Abstract
THE construction of submarines for the Royal Navy began about five years ago. On March 31, twenty-five vessels of the class had been completed, fifteen were building, and twelve more were projected in the Navy Estimates for 1906–7. France at the same date had thirty-nine submarines completed, and fifty building or projected. Russia had thirteen vessels completed and fifteen building. The United States had eight vessels completed and four building, while Congress has recently sanctioned a special vote of 200,000l. for further work on submarines. Germany, Italy, and Japan as yet have done but little, but they are moving in the same direction. An American engineer, Mr. Holland, has exercised the greatest influence on recent submarine design, having worked at the problem for thirty years, and proved himself a worthy successor of his fellow-countrymen Bushnell and Fulton, who were pioneers in submarine construction in the closing years of the eighteenth century and the commencement of the nineteenth. The first five British submarines, ordered in 1900, were repetitions of a type designed by Mr. Holland, tried and approved by the United States Navy Department. Great developments have taken place in later British submarines. Those first built had displacements of 120 tons, surface speeds of eight to nine knots, and gasoline engines of 160 horse-power. Vessels now building have displacements exceeding 300 tons, a surface speed of thirteen knots, and gasoline engines of 850 horse-power. The cost of the earlier vessels was about 35,000l.; that of the later vessels must be twice as great. Other countries have taken similar action, and some are building still larger vessels.
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WHITE, W. The Stability of Submarines . Nature 74, 128–129 (1906). https://doi.org/10.1038/074128a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/074128a0