Wars and W ayfaring
199
no place on the land is more than 1,700 nautical miles from the sea,
a submarine could now threaten cities and military installations
anywhere on the continental land masses. Enemy shipping, the
traditional target of the submarine, became secondary to the
Polaris submarine’s principal goal of approaching close enough to
enemy territory to let loose its nuclear—tipped missiles if required.
The earliest submarines designed for military purposes gave little
indication of this fearsome evolution. Built around the turn of the
eighteenth century, they were hand—pr0pelled and carried armaments
so crude that the submarine had to move close to, if not touch, the
enemy ship. Many were devised by itinerant inventors who
attempted, usually unsuccessfully, to enlist nancial support from
the powerful European navies. Typical of these early pioneers was
Robert Fulton (1765—1815), an American artist and inventor. He
spent several years going from one Eur0pean capital to another
trying to sell his idea for a submarine, keeping himself by his
painting. Finally in 1800 Fulton persuaded Napoleon Bonaparte to
provide the necessary nance and a year later the Nautilus took to
the water. Although successful in trials against an old schooner
moored off Brest, the hand—propelled machine could not approach
close enough to the blockading British warships to attach an
explosive charge. As a result Bonaparte’s interest soon waned and,
after trying to interest the British Navy, Fulton returned to his
homeland. Undaunted by European ‘failures’, he prevailed upon
the United States Congress to provide for another, more ambitions,
submarine powered by a steam engine. Unfortunately, Robert
Fulton died before the trials of the submarine were completed, and
it was left to rot away at its moorings.
A turning point in the history of the submarine came when
practical, electric—storage batteries became available in the 18803
(partly the result of the impetus for research provided by the
rapidly expanding telegraph systemsÿ. Experiments with steam
power had been only moderately successful and the superiority of
electric propulsion was well demonstrated by John P. Holland when
he secured a US. Navy contract in competition with the Swedish
engineer Thorston Nordenfelt who had suggested a steam—powered
submarine. In 1895 Holland received an order for a submarine from
the Navy but their specications were such that the boat was never
completed. lnstead, Holland built his own submarine, the Holland,
which entered into service with the US. Navy in 1900.
A year later,
199
no place on the land is more than 1,700 nautical miles from the sea,
a submarine could now threaten cities and military installations
anywhere on the continental land masses. Enemy shipping, the
traditional target of the submarine, became secondary to the
Polaris submarine’s principal goal of approaching close enough to
enemy territory to let loose its nuclear—tipped missiles if required.
The earliest submarines designed for military purposes gave little
indication of this fearsome evolution. Built around the turn of the
eighteenth century, they were hand—pr0pelled and carried armaments
so crude that the submarine had to move close to, if not touch, the
enemy ship. Many were devised by itinerant inventors who
attempted, usually unsuccessfully, to enlist nancial support from
the powerful European navies. Typical of these early pioneers was
Robert Fulton (1765—1815), an American artist and inventor. He
spent several years going from one Eur0pean capital to another
trying to sell his idea for a submarine, keeping himself by his
painting. Finally in 1800 Fulton persuaded Napoleon Bonaparte to
provide the necessary nance and a year later the Nautilus took to
the water. Although successful in trials against an old schooner
moored off Brest, the hand—propelled machine could not approach
close enough to the blockading British warships to attach an
explosive charge. As a result Bonaparte’s interest soon waned and,
after trying to interest the British Navy, Fulton returned to his
homeland. Undaunted by European ‘failures’, he prevailed upon
the United States Congress to provide for another, more ambitions,
submarine powered by a steam engine. Unfortunately, Robert
Fulton died before the trials of the submarine were completed, and
it was left to rot away at its moorings.
A turning point in the history of the submarine came when
practical, electric—storage batteries became available in the 18803
(partly the result of the impetus for research provided by the
rapidly expanding telegraph systemsÿ. Experiments with steam
power had been only moderately successful and the superiority of
electric propulsion was well demonstrated by John P. Holland when
he secured a US. Navy contract in competition with the Swedish
engineer Thorston Nordenfelt who had suggested a steam—powered
submarine. In 1895 Holland received an order for a submarine from
the Navy but their specications were such that the boat was never
completed. lnstead, Holland built his own submarine, the Holland,
which entered into service with the US. Navy in 1900.
A year later,