SEA MINE, THE SUBMARINE'S ADVERSARY AND WEAPON: 1775 TO 1918

摘要

Stating with precision the beginning of a technology and identifying the exact time, place and inventor or discoverer is a challenge. The Greeks are credited with developing the first sea mine in the seventh century BC. Sulfur, naphtha, and nitre in a barrel were set afire and placed so as to have the tide or current move the barrel to an enemy vessel and set it on fire. They learned that the weapon, with the aid of a catapult, could be land-based or ship-based.