to navigate the entire world being submurged throuout its operation. Becuase of these advancement, the role and function of submaries have not been limited to just destroying ships of the opposite group but also to attack the enemies with missiles, this effective execution of submarines is valued by each country and even today the governments of many nations ensure constant research in the development and improvment of the perfomrances of these submarines ("Nuclear Submarines and Other Developments"). Since the competition between nations to excel in their military operations has been quite evident for many decades, it is no wonder that most of the countires focus on establishing powerful submarines to strengthen their position globally, we can observe this through this map. Fig. 1.6- Nations with maximum submarines ("Worldtop ten countries with most submarines map"). Here, the USA tops the list while China and Russia maintain their position of strong countries with powerful military forces. It is also interesting to note that, although the USA tops the list, when it comes to mention the most powerful submarine presently, undoubtedly, Russia gives a stiff competition to any of its counterpart ("Worldtop ten countries with most submarines map"). Russia owns a submarine which is considered the most powerful underwater ship, it is known by the name Mk 941-U SSBM Typhoon. It is also registered under Guinness Book of World Records ("Typhoon submarine, the World's Largest Nuclear Submarine"). Personal submarines The 21st century also embarked the introduction of personal submarines by developed nations to promote tourism which eventually boosts their economy. Fig. 1.7- Personal Submarines by a Dutch company ("Silvercrest Submarines Newsletter"). Fig. 1.8- Personal Submarine by Korea ("Silvercrest Submarines Newsletter"). Works Cited Brayton, Harris. "World Submarine History Timeline." Submarine History, Web. 18 Dec 2012. Farmhand, Bishop. The History of the Submarine from the Beginning Until WWI. Volume-161. Germany: Salswasser Verlag Bermen Germany, 2010. 4-5. Print. "Nuclear Submarines and Other Developments." info please. encyclopedia of history, Web. 18 Dec 2012. O’Connell, John F. Submarine Operational Effectiveness in the 20th Century: Part One (1900 - 1939). USA: iUniverse, 2010. 10-11. Print. "Silvercrest Submarines Newsletter." Submarines Newsletter. Web. 18 Dec 2012. Stumpf, David K. Regulus: America's First Nuclear Submarine Missile. USA: Turner Publishing Company, 1996. 172-173. Print. Theodore, Roscoe. United States Submarine Operations in World War II. USA: United States Naval Institute, 1949. 247-248. Print. "Typhoon submarine, the World's Largest Nuclear Submarine." World Defense. Web. 18 Dec 2012. "Worldtop ten countries with most submarines map." mapsofworld. Web. 18 Dec 2012. Read More