Ancient Subs

We conclude the short history of the submarine prepared by Electric Boat Company many years ago.

He (Robert Fulton) then took his plans to the British, but they were not ready or willing to accept submarine warfare either. Fulton then quit in disgust and returned to the United States.

A boat similar to Fulton's was built for the Confederate forces during the American Civil War, & it became the first undersea vessel to sink an enemy ship of war under combat conditions. Named the "HUNLEY" for the firm which built her, the little vessel attacked the Union corvette USS HOUSATONIC. The submarine was armed only with a gunpowder 'torpedo' at the end of a fifteen foot pole. When this crude bomb exploded, it blew a hole in the side of the Union vessel, which sank immediately, pulling the HUNLEY down with it.

Although the HUNLEY succeeded in her mission, the submarine was far from ready for use as a regular part of the Navy. It was not until nearly 40 years later such a vessel was built. John P. Holland, a native of Ireland, came to the United States as an immigrant in 1827. He was a schoolteacher by profession, but in his spare time he worked on plans for a submarine. He built several, and in 1900 he delivered one, the USS HOLLAND, which became the first submarine accepted by the US Navy.

The Navy was well pleased with the 'HOLLAND' and soon ordered six more submarines, giving this type of vessel status as a necessary part of the fleet. Other nations soon followed suit, and during World War I practically all naval powers had a submarine force.

Germany showed the rest of the world what could be done with an efficient submarine force during the 1st World War, making greater use of them than any other nation. However, it was the American submarine service in the Pacific Ocean during World War II which really exploited the undersea warship to the fullest. Although the submarine branch comprised only 1/20th of the men serving in the Navy, this branch destroyed more enemy shipping than all other agencies - the Army, the Navy and the Air Force COMBINED!

On 14 June, 1952 President Harry S. Truman laid the keel of the world's first atomic powered vessel, USS NAUTILUS. Eighteen months later, the ship was launched by the wife of another President, Mrs. Dwight D. Eisenhower and on 17 January, 1955 the NAUTILUS went to sea for the first time, flashing from her bridge the historic message: "Under way on nuclear power!"

During her first year of operation, USS NAUTILUS was subjected to a battery of gruelling tests and passed them all, and in the process, established several records for submarine operations. During a run from New London, Connecticut to San Juan, Puerto Rico in the spring of 1955, she established four new marks.

She made the 1,300 mile trip in 84 hours, completely submerged. This was ten times farther than any submarine had ever gone completely submerged; no submarine had ever maintained her average submerged speed of 16 knots for more than one hour; it was the longest period any U.S. submarine had ever cruised completely submerged and it was the fastest passage ever made between the two points by a submarine, submerged or on the surface.

USS NAUTILUS, like the Navy's very first submarine, USS HOLLAND, was built by Electric Boat, a division of General Dynamics.