UNDERSEA CRAFT

Hokitika Guardian, 10 June 1930, Page 2

UNDERSEA CRAFT

SUBMARINE’S EVOLUTION

The four Oxley type submarines, which are the most powerful in existence, have now been attached to the China station of the Royal Navy to form the nucleus of a large and powerful flotilla. Britain thus leads the wav in possessing the latest t-pye of undersea craft, in fact these vessels are the last word in submarine design.

The' first practical model of a submarine was devised by David Bushnell in 1775, a,nd the idea was revived in 1809 'by R, Fulton, who built a boat, and called it the Nautilus. Th e motive (power of -this crude effort nos a hand-worked ‘screw. To keep the occupant alive a copper container tilled with compressed air was fitted which gave off enough oxygen to last four hours The vessel ucmmPv went under water to a dcp-5 1 of 2oft and fned a torpedo. FxpeHments were carried on at infrequent intervals till the American Civil War, when the idea was revived by thp Confederation, and a tvne of submarine known as the “Davids” came into being. One of these, manned by nine men, attacked the- Federal Warship Housatonic and sank her with a spar torpedo. The vessel, however, was engulfed by a wave set up from the resulting explosion. Round about the year 1860 the submarine became a power-prqoelled vessel, and France, then a minor naval Power, led the way with the Plongour, which was 146 ft. long and propelled by an 18 h.p. compressed-air engine. Other nations followed, hut England, strange to say, was very slow in adopting the idea until, moved by- the weight of . public opinion, •the Government of the day purchased the right to manufacture five boats, which "included in their design the patents, which have made the name of Holland famous in naval circles. They \vote very small] submersible* when compared with the boats, which are at present in use, their displacement being alxnit 80 tons, with a single topedo tube placed right forward in the bows. Tue moti'e power was provided by tiny combustion engines, and a crew of ten men mannod the vessel. For the purpose el diving, water was admitted into in-