A CENTURY OF SUBMARINE DEVELOPMENT

摘要

The first submarine to engage and sink a warship was the Confederate submarine HUNLEY. Built in 1863, HUNLEY was made from a cylindrical iron steam boiler, fitted with tapered ends and powered by a propeller driven by hand cranks operated by eight of her crew of nine. On 17 February 1864, HUNLEY rammed USS HOUSATONIC with a spar torpedo, sinking the 1,240 ton sloop. The explosion also sank HUNLEY, and it was to be 131 years before the wreck was discovered on the bottom of Charleston Harbour. The submarine has since been raised and is being conserved as a museum exhibit. Progress with the design of an effective submarine gathered pace during the following decades, particularly with the Nordenfelt submarines of the 1880s. Nordenfelt's design, patented in 1881, was propelled by steam but the real innovation was the provision of torpedoes which could be fired from the submarine, setting the pattern for the modern submarine of the 20th century. Nordenfelt sold two submarines, one to Greece and one to Turkey.