Lecture on submarine boats and their application to torpedo operations

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LECTURE /'///

SUBMARINE BOATS

AND THEIR APPLICATION TO

TORPEDO OPERATIONS.

BY

LIEUT. F. M. BARBER, U. S. Navy.

U. S. Torpedo Station,
Newport, Rhode Island, 1875.

Vj^xx S-'J.? 5 '

«r. ^"

HARVARD

[university!

LIBRARY
AUG 28 1944

ffirU'/rfU/?*'-

I

PREFACE.

In this lecture I have endeavored give a general history of the
science of submarine navigation ; giving detailed descriptions [when
I have been able to obtain them] of special apparatus designed for
the purpose, and a general idea of others where my researches have
not been so successful.

The greater portion of the information on this subject, which has
found its way into print, is vague in the extreme ; probably from
the fact that it is a subject of very little interest to the general reader
and only sought after by the curious, who, in most cases, would pre-
fer the accounts of marvelous results attained rather than the dry
detail of the mechanical devices necessary to obtain them. As re-
gards the lack of other sources of information, both in times past
and present, it may probably be ascribed either to illiteracy on the
part of the inventors or a desire of keeping their knowledge to them-
selves.

An effort has been made throughout the greater portion of the
lecture to follow something of a chronological order in discussing
the various inventions ; but the attempt has not always been suc-
cessful, and it is hoped that the defect may be partially remedied by
the Appendix, which contains a number of other facts pertaining to
the subject which have come to my notice while in search of infor-
mation, but which could not well be inserted in the body of the
lecture itself.

LECTUEE.

Roger Bacon, who lived in the 13th century, mentions submarine
vessels amongst the other marvels which he enumerates. " More-
over," he says, " instruments may be made wherewith men may
walk in the bottom of the sea or river without bodily danger ; which
Alexander the Great used, to the end that he might behold the se-
crets of the seas ; and these have been made not merely in time past,
but even in our days." Again, in another place, he says : " We
have seen and used in London a warlike machine, driven by inter-
nal machinery, either on land or in water ; and succeeding years
have shown us a vessel which, being almost wholly submerged,
would run through the water against waves and wind with a speed
greater than that attained hy ' Celonibus Londinensibus expeditis-
simis/ " [the fastest London pinnaces.]

At the seige of Tyre by Alexander, according to Quintius Cur-
tius, the defenders are said to have protected the foot. of their walls,
on the sea face, by huge blocks of stone, intended to prevent the
approach of the boats of the Macedonians, on which were mounted
their catapults and other engines ; and in endeavoring to remove
these obstructions the assailants were much annoyed by workmen
under water, who came out from the city and cut their cables. At
the same time other submarine workmen hindered the attempt of
the Macedonians to connect the city with the main land by taking
away the dike from underneath the water as fast as stones were
added to it from above.

The pleasures of Antony and Cleopatra have also rendered cele-
brated the divers of Egypt. According to Plutarch, the two lovers
were frequently engaged in fishing in the waters of the Nile, on
which occasions Antony secretly employed the services of a sub-
marine assistant, who from time to time attached a fish to the line
of his master. The success of Antony was a matter of great con-
cern to Cleopatra, who could not conceal her annoyance, till one
day, discovering his secret, she also employed a diver, who, on the
next occasion, attached a large salt fish to the line of Antony, who

6

drew it from the water amidst the laughter of the surrounding cour-
tiers.

It is stated by some writers that a corporation of fishermen ex-
isted in ancient Rome who used a submarine armor in their daily
avocations, and it is also asserted that a corps of military divers
was attached to the army, and on board each ship of the navy were
one or more men who were accustomed to this kind of work.

However mythical these statements may be, a circumstantial ac-
count of the principle of the diving-bell occurs about the year 1540,
when it was demonstrated in the presence of Charles V and his
court at Toledo, in Spain, by two Greeks, who descended into the
water in a large inverted kettle loaded with lead at the rim with a
burning light and came up dry, having the light still burning.

William Bourne, of London, proposed a plan for submarine navi-
gation in 1578 ; but the earliest detailed attempt is that of Cornelius
Debbrel, who, in 1624, during the reign of James 1st of England,
constructed a submarine boat to carry twelve rowers besides passen-
gers. He is also stated to have discovered a liquid which had the
property of restoring air when it became impure by breathing ; but
he died before his plans were perfected, and his secret died with
him. Somewhat later another contrivance was invented by an Eng-
lishman, which consisted of a strong leather sack so prepared as to
contain about half a hogshead of air and to be airtight. It was
constructed in such a manner that it exactly fitted the arms and
legs and had a glass window in the front part of it. When the in-
ventor put on his apparatus he could not only walk on the bottom
of the sea, but could enter sunken ships and recover goods. None
of these inventions, however, were generally known or understood
even during the time of their existence. Few other applications of
these demonstrated principles seem to have been attempted until
1683, when William Phipps, a Boston ship carpenter, persuaded
King Charles II of England, to furnish him with a ship and a
diving-bell apparatus of his own invention to search for a rich Span-
ish ship which had been sunk in six or seven fathoms of water off
the coast of Hispaniola. The first attempt was unsuccessful, but on
a second trial in 1687 he succeeded in raising treasure to the amount
of $200,000. He was knighted on his return to Europe.

Up to this time in inventions of this description the bell was
hoisted to the surface with great frequency to obtain a fresh supply

of air ; but in 1715 Dr. Halley contrived a method of supplying air
to the bell while at the bottom by lowering to it barrels of air by
means of weights, and the vitiated air was let off from the bell
through valves in its top. Numerous minor improvements were
made in the bell within a few years, but this clumsy mode of sup-
plying the air still remained in use until 1779, when SWeaton, the Tyt
engineer, applied the air-pump to forcing down the air ; which me-
thod is still in use. These improvements [as well as those in sub-
marine armor for single operators, the history of which I have not
sketched, as being rather more foreign to my subject] were, how-
ever, confined to the more convenient manipulation of a vessel,
which, though under water, is still a fixture, or at least can only
move along the bottom, as in Sear's diving-bell and others of like
nature.

Little was apparently done from Debbrel's time in the way of
propulsion till 1771, when David Bushnell, of Connecticut, first
suggested the idea of attacking a vessel underneath the water, and
constructed a submarine boat capable of accomplishing the desired
object. There is no drawing extant of this remarkable invention
that I am aware of, and the accompanying sketch (Plate I) I have
made from the different descriptions given of the apparatus. If not
exactly accurate, it will at least give a tolerably correct idea of its
general appearance.

The external shape of the vessel bore some resemblance to two
upper shells of a tortoise joined together, and it floated in the
water with the tail down, while the entrance to the vessel
was at the opening made by the swells of the shell at the
head of the animal. The inside was capable of containing the
operator and air sufficient to support life for half an hour. The
vessel was chiefly ballasted with permanent lead ballast, A, besides
which a mass of lead, B, of about 200 lbs., could be let down forty
or fifty feet below the vessel, and thus served as an anchor as well
as enabling the operator to rise suddenly to the surface of the water
in case of accident. A water-gauge, C, showed the depth by means
of a piece of cork with phosphorus on it, which floated on the water
within the gauge, while a compass, D, marked with phosphorus, di-
rected the course of the vessel above and underneath the surface.
An oar, E, formed on the principle of an old-fashioned screw, was
fixed in the forward part or edge of the boat, Its axis entered the

8

Vessel, and on being turned in one direction propelled the vessel
forward, but being turned in the other propelled it backward. An
oar, F, placed near the top of the vessel and working on the same
principle aaJE, enabled the operator to move upward or downward,
after having once established approximately an equilibrium. A
rudder, G, at the after edge of the boat, was made very elastic and
might be used for sculling.

The entrance to the vessel was elliptical, and so small as barely
to admit one person. ■ It was surrounded by a broad elliptical iron
band, H, the lower edge of which was let into the wood. Above
the upper edge of this iron band was a brass crown, I, resembling
a hat, which shut water-tight upon the iron band, being hung to it
with hinges, so as to turn over sideways when opened. In the crown
were three round doors, J, J, one directly in front, and one on each
side, large enough to put the hand through, and, when opened, they
admitted fresh air ; their shutters were ground perfectly tight, and
were hung with hinges. There were likewise several glass windows
in the crown for looking through, and for admitting light in the
daytime. There were two air pipes, LL, in the crown, and a venti-
lator, M, which drew fresh air through one of the pipes, and dis-
charged it into the bottom of the vessel, the impure air escaping by
the other pipes. The valves X, X opened automatically, when they
came out of the water, and closed as soon as they re-entered it.

When the operator wished to descend, he placed his foot upon
the lever of the valve N, by which means he opened a large aper-
ture in the bottom of the vessel, allowing the water to enter the
tank O O, until a sufficient quantity had been obtained to cause the
boat to descend very gradually. He then shut the valve. The
water could be discharged from this tank by the brass force pump
P, and when the vessel leaked, the bilge could be pumped out by a
similar pump, Q. A firm piece of wood was framed parallel to the
conjugate diameter, to prevent the sides from yielding, and it also
served as a seat for the operator.

The aperture under the Kingston valve N was covered by a per-
forated plate, and everything within the boat was brought so near to
the operator that he could find anything in the dark, without turn-
ing either to the right or left.

In the fore part of the brim of the brass crown was a socket with
an iron tube passing through it. At the top of the tube was a wood

Screw, R, fixed by means of

and when the wood screw w;

by unscrewing the rod. Bel

attached a magazine, S, com

out so as to hold 150 lbs. oi

arrangement, T, for firing it.

to the wood screw above mei

Bushnell's mode of operal

wood screw into her bottom,

The magazine, being buoyai

bottom of the ship, while th

casting off of the magazine

as it was called by its invenl

This invention was never i

being to find a skilful operal

was in an attack on the " Et

Governor's Island. The op<

and attempted to fasten the *\

as he supposed, a bar of iroi

agement of the craft, in atte

the ship, and was unable ag

his magazine, and made off.

ploded some distance from tl

water, greatly to the conster

able to ascertain the cause o:

I have been thus particulc

as it seems, notwithstanding

feet thing of its kind that hi

or since the time of Bushne]

under which he must have

from 1771 to 1775 to comph

earned his title of " Father <

While Bushnell was at t

* Bushnell, being greatly dis£
the Government, went to Franc
for a number of years, when he
assumed name of Dr. Bush, des
nection with the early efforts of
age of ninety years, the openinj

2

10

navigation was being made in England by a man named Day, who
constructed a vessel of 50 tons burden, to go under water. He
never made but one successful submersion, however, as on his sec-
ond attempt, in 1794, the vessel remained at the bottom. After
this date little seems to have been done until the time of Fulton,
who went to Paris in 1797 and laid his plans before the Directory,
but they were refused. He then made a model of his proposed
submarine boat, which the Directory approved of to the extent of
ordering a commission, which reported favorably upon it. The
Minister of Marine, however, refused the necessary facilities and
assistance. After three years Fulton offered his services to the First
Consul, who appointed a committee consisting of Volney, Monge
and Laplace, to examine his inventions. They reported favorably,
and in March, 1801, a sum of 10,000 francs was appropriated to
make the necessary experiments. Thus encouraged, Fulton con-
structed a plunging boat, furnished with two parallel screws, which
served for propulsion and steering horizontally, while a screw work-
ing on a vertical axle effected the movements of ascent and descent.

With this boat the inventor experimented at Havre and Brest ;
but it seems that little was accomplished with it, as he shortly after-
ward constructed, at Paris, a second boat, larger and better than
the first, and which carried on its stern the name " Nautilus," in
letters of gold. The new boat had ribs of iron and sheathing of
brass. It had the form of an ovoid, very elongated, and was nearly
six feet in diameter. At one extremity was a hole, with a rim or
collar, to take a water-tight cover, and near the middle of the boat's
deck, in a fore and aft line, was a narrow channel, intended to
receive a small mast, which could be raised and lowered by a hinge.
In the interior were ranged the handles of oars, shaped like a screw,
to produce a motion of translation. A reservoir, into which water
was introduced, caused the boat to dive at will, and a force-pump
to drive out the water caused her to rise.

Near the end of June, 1801, the Nautilus was first tried in the
Seine, near the Hotel des Invalides. Fulton, with one sailor and a
candle, went under water in his boat and remained 20 minutes,
emerging at some distance from the point of disappearance. In a
few moments he again disappeared, and came up at the point of
first starting ; after which he made sail and manceuvered for some
time on the surface. On the 3d of July, Fulton, accompanied by

11

three men, went down in the harbor of Brest to the depth of 25
feet, remaining for an hour, and on the 24th of July he replaced
his candles, which consumed too much air, by a stout glass dead-
light in the top of the boat, which afforded him sufficient light to
read his watch at a moderate depth. On the 26th he experimented
under canvas. The boat carried a jib and mainsail, and it took
but two minutes to furl sail, strike his mast and disappear beneath
the surface. The speed under water was 1 metre per second, (about
2 knots per hour ;) the boat handling well, and the compass work-
ing as perfectly as on the surface. On the 7th of August he carried
down with him a strong spherical copper tank, capable of contain-
ing enough compressed air to last for 8 hours. The longest time
that he ever remained under water, however, was four hours and
twenty minutes.

With this boat he was able to blow up a small vessel in the har-
bor of Brest, by attaching a torpedo to her containing 20 pounds of
powder. He also attempted to blow up an English man-of-war, but
when he was on the point of attaching his torpedo the vessel moved
away, and he could not find her again.

Notwithstanding his undoubted successes, the French Government
was not disposed to offer him any further assistance, the principal
reason being, it is asserted, in consequence of the opinion of Na-
poleon, that the boat operated too slowly when under water. Ful-
ton, therefore, visited England, where, meeting with a like want of
encouragement, he afterwards came to America.

This boat, though not as convenient as Bushnell's for the manipu-
lation of a single individual in attacking a vessel in a quiet harbor,
may be considered as a step in advance in the general science of
submarine navigation, since it carried a supply of compressed air
and a larger number of people.

It is said that at the time of Fulton's death he was engaged in
the construction of a large diving boat named the " Mute." This
vessel was to be 80 feet long, 22 feet wide and 14 feet deep, while
its walls were 1 foot thick, and the deck was covered with iron
plates. The Mute was intended to navigate usually on the surface,
but on approaching an enemy it could sink itself quickly, just
keeping the rail awash. A small cylindrical port-hole in a pilot-
house would then enable the officer of the watch to put his head
above the deck and steer the ship. Her complement was fixed at

12

100 men, a part of whom turned a large paddle-wheel, (probably
some sort of feathering arrangement,) by means of a crank. Being
at a depth of 6 or 7 feet, no noise would be made ; hence the name
of Mute. No masts or sails were to be used, and it was intended to
utilize the vessel at night, in roadsteads and harbors, to destroy an
enemy by means of its submarine battery. It is very probable that
Fulton also intended to apply steam to this boat.

In 1809 there was constructed in France, by two brothers named
Coessin, a small submarine boat which was intended to carry nine
men and was to be used at Havre for carrying sulphur cloths, which
it was designed to attach to the bottoms of the English vessels for
the purpose of burning them. I have seen no account, however, of
its ever having been actually used.

During the war of 1812 various special torpedo boats were in-
vented, some of which had the power of diving and remaining under
water a short time. The general appearance of most of them was
said to be similar to that of Bushnell, and one is described in Niles*
Register as being chased by the English and escaping by means of
her power of diving " like a porpoise."

The next most interesting invention of this description [from an
historical point of view] was that of an Englishman named John-
son. His boat was built in 1821 and was 100 feet long. It was
intended to be used in an attempt to rescue Napoleon from St. He-
lena ; but the death of the Emperor on the 5th of May, 1821, put
an end to the project. A few years later Johnson navigated under
the waters of the Thames in a submarine boat carrying several pas-
sengers.

In 1825, M. de Montg^ry, a French naval officer, proposed a sub-
marine war vessel, a section of which is shown in Plate II, Fig. 1.
This vessel was named the " Invincible," and was to be 86 feet long,
23 feet beam, and 14 feet deep. The deck was furnished with two
hatchways for ingress and egress, in the covers of which were placed
large dead lights. The bowsprit could be rigged in and the masts
were hinged, so that they, with all rigging and sails attached, could
be stowed in a groove or channel on the spar deck when wishing to
dive. The interior was furnished with a gun deck, below which
were various compartments, some for munitions and others for the
admission of water ; the latter were to be filled by opening valves
when it was intended to sink, and were freed by force-pumps when

13

wishing to rise. Horizontal movement was obtained by a wheel
worked from the poop and three paddles on each side, and the ves-
sel was to be armed with rockets, as mentioned in a previous lecture,
and with quick fire, to be forced under water by means of pumps.
This vessel was never built.

In 1854, James Nasmyth, an Englishman, proposed a form of
boat to be almost completely immersed and resembling a gigantic
mortar. Plate II, Fig. 2. This mortar was to be charged with a
huge bomb cylindro-spherical in shape, and fired by a percussion
arrangement on contact with an enemy's vessel.

In 1859 a submarine boat was exhibited in London by an Amer-
ican named Delaney, of which the following is a vague description :
The boat was egg-shaped, in transverse section, and diminished
nearly to a point at each end. There was a rudder at one end of a
hollow shaft, and the axis of a screw propeller passed through the
shaft. There were two iron tanks in the interior, and one had air
forced into it by a pump. A pipe with a cock communicated to
the other tank, which contained water and had another pipe and
cock opening outboard. The engineer of the boat, by forcing water
into or out of the second tank by means of the air in the first, was
enabled to raise or lower the boat in the water. She was propelled
by steam, and provision was made for purifying the air ; but how
these two latter results were to be accomplished is not stated.

In the early part of the war the United States Government con-
structed a submarine boat for the express purpose of blowing up
the Merrimac. Its inventor was a Frenchman, to whom the Gov-
ernment paid $10,000 for his machine and entered into an agree-
ment with him by which he was to operate the vessel against the
enemy under command of an officer selected by the Navy Depart-
ment. This boat was built at the Washington navy yard of boiler
iron, treble riveted, in the form of a cigar, 35 feet long and 6 feet
in diameter. She was to be sunk by admitting water into a water-
tight compartment, which extended along the entire length, and
raised on expelling the water by means of two force pumps. The
weight of sixteen men was required to sink her when the water com-
partment was full, and she was propelled by sixteen oars, eight on
each side, each constructed on the principle of the webbed foot of a
waterfowl, the blade being formed of two pieces hinged together.
With these oars a speed of 2i knots per hour could be obtained on

14

the surface. A row of thick glass " dead lights" admitted light to
the interior.

The boat was provided with a chemical apparatus for the manu-
facture of oxygen, and another containing lime and having a bel-
lows attachment, by which the air was to be forced through it for
purification. Owing to the disappearance of the inventor nei-
ther apparatus was ever tested, it being generally considered a
swindle. Nothing was ever accomplished with the boat beyond a
few experimental trips to the bottom of the river ; but it is said that
a part of the Frenchman's design was to emerge from the boat in
submarine armor, and, having attached a torpedo to the vessel un-
derneath which the boat was submerged, to return to the boat and
leave the torpedo to explode by its own machinery.
J^ About the same time, a Frenchman named Villeroi constructed,
in Philadelphia, a plunging boat of 35 feet in length and 44 inches
in diameter, (Plate II, Fig. 3.) Its motion was obtained by means
of a screw three feet in diameter, and the introduction of water for
submersion was effected by a pump, through tubes of gutta percha.

Near the end of 1863, an American named Alstilt is said to have
constructed, at Mobile, a submarine boat, of which, like that of
Villeroi, only a drawing, (Plate II, Fig. 4,) and an unsatisfactory
description has been obtained. It was made of sheet iron, and was
65 feet long, with a deck near the centre, which divided it into two
parts. Above the deck was the machinery, compressed air and
gear for working two rudders, while below were a number of com-
partments for water, coal, &c. The propulsion was effected by a
screw, put in motion by a steam engine and two electric engines.
When moving on the surface, the lower compartments, forward and
aft, were filled with air, and steam was used to drive the propeller ;
but on the appearance of an enemy, the boat was to plunge beneath
the water by filling the tanks with water, instead of air, and thus
increase the specific gravity of the boat, the fires being hauled at
the same time, and the electric engines put in operation. The pilot
remained in the pilot-house forward, which was furnished with large
dead lights, while the remainder of the vessel was supposed to hold
itself at a depth of three feet below the surface of the water.

In 1863, Rear Admiral Bourgois, of the French Navy, launched
at Rochefort a plunging boat, (Plate III,) which is said by French
authorities to be far superior to anything of its kind that has ever

15

been constructed. Its form is that of a great fish or cigar, flattened
on one-third of its circumference. It measures 44.5 metres in length
and 3.6 metres in height, its draught of water being 2.8 metres
when on the surface. Its stern is furnished with a screw, a vertical
rudder, and two horizontal ones. It contains an engine of 80 horse-
power, driven by compressed air, and a large number of reservoirs,
in the form of tubes, in which air is compressed to twelve atmos-
pheres. Immediately below the air reservoirs are placed others for
the reception of the necessary water to sink the boat, the water
being driven out on occasion by admitting the compressed air. In
addition, the boat is provided with a mechanism by the aid of which
a portion of its back or deck can be detached, and become, at the
same moment, a life boat for the crew, composed of twelve me n
This boat was launched in May, 1863, from which time till Febru-
ary, 1874, she was made the object of a series of experiments, both
in the river Charente and in the open sea. The trials were, of
course, said to be very successful. It is difficult, however, to ob
tain reliable information pertaining to any government invention
in France, and the great success of these trials may perhaps be
doubted.

Von Scheliha, in his Coast Defence, refers to the model of this
submarine boat, which was on exhibition at the Paris Exposition,
in 1867, but which no one was allowed to approach for examination.
His description of the boat itself is as follows : " The boat is en-
tirely built of iron, and is about 140 feet long by 10 feet deep, and
25 feet beam. The deck has a top about 70 feet long by 7 feet
wide, and 4 feet high. The boat is propelled by a screw, about 7
feet in diameter, which is placed, in the ordinary way, between the
rudder and stern post. The screw is driven by a pair of inclined en-
gines, the motor being compressed air. Twenty-one copper cylinders,
with rounded ends, serve as receptacles for the air, which is com-
pressed to about 200 lbs. per square inch. These cylinders connect
with the supply pipe of the engines, and with another pipe, by which
the crew is supplied ; they contain about 130 cubic metres of air.
A small pump, worked by compressed air, serves to fill or empty a
water tank at the bottom of the boat, and there is also an apparatus
on board, of which it is said that by means of it the boat may, with
a single turn of the hand, be immediately lowered or raised from
or to the surface. This is probably some apparatus capable of tak~

16

ing in or discharging a large amount of water very quickly. The
top of the deck forms part of the pilot-house, and is provided with
a glass window ; it has also four man holes similar to those in steam
boilers, through two of which the crew enter the boat.

" The middle part of the top is bent to the shape of the life-boat,
which is secured by screws reaching to the interior of the top. This
life-boat is constructed similar to the large boat, and perfectly air
tight ; it is about 25 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 3 feet deep, and has
four man holes, two of which fit exactly over two man holes in the
top part of the deck, serving as a means of communication with
the large boat ; the other two are on the sides of the life-boat, and
are probably intended for the passing out of oars.

"The steering apparatus consists of one ordinary rudder and two
horizontal ones, about seven feet long, moving on the same axis,
near the stern. A small screw, moving on a vertical shaft above
the boat, is intended to increase the speed with which she may be
raised or lowered. A torpedo spar is provided, which is an immov-
able tube, about 14 feet long, and to it is attached a cast-iron tor-
pedo, to be fired by electricity; its insulated wire leads to the pilot-
house, where the battery is located."

Von Scheliha also states that " it is said that the French have
experienced great difficulty in steering this boat when immersed."
This is not to be wondered at, when one considers the difference of
shape of the upper and lower portions.

Of the submarine boat which destroyed the Housatonic, I have
been able to obtain but a limited description. It was built of boiler
iron, was about 35 feet long, and was manned by a crew of 9 men,
8 of whom worked the propeller by hand, while the remaining man
steered the boat and regulated her movements beneath the surface.
She could be submerged at pleasure to any desired depth, or could
be propelled on the surface, and in smooth still water she could be
exactly controlled ; the speed being about 4 knots, while the length
of time under water without inconvenience to the crew was half an
hour. It was intended that she should approach any vessel lying
at anchor, pass under her keel and drag a floating torpedo after
her, which would explode on striking the bottom or side of the ship
attacked. This was not, however, the manner in which she was
used in attacking the Housatonic ; the torpedo was then attached
to the bow of the boat, and from the shock of the explosion she

17

probably filled, as she was found by a diver after the war to be lying
on the sand with her bow pointing in the direction of the hole in
the ship's side, which the torpedo had made. It is probable, too,
from the fact of her being in sight from the deck of the Housatonic
for some two minutes before the explosion occurred that on this
occasion she was merely used as an ordinary cigar boat, and no
attempt made to submerge her at all.*

It is said by Sarrepont that in 1864 a Spaniard, named Narciso
Monturiol, constructed a submarine boat, to which he gave the
name of " Ictineo." After a long series of experiments, crowned
with success, a national subscription was opened in Spain to recom-
pense the inventor, and a royal decree put at his disposition the
material of the navy yards for the production of a boat of large
dimensions on his plan. The new Ictineo was launched in the fall
of 1864 ; but all experiments with it have been kept secret, and all
that is known to the public is that the boat is entirely covered with
a sheathing of brass, that the hatches or lookouts are capable of
great resistance and will sustain the most violent shocks, and that
there deadlights are defended by a species of orbit like those sunk
in the skulls of animals.

The same author also states that in 1865 a mechanic of Stock-
holm invented a submarine boat, and one was also produced by a
Frenchman named Deschamps, which, besides the usual apparatus
for taking in and discharging water, is provided with a pump for
expelling the vitiated air, while another pneumatic apparatus draws
in fresh air from the surrounding water. (?) For working without
the boat the operator passes his arms through openings to which are
attached rubber sleeves.

After the war the first submarine boat which gained any notori-
ety in this country was the " Intelligent Whale." (Plate IV.) She
is 26 feet long by 9 feet deep ; made of boiler iron about i inch
thick, and has one center and two bilge keels of heavy timber.
Propulsion is effected by a four-bladed screw, driven by four men
at the cranks. * * Two small copper tanks (S, S) contain air
under a pressure of 600 pounds p$r square inch. Two large tanks

" * In the course of the various attempts made to use this^hoat she sunk
four times, destroying the lives of thirty-two out of thirty-six men who
formed the four crews.

18

(E, E) contain water for sinking the boat, and communicate both
with the air-tanks and with the water outside of the boat. H is a
rudder, and I, I are fins for controlling the motions of the boat in
any direction when under way. A is an iron cupola, having bull's
. eyes in it for the look-out. A compass to indicate the course, a
water-gauge to show the depth, and an air-gauge for showing the
pressure of air in the boat, are also provided. At F F are square
gates, which can be opened when required. The entrance is a
circular opening at J. Two 15-inch shot are fitted, one at each
end, for anchors ; the cables are wire rope, and the windlasses work
in water-tight boxes at T T. An apparatus is also provided for
spraying water through the air when it becomes foul, and thumb
valves are also supplied in the top of the boat for allowing the foul
air to escape. The water- tanks are filled, for sinking the boat, by
opening a valve, and can be emptied by pumps, or the water can be
forced out by compressed air being let in.

This boat will hold 13 persons, and has been tried in the Passaic
river with that number on board. Her speed is about 4 knots, and
she functions as follows : To sink, let the water into the tanks E, E,
till the boat passes slowly beneath the surface ; the four men then
work the cranks and propel the boat, the man at the look-out work-
ing the fins and steering. Having arrived at the proper position, if
on soundings let go anchors ; let air from tanks S, S, into the boat
until the air-gauge shows a pressure greater than the pressure
shown by the water-gauge at that depth ; then open one of the gates
F, F. A man in the submarine armor then passes out of the boat
carrying an electric torpedo, the wires of which pass through holes
in the side of the boat. Having placed his torpedo underneath the
vessel, he returns, and the torpedo is fired by a battery within the
boat. Wishing to rise, the gate F is closed, communication is
opened between the air and water tanks, and the water is driven
out, causing the boat to rise.

The United States Government had intended purchasing this boat
and an instalment of the price was paid ; but a difficulty arising as
to the ownership of the boat nothing was done, and she lay at the
Brooklyn navy yard for several years. A trial was at length or-
dered in 1872, and a board of officers assembled to report upon it.
The result was a complete failure. A superior boat could probably
be built for one-fourth her purchase money.

19

In 1869 Passed Assistant Engineer John W. Kelley, U. 8. N.,
submitted plans for the construction of a submarine boat. He pro-
posed a cigar-shaped vessel, to be propelled either by steam or by
hand. In using steam he proposes to bottle it up at a pressure of
near 200 lbs. per sq. in. ; then to draw his fires, and he thinks he .
will be able to run at high speed for about half an hour before his
engine gives out. In running by hand, he calculates that four men
will be able to propel it at a rate of about three knots per hour.
The vessel is to contain air enough to last the crew for half an hour,
and it is to be steered by a rudder and fins, being also provided
with a water chamber and pumps for effecting changes in the spe-
cific gravity. The boat is intended for using torpedoes, which the
inventor proposes to throw out from tubes placed in different parts *
of the hull ; some pointing ahead, some astern, and some on each
side ; the propelling force being a blow from a stout elliptical spring.
There is no method proposed for purifying the air or of supplying
fresh air without coming to the surface.

In 1869 also, Dr. Barbour, of New York, submitted plans for a
submarine boat, the main features of which are represented in Plate
V. The boat is about 22 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 5 feet deep,
[outside measurement.] She is to be constructed, however, in a pe-
culiar manner. A, A' are upright cast-iron vessels, firmly bolted
together and communicating with each other and with two conical
cast-iron vessels, B, B', which are bolted to them as shown. The
outline of the vertical section represents a? heavy wrought-iron band,
flattened along the top and bottom of the boat, where it is firmly
secured to the cast-iron vessels. At the bow and stern it is flattened
in the opposite direction to a thin edge. T, T, T are wrought iron
tubes of a capacity of about eight cubic feet, and are secured, be-
tween the wrought iron cut-water and the vessel B', in the lower
half of the bow. The spaces between the iron vessels, pipes, &c,
&c., are to be filled in with wood, and the whole boat then covered
with copper. The shaft is a tube 3 inches in diameter, having a
thrust bearing at the after end of the vessel, B, and the propeller is
surrounded by guards. A pair of oscillating engines, of eight-inch
stroke, (not shown,) connect with the main shaft by gearing and
extend outside of B into the vessel C. The rudder is a double fish
tail, moving on a ball and socket joint at D ; at the four corners
are attached wires which lead through sheaves at 6, 6, and thence

2d

through the end of the hollow shaft to the wheel at E. This wheel
works on a ball and socket joint, so as not only to move the perpen-
dicular rudder, but also the horizontal one, the wires being con-
nected with the spokes, which are pulled fore and aft instead of re-
volved. Two fins, H, H, on the sides of the boat, assist in elevating
and depressing when the boat is in motion. Lead ballast is placed
in the spaces at the bottom of the boat as shown, and the corre-
sponding spaces, I, I, I, at the top of the boat, contain vessels which
are to be filled alternately with air or water for controlling the
buoyancy. The man-hole for entrance is at the top of the vessel,
A', where there is also a small sliding cylinder, K, which shoves up
a few inches above the boat, having dead-lights in its sides for the
purpose of observation. Other dead-lights are to be placed in dif-
ferent parts of the boat, and a water gauge is used to show the depth
at all times. The motive power is derived from liquid ammonia or
carbonic acid gas.

As regards the atmosphere, the inventor remarks as follows:
"The occupants "of the boat are to be entirely independent of the
external air. A hundred or a hundred and fifty cubic feet of oxy-
gen can be forced into two cubic feet of tube space by my pumps in
a few minutes, and this amount will supply the two men, together
with a light, for from 8 to 10 hours. The gas is permitted to escape
into the boat as required by fine capillary tubes, using one or more
according to the pressure. The impurities of the atmosphere thrown
off by the occupants are to be taken up by means of absorbents. A
small wooden keg, mounted on axles formed of two pieces of tube,
partly filled with a solution of potash, and is entirely filled with
fine shavings, such as are used for mattresses. A rotary blower
passes a continuous stream of air through the upper part of this
keg, from which it passes through a vessel containing chloride of
calcium. Every half hour or so this keg requires to be revolved on
its axle a part of a revolution, so as to present to the current of air
a fresh surface of the shavings and to dissolve the carbonate of pot-
ash from those which were at the top. This single operation, to-
gether with the requisite supply of oxygen, will keep the atmosphere
in its normal condition for any length of time." The inventor states
that he has tested his apparatus and theory for hours by hermeti-
cally sealing himself up in the shell of a steam boiler, and always
with success.

2i

For war purposes, the inventor proposes to secure in the top of
the boat a number of nitro-glycerine shells, X, X, X, with buoyancy
imparted to them by means of an outer casing. A fine wire cable
is coiled under each, one end of which connects with the fuze in the
shell, and the other passes through, and is attached to, a thumb-
screw on the inside of the boat. There are two operators required
to manage the boat ; one in A, who attends to the engine ; the other
in A', who steers and handles the torpedoes. In an attack, the
boat is to pass under the enemy, and while there, the operator in A'
detaches one of the shells by turning its thumb-screw. The shell
rises under the>essel, and the operator, who retains the end of the
wire in his hand, can make contact with the battery, when he feels
the shell strike. No boat of this description has yet been con-
structed, and if attempted it would probably require a large number
of alterations in the original plans.

In 1872, plans were received hereof a submarine boat, submitted
by Mr. Howell, of Wisconsin. His description and drawing are
both indefinite, but a general idea may be gathered from the follow-
ing : The shape is that of a cylinder with conical ends, Plate VI
[omitted,] the cylinder being 17 feet long and 7 feet in diameter,
while the total length of the boat is 34 feet. On the upper side of
the cylinder is a turret seven feet long and two feet high, open at
the bottom. In and under the turret sit the operators. The conical
ends of the boat serve as chambers for a supply of compressed air,
and have a capacity of about 450 cubic feet, the air being used to
drive a small engine, which works two propellers — one at each end
of the boat. Adjustable weights, xx, travel upon a rod^parallel to
the axis of the boat, by means of which it is intended to change
the direction ; the boat is also supplied with vertical and horizontal
rudders [not shown.] No arrangement for torpedoes is made. Mr.
RowelPs boat may be said to present little that is new, while the
objections to it are numerous.

We now come to the Phillip's submarine boat, (Plates VII and
VIII,) which I have reserved to a later portion of the lecture than
that to which it belongs chronologically, from the fact of its being
the most complete invention of its kind with which I am acquainted.
The inventor launched his first boat on the waters of Lake Mich-
igan, in 1851 ; it was cigar-shaped, 40 feet long and 4 feet in greatest
diameter, and in the course of a few years he so far perfected his

^

22

arrangements for purifying the air, Ac, that on one occasion he took
his wife and two children with him, and spent a whole day in ex-
ploring the bottom of the lake ; he also had a 6-pdr. gun mounted
in this boat, and with it descended, and fired shot up through the
bottoms of hulks that had been anchored for the purpose. His
plans may be generally described as follows : The vessel is to be
cigars-shaped, though this may be modified according to circum-
stances, being careful to preserve, however, in all cases a circular
cross section, which is necessary, in order to give the required
strength to resist compression when at a great depth, as well as to
make her steer with equal facility in all directions. The longitudi-
nal section may be that of a cylinder in the middle and of an ellip-
soid at each end, or the ends may be ogival. The internal arrange-
ment of the boat is as follows : Water tanks, W, W, W, (Plate VII,)
run fore and aft of the cylindrical portion of the boat, on each side
of, and underneath, a midship passage way ; they are of sufficient
capacity to submerge the vessel, when they are partly filled with
water, or to raise her when they are empty, and the remainder of
the vessel full of water. Each tank has a cock [not shown] con-
necting it with the external water, all the cocks, except the centre
one, being worked by a single rod ; there is also a cock on top of
each tank for permitting the air to escape from it into the air space
[or country] of the boat, and a pipe with a cock [not shown] con-
necting it with the compressed air cylinders A, A, A, which are
arranged along the skin of the vessel, just above the water tanks.

At C is a lookout or cupola capable of sliding up and down, and
underneath is the wheel and compass. O is an air pipe capable of
sliding down in a socket, so as to come wholly within the boat ; but
when slid up, as in Fig. 2, it enables the occupant of the boat to
receive fresh air when still about four feet under water. R, R, are
rudders for lateral steering ; no diving rudders or fins being used,
as all vertical motion may be effected by the admission and dis-
charge of water. F, F, are anchors worked by small windlasses.
The bow of the boat works with a hinge, so as to be removable at
pleasure, [in several of the inventor's designs the whole forward
compartment is made movable,] the object being to facilitate the
use of tools outside the boat. Abaft this false bow is a bulkhead,
through the centre of which works a ball and socket joint, and
through this ball a sleeve ; through the sleeve, properly constructed,

23

saws, chisels, augurs, Ac, can be worked at pleasure. At T, T, are
other apertures for the use of a greater number of tools, while
around the universal joint in the bow are dead lights to facilitate
the work when not at a very great depth. The whole body of the
boat is provided with dead lights as shown, but when very deep in
the water a peculiar lamp, constructed by the inventor, is used.

The purification of the air is effected as follows : Along the top
of the water tanks runs a pipe [not shown] connecting with the air
pump, S, and at intervals along this pipe hang pieces of hose termi-
nating in rose heads, v, v, v, v, v, &c. The air pump is also con-
nected on the suction side with a pipe opening into the country of
the boat, and by working the pump the foul air in the boat is drawn
in and forced through the pipe in the top of the water tanks and
out at its only openings, the rose heads, v, v, v t v, v, &c. This causes
the air to be disseminated through the water in fine particles, which
rise in bubbles to the surface, and is thus washed free of its carbonic
acid, which is absorbed by the water. The air thus passes again
into the country through the vent cocks in the tops of the tanks.
The inventor has found this method of treatment sufficient to keep
the air respirable for ten hours when three or four occupants were
in the boat, thus enabling them to use the compressed air solely for
working the boat, tools, &c, and moreover always have the air for
breathing at the normal pressure of the atmosphere. As soon as
the water in the tank becomes foul it it forced out by compressed
air and fresh water admitted.

The boat is kept at any given depth by an apparatus in the middle
of the boat which works automatically, and whose position is indi-
cated by the letter d, in Fig. 1, Plate VII ; the gate of the center
tank of the boat being at D. Plate IX [omitted] illustrates the prin-
ciple of this ingenious arrangement, and its operation may be thus
explained. If all the tanks except the one in the center of the boat
be filled with water it will bring her top or back just awash. Wish-
ing to sink still deeper, the outboard cock I, in the center tank
(Fig. 1, Plate VII) is opened, and, the water rushing in, the boat
begins slowly to sink beneath the surface. The apparatus in Fig. 1,
Plate IX, then functions as follows : The tank A, with its hollow
ball and sealed shaft, forms the index of depth ; the shaft working
airtight through the top of the tank. C is a sleeve secured at pleas-
ure to the shaft by the thumb-screw J\ The arms L and E work

24

in a slotted joint upon this sleeve. The two B's are sectional views
of the same tank, [the center one in the boat J in which A is en-
closed, communicating with it by H, H. The interior tank, A, de-
termines the depth of submergement, the gate D being wide open,
by the action of the water pressure upon the ball and shaft. If,
for instance, the desired submergement be indicated by the number
20 upon the shaft, the sleeve is moved till 19 appears just above,
and is secured in that position by the screw F. This operation first
levels the arms L and E, the instant effect being to open the valve
I, and by giving egress to the air to admit water into the tank B.
The increased volume of water and decreased one of air in B causes
the boat to descend. Meanwhile the pressure due to the increased
depth compresses the air in A, and by the forcing in of the water
through H, H, elevates the ball and shaft and contracts the angle
of L and E till I being closed the valve K is opened and compressed
air admitted in such volume as to expel any superfluity from B
through D. Thus the reciprocal action of the valves I and K will
regulate the depth of the boat.

Besides suspending the boat at any given depth, the inventor has
also devised an apparatus for keeping it on an even keel, so that it
will always be parallel to the surface, and the moving of weights
from one end of the boat to the other will not disturb its equilibrium.
Its exact position is not shown in the smaller drawings, but the prin-
ciple is shown in Fig. 2, Plate IX, [omitted,] which illustrates the
action of the one fitted to the after part of the boat. The ball S, with
its shaft, hangs in the after part of the country like a pendulum ;
the tank P and valves L and Z being very near it. If the bow de-
scends the ball deviates from the perpendicular and opens the valve
L, which allows the air to escape and more water to enter the tank,
while a similar apparatus at the bow causes water to be forced out
of its tank by compressed air at the same instant. If the stern de-
scends, the valve Z is opened instead of L, and allows compressed
air to rush in and drive out the water, while the bow apparatus re-
ciprocates as before. Their united action keeps the boat on an even
keel, or rather it always has its longer axis parallel with the sur-
face.

The propeller is two-bladed, and usually worked by hand. In
his original boat the inventor gained a speed of 4£ knots per hour
by this means, with two men at the cranks. He has, however, de-

25

vised a steam-boiler to generate steam under water for driving an
engine continuously. This plan is shown in Fig. 1, Plate VII,
though it has never been tried practically. The boiler is an up-
right one, and is shown in the after part of the boat. The smoke-
stack has an elbow init, and in one arm of the elbow a valve, J,
which prevents the ingress of water. The fire-box is made perfectly
tight ; the shute by which coal is passed in being closed by a cylin-
der (L) across the end of it. This cylinder has a hole in the upper
side of it, into which coal is passed ; the cylinder is then turned
round until the hole in the upper side corresponds with the hole in
the end of the shute, when the coal slides into the fire-box, the
shute being kept perfectly tight during the whole operation. M is
a poker working through a ball-and-socket joint. K is a pipe lead-
ing from the compressed-air cylinders to a perforated pipe under
the grate, and in this pipe, at the point K, is a valve, the stem of
which connects, by a rod and suitable crank-arms, with the stem of
of the valve J. When on the surface the valve J falls open from
its own weight, closing, at the same time, the valve K, and the
draught of the fire can be regulated by opening suitable orifices in
the ash-pit. As soon, however, as the boat sinks the water rushes
into the chimney and closes the valve J; this,, however, opens the
valve K, and the compressed air, rushing into the fire-box, passes
up the chimney with sufficient force to opon the valve J and force
back the water, thus causing the fire to draw artificially. This
arrangement is very ingenious, and theoretically it would probably
work, but it would seem that in practice the apparatus would heat
the entire boat so much as to render the air within it unendurable
to the operators.

The air-cylinders which contain the large supply necessary for
the different operations of this boat are about 8 feet in length and
13 inches in diameter, made of f-inch iron, riveted, and the seams
brazed. In these the inventor claimed that he could " put up " a
pressure of 500 lbs. per sq. in. by a small two-cylinder air-pump
worked by himself.

Plate VIII shows a form of Mr. Phillips' boat designed for war
purposes. The construction is generally the same as that in Plate
VII, except that the diameter is about one-eighth the length instead
of about one-tenth, and the upper part is heavily plated for protec-
tion against grape and small arms. Underneath the cupola is the
4

26

wheel. At C is the recess for torpedoes, which are placed in an
opening in the cylinder underneath, the cylinder being then turned
till they pass up through a corresponding opening in the bottom
ofC.

At H is a submarine gun working through a ball-and-socket
joint, the muzzle passing snugly through the ball, and when run in
after firing the port is closed by a slide running through the ball in
a direction transverse to the port-hole. At E is a rocket to be fired
just along the surface of the water, as described in a previous lec-
ture, carrying with it a torpedo, F, which it picks up on its dis-
charge by means of a hook, which catches in a ring at the end of a
rope coiled down over the head of the torpedo. The torpedo is
provided with a pair of diving fins, and when the rocket, which
carries a large bursting charge, strikes and explodes, the torpedo
dives and bursts under the bottom of the ship attacked. The
chambers which contain the rocket and its torpedo both work on
the ball and socket principle, the loading-hole being on the after
side. In the forward part of this boat the inventor has also made
arrangements for working numbers of saws and other tools for
clearing away obstructions.*

The inventor of this submarine boat has also a complete wreck-
ing system, comprising armor, camels, &c, of his own invention,
which seem generally successful in their application. The subject,
however, is rather foreign to the matter before us, and I will, there-
fore, merely state that his general plan is to sink his boat far enough
under water to be beyond the influence of waves, and then to anchor
her, bow and stern. A hatch is then opened in the bottom, and the
armor, capable of withstanding the pressure 1,000 feet deep, de-
scends to the scene of the sunken wreck, with its double-channeled
hose. The man in the armor then drills holes in the bottom of the

* Owing to the obscurity of the descriptions of this boat that have been
furnished lo this station, I am unable to state with accuracy whether the
rocket torpedo, the gun and the recess torpedo are all applied to one boat or
not. The drawings furnished show the rocket torpedo in one boat and the
recess arrangement in another, while the gun is in a separate drawing,
which represents it as mounted in a section of the heavily plated back or
top of a submarine boat. The descriptions to which I have had access make
no distinction whatever, the impression being given thut nil three belong to
the war boat.

27

wreck for securing the camels, which are lowered in a collapsed
state from the boat. After it is secured the camel is inflated from
the boat, and the man in the armor proceeds to secure another,
&c, &c.

I have stated that Mr. Phillips' invention dates back to 1851 ;
this, however, only applies to the construction of a submarine boat ;
the minor improvements and inventions have been perfected from
time to time since then. The inventor is now dead, and the plans,
without adequate descriptions, however, were sent here in the early
part of 1870 by a gentleman, named Blatchford, of New York.*

In February, 1875, Mr. Holland, of Paterson, New Jersey, sub*
mitted plans for a submarine boat, (Plate X,) to be operated by a
single individual, and therefore to be as small as possible.

Its length is 15 J feet, breadth 1J feet, and depth, exclusive of the
projection on top, 2 feet. She is nearly square in section, with par-
abolic lines, and calculated for a speed of 5.8 knots per hour on the
surface, and three knots per hour when wholly immersed.

The boat is divided into three compartments, and in the centre
one, to which water is freely admitted, sits — or rather reclines — the
operator, who is dressed in a diver's suit. The motive power is a
propeller, 18 inches in diameter, to the shaft of which are connected
suitable gears, so that the operator can give the proper motion, by
means of treadles, as shown. Both the forward and after compart-
ments are reservoirs of air for breathing purposes ; the former to
contain a sufficient supply for ten minutes' respiration at the nor-
mal pressure, while the latter contains a sufficient quantity, under
pressure, to last from li to 4 hours. The two reservoirs are con-
nected together by a pipe and cock, and each has running through
its centre a diaphragm of oiled silk, with slack enough in it to lie
against either top or bottom, but, at the same time, effectually to
divide the reservoirs into two distinct parts.

Respiration is to be effected in the following manner : Over the
mouth and nostrils of the operator is to be fitted a respirator, to
which two pipes are attached [not shown.] One of these pipes

* I have been told that Mr. Phillips, who was a shoemaker by trade, met
his death in a wooden boat constructed on his principles. He descended in
Lake Erie, near Buffalo, and as the boat never re-appeared, it is supposed
that he accidentally got too deep, and the boat was crushed by the pressure
of the water.

28

leads to the forward reservoir above the diaphragm, and the other
to the same reservoir below the diaphragm, and each is fitted with
a valve, one weighing one ounce and the other weighing two ounces,
opening in opposite directions — the heavy one being in the pipe of
exhalation, and the lighter one in the pipe of inhalation. The pipe
from the after reservoir of the boat enters the same compartment
of the forward reservoir as the inhalation pipe, while to the other
compartment is connected the section of a small air pump, shown
in dotted lines in Fig. 1. This air pump is connected to the treadles,
so as to be worked by them, and is of such size that it will draw
from its compartment above the diaphragm, and expel from the
boat, at each stroke, as nearly as possible the quantity of air
breathed during that time. A gauge, connected with the forward
reservoir, and placed in front of the operator, indicates the pressure
there at all times. By opening the cock in the pipe leading from
the after reservoir, the air is intended to be admitted continuously
under the diaphragm in the forward reservoir, from whence it is
drawn through the inhalation pipe to the lungs of the operator,
passing back again through the exhalation pipe to the portion of
the reservoir above the diaphragm, and from thence overboard, by
means of the air pump.

The submersion of the boat is to be effected by means of a tank
(not shown) located underneath the gear-wheels, and capable of con-
taining 65 lbs. (1 cu. ft.) of water. When this tank is full the boat
will sink, but when partially empty the boat will rise. It is emp-
tied by directing the delivery of the air-pump through it. Under-
neath the boat is a rudder, to be worked by a tiller attached to the
forward end of it by means of a pin, which works through a slot
in the bottom of the middle chamber. No diving fins are used, but
to effect the same object the operator has two heavy plates of lead
connected together, which he can move forward or aft.

The torpedoes are five in number, each containing 30 lbs. of ex-
plosive, and divided into three parts to be secured together as shown
in Fig. 5. The forward compartment contains a rocket composition
and an exploding rod. The center one contains the charge, while
the after one fills out the contour of a spindle of revolution, which
is the shape of the whole. The parts of the torpedoes ar£ stowed
separately in the boat, the middle compartments of each being just
abaft the operator, while the ends are in the top of the boat. How

these torpedoes a:
he speaks vaguel;
sel, when they wi
torn of a stationa
and laniard, &c.,
atic arrangement
by means of the
for the operator 1

The air pump
pressed air in the
disconnecting the
so as to bring the
alone; sending a
suitable connects
gauges to indicat
and the speed arc

This invention
the Bushnell plai
one individual, a
sible to the hand
of the boat are si
nell's, and the a
the operator wou
than one man co
rounded by wate]

It will be seen
bour and Mr. Pb
of purification o:
the other inventc
perfectly success!
derstanding of ^
respirable a few

In breathing 2
bonic acid give]
animal impurity
confined space, a
at first, and is 1
Water contains ;
amount of oxyg<

30

and it is possible that when the impure air from the boat is forced
through the water, as in Mr. Phillips' plan, the water not only-
washes away the greater part of the carbonic acid and animal im-
purities, but that more oxygen may be added [as is claimed by Mr.
Blatchford] from the oxygen already dissolved in the water. This,
however, is not very probable, since the impure air only bubbles
through the water and is not completely dissolved in it.

In consequence of the large size of the Phillips boat and the small
number of occupants, it is likely that his process keeps the air suffi-
ciently washed from carbonic acid and animal impurities to be res-
pirable at the end of nine or ten hours, although the quantity of
oxygen in it is actually less than at first. To my knowledge his
process has never been tried in a boat of small dimensions, when
the good and the bad qualities of it could be equally demonstrated.

Theoretically, the air in a submarine boat ought to be kept ther-
oughly pure by, 1st, having an absorbent for the carbonic acid,
[like quicklime properly arranged ;] 2d, an apparatus for generat-
ing oxygen or tanks containing it ; and 3d, an apparatus for gener-
ating ozone [which Dr. Barbour's plan lacks] whenever wanted to
convert the animal impurities into carbonic acid and water. Such
an arrangement would purify the air of a boat of any size, although
from Mr. Phillips' experience it would seem that his method is am-
ple for the size of boat that he recommends, viz: from JO to 75 feet
in length ; and it has the special advantage of merely requiring the
mechanical manipulation of a pump, which is always ready to func-
tion, and avoids the introduction into the boat of chemicals, which
must frequently be renewed.

The science of submarine navigation is likely to be one of great
importance in connection with the torpedo operations of future wars,
both for attacking vessels and for entering harbors and destroying
submarine mines and their connections, provided the present partial
disadvantages connected with the use of diving boats can be suc-
cessfully overcome. These disadvantages seem to lie in the present
imperfect solution of the problems of light and , speed. The problem
of speed would not appear to be so important as that of light ; but
it is great enough to require that some substitute should be found
for manual labor, and at present liquid carbonic acid gas would
seem to be the most efficient motor, though in the future the electric
engine will probably prove the most suitable. The problem of light-

r

ing a submarine
a portion of the
before we can ]
water navigatioi
difficult it is to
requires but a 1
condition of thii
of solid water,
mole," found th
ing about 660 y
calculated by B
about 700 feet,
after we leave tl
is very intense
probably come r
gator in this dii
But little att
ject of submarir
by Major Daudc
boat at that th
Yacht Club. r .
cylinder of shee
The shell, almoj
a deck, from wl
masts, the latter
upon the water i
The interior is (
it is lighted by i
by an apparatu
boat is hermeti
the ventilator, a
The chambers o
a ballast suffici
takes the place
worked by a sys
wheel is placed,
four boilers pla<
up to 2,000 H. ]
cylinder has bee

82

of lead, weighing 2,000 kilograms, and intended to counterbalance
the tendency to roll or list produced by the propellers. There are
two propellers — one at each end of the boat — of 7.6 meters in
diameter, and having 9 steel blades, 4 of them being smaller than
the others, so as to be constantly submerged whether the boat is
riding light or not. The anchors are cylindrical castings, weighing
each 1,000 kilograms ; they stow in tubular openings in the bottom.
Major Daudenart advocates vessels of this description to be used for
war purposes as follows : " They should be supplied with slender
observatory tubes fitted at the bottom with photographic apparatus,
by means of which the appearance on the horizon, and all subse-
quent movements of other vessels would be recorded and rendered
manifest to those within without the necessity of rising to the sur-
face."

The Prussians are said, by Captain Bourelly, writing in 1872, to
be in possession of three torpedo boats very nearly resembling the
one built at Rochefort by Admiral Bourgois. They are of iron,
about 20 metres long by from 2 to 2.5 metres diameter. In the
forward end is the apparatus controlling the rudder, above which,
in a higher portion, is a sight-hole 26 m. m. square, which enables
the pilot to see ahead. The chimney is small and low, and situated
in the after part of the trunk and a double plating protects the
chimney and deck. The crew consists of three or four men. These
boats use petroleum as fuel, which burns without smoke or sparks.
The center of the boat contains the engines of destruction, though
how they are worked is not known. The vessels are to be used at
night, and are painted a grayish color. Three others of the same
kind are shortly to be built.

[As an instance of the latitude with which some of the accounts
given by foreign writers are to be taken, and of the allowance
which must be made for a disposition to magnify facts, I may state
that since last delivering this lecture, in September, 1874, I have
learned, on undoubted authority, that the foundation of the above
description of Bourelly (and others) consists of the following facts :

The boats used by the Prussians during the late war were not
submarine boats, but simple launches. They were of iron, about
50 feet long by 7 feet beam, and very low in the water, the deck
being rounded over like a whale-back. Just forward of the middle
of the boat was a low pilot-house, with small glass windows in front.

83

The operators, of whom there were three or four, stood on a deck
below the pilot-house. Abaft the pilot-house was a low smokestack,
and beneath this the engine and boiler, separated by a bulkhead
from forward. Abaft the boiler the whole after part of the boat
was partitioned off into a chamber into which the exhaust of the
engine was led, so as to make no noise.

An attempt was made in these boats to use petroleum as fuel, but
it was abandoned and Welsh coal substituted. A speed of 7i knots
could be obtained ; but at this speed the water boiled up aft and
made some noise, while at a lower rate the boat was perfectly noise-
less when moving through the water. The torpedo arrangements
consisted of an iron socket, having forked legs, which hinged on each
side of the bow abaft the stem, so as to have vertical motion only.
Into this socket was fitted a wooden spar about 13 feet long, to which
the iron torpedo was lashed, [this operation had to be performed
alongside of a dock.] A small bowsprit with a sheave in the end
was provided for a topping lift, which led to a reel on the deck below
the pilot-house. The electric machine for firing the torpedoes was
also located on this deck. These boats, of which there were three,
were painted gray, and the operators were completely hidden under
the whale back, which covered the entire boat.

An experiment to test their qualities of invincibility and silence
was made at Wilhelmshafen by the Prussians. On a dark night
one of their largest iron-clads, lying out in the harbor, was directed
to blow her whistle and make other signals at the first sign of ap-
proach of the torpedo boat. In spite of their utmost vigilance, how-
ever, the boat was actually alongside before any one perceived it.]

APPENDIX.

The diving bell is first mentioned by John Taisnier, who was born at
Hainault, in 1609.

Diver's armor is mentioned by Vegetius, in 1532.

In 1692, John Williams invented a species of diving bell of which a
drawing is still to be seen in the Roll's Chapel, in England.

In 1692, also, Papin wrote to Leibnitz concerning a submarine boat in-
vented by himself. It was to be moved by oars at the side and could be
cause to rise or sink by pumping air into or out of internal vases. It had
a mercurial water gauge, was steered by a rudder, and lighted by glass
windows. Air for respiration could be pumped in through a tube by a
'• Hessian pump, that is to say, a rotary flyer with vanes ; " the vitiated air
escaped by another tube, while a third enabled the operator to attack an
enemy's ship.

About the same time, or a few years earlier than Papin' s machine, an
Italian named Borelli invented a diving dress very similar to the one at
present in use. He also describes a submarine boat of his invention having
bags, open to the exterior water, from which the water could be squeezed
when wishing to rise. It was to be propelled by oars at the side, and also
a flexible broad-bladed oar at the stern, by the vibrations of which the boat
would be moved forward on the same principle as a fish swims by vibrating
his tail.

In 1693, a patent was granted in England to John Stapleton for a diving
dress, a submarine boat, and a method of " defecating " or purifying the
air after breathing ; hardly any description is, however, preserved.

In 1722, some experiments are said to have been made by Dirnis, of
Bordeaux, an account of which is given in the " Journal of Encyclope-
dique," of August, 1772. From this we learn that his machine carried ten
persons a distance of five leagues, below water, in the bay of Biscay, and
that it remained below for four hours and a half.

From the time of Fulton up to the present, several patents have been
taken out in England for submarine inventions ; but none of them seem to
have been much experimented with or to have had much success. In 1806,
John Schmidt and Robert Dickinson invented a sort of diving machine
which was to be moved by oars working at its lower edge. In it the car-
bonic acid generated by respiration was to be absorbed by a caustic alkali.
This is noticeable as being the first time, apparently, that this means was
used for the purpose.

The next English patent was granted in 1864, to J. H. Johnstone, for a
vessel, invented by Messrs. Payerne and Laninal, with several interior

86

compartments. The propulsion was to be effected by a steam engine whose
fuel was a "chemical composition."

The following year Casimir Deschamps and Charles Vilorcq patented a
machine called a " free diving boat " to be propelled by a screw turned by
hand. Its chief peculiarity consisted in an arrangement for an electric
light at the top.

In 1859, a submarine boat was invented in England, by J. M. Mason, in
which the chief peculiarities are specified as consisting in the compression
of the air before descent, and its increased compression by means of the
generation of carbonic acid gas within inflatable rubber bags.

A few years ago a boat was patented in England by Mr. Merrian, an
American. The boat is ovoid in shape and consists of several compartments
in one of which the crew can work, while the others are used as reservoirs
of compressed air. The bottom is a heavy cast-iron plate in which are
several doors. Forward is a bar with suitable gearing for attaching a tor-
pedo without going out of the boat.

About the same time another foreign patentee took out a patent for a
boat consisting of two concentric cylinders between which water was to be
admitted.

W. Bauer, of Munich, in 1853, invented a submarine boat which was to
be driven by a gas engine. The air was to be supplied from above by pipes.
In the sides were holes with water-tight sleeves, (as in Williams' invention,
in 1692,) through which the arms of a man could be thrust for doing work
outside the boat. The same inventor, in 1866, patented a submarine vessel
capable of a certain amount of independent motion by aid of a screw pro-
peller, but it is intended to be let down by chains from a ship.

In the division of Sarrepont's book, which is devoted to America, he
states that a few years ago a Mr. Roeber built at Newark, N. J., a cigar
boat 9 metres long and 2 m .15 diameter. The shell of the boat, which was
of sheet iron, contained a chamber capable of accommodating six or eight
men, of which number two or three were sufficient for turning the handle
of the propeller. The inventor also furnished his boat with many coils or
rolls of electric wire of a length of two or three miles, for the purpose of
keeping up communication with the shore. The same inventor designed the
plans of another boat of a similar description except that it was to be
22 m .86 in length and was intended to carry an offensive torpedo by means
of a spar which rigged in and out through a sleeve in the bow.

The latest foreign invention in the field of submarine navigation, of
which I have been able to obtain a definite account, is that of M. Toselli,
which, although not exactly a submarine boat, is still not a diving bell, but
something between the two, and is intended to be used for torpedo purposes
in times of war. It consists (Plate II, Fig. 5) of a cylinder of boiler iron
40 inches in diameter and 10 feet high and is divided into four compart-
ments. The bottom division A, contains lead, and serves to hold the vessel
in a vertical position. B can be filled with water by opening a cock communi-

eating from without, or
Consequently this chair
machine and to deter mi
as the rotatory vessels :
is stationed with his as
is compressed in a quan
sel is to be submerged,
into the main compartn
communicating with th
prevent the entrance of
shown in the illustratio
man, and driving the v<
M is a manometer, wl
of submersion. N is i
condensed air in the chii
the ship. This contain!
may be sent to the instr
interior of the machine
dead lights, and Z is a
air, break or choke, w
vessel would ascend, an<
through the extra pipe
part, preventing the pa*
communicate with the ii
remains intact, the bell
on board the ship, in cai
"being transmitted. If
once, then the operator
the lead underneath, wl
Finally, if by some exti
line and loose sight of t.
ator would first, by uns:
and would then ascend
enabled to view his sur
by revolving the same
Lastly, having determii:
tion by means of his sc: 1

With this apparatus, :
last year, to the bottom
the device admirably ac
fishery, or for the cleari i
rine Mole," and toads
india rubber armlets an :
mines.

A still later inventk

88

Vranctsco j but I have as yet failed to find a satisfactory account of it and
so far it has, I believe, never been used under water. It was launched in
the latter part of December, 1874, but on the trial trip, no attempt was
made at submergement on account of some neeessary alterations required
in the ballast ; it was said, however, to function well on the surface. As in
the case of most inventions of this nature, its construction has been carried on
with the utmost secrecy, and the following account is the best 1 have been
able to obtain.

The boat is 11 feet long, and 4 feet deep, with 4 feet beam, and is described
as resembling a miniature monitor with a hexagonal instead of a round
turret on deck. But that which might be mistaken for a turret, is simply
a manhead or trunk. The main hold, which extends from the centre of the
boat to the stern, is almost entirely taken up with machinery of the most
complicated description, leaving but little space for the occupant. A forward
hatchway opens into a cistern which will hold forty gallons of water, intro-
duced and expelled by means of a force pump inside the boat and under
control of the operator. The water passes in both instances, through a hole
perforated amidships under the keel, and carried through a small rubber
hose to the cistern.

When the operator desires to sink his vessel, he fills his cistern with water,
which takes her down by the head, and when he wishes to ascend, he empties
his cargo of water below, and the boat comes up bows first. The manhead
or trunk is three feet long, and from one to two feet wide. It is closed over
with a hatch cover, held down inside by two iron claws which are secured
by two iron rods. A slight pressure on these rods in a given direction
instantaneously loosens the claws and the hatch cover springs open. In this
way the inventor proposes to escape from the boat should anything go wrong
while below, with his machinery. The manhead has five small apertures
for light, four of the six sides and the top having a window of French plate
glass. On either end of the manhead, extending upward several feet, are
two wrought iron rods, intended to facilitate the escape of the operator in
case of danger, who uses them to force himself from his place. To the
after rod is connected by a number of strands of wire, a contrivance which
resembles a steam whistle. It is made of three sections of gas-pipe, telescoped
into each other, surmounted by a cap. In the second section of the pipe is
a tumbler, connected with a screw on top, which is attached to a wire below,
at the command of the operator. This tumbler makes the upper section air-
tight. It moves up and down within the pipe and the operator can, by
means of it, expel through the water the foul air from the boat.(?)*

The steering apparatus is the essential feature of the invention. The
screw consists of two blades and looks like the arm of a windmill. It is
controlled by a snake shaft. This shaft or chain is made of peculiarly

* This apparatus is probably intended merely to function like the air-pipe O in
the Phillips boat, Plate VII, to enable the operator to obtain fresh air when
several feet below the surface.

89

shaped brass links, so fitted together as to permit it to be twisted in any
conceivable direction. The revolutions of the fans are governed by this
shaft, and by complicated machinery, specially prepared for the purpose,
the fans are thrown to any desired angle, and revolved by the snake shaft.
The external machinery, at the stern, is used to change the position of the
propeller, which is thus also used as a rudder, and the operator can, at
pleasure, shift his directing and propelling power to any point of a sphere.
In this vessel everything is at the command of the operator, from his
position in the centre of the boat. On either side of him two small wheels,
attached by ropes to arms fitted on the shaft of the propeller, enable him to
throw the apparatus into gear on the right or left, and a similar wheel in
front of him is used for bringing it back to a central position. The pro-
peller is worked by treadles, like the pedals of an organ, and by hand levers,
like those of an invalid's chair. A single turn of the controlling wheels
brings the propeller to any desired angle, and the levers and pedals are so
arranged that the boat can be worked backward or forward with equal
facility. The anchoring apparatus is said to be complete and easily worked.

DESCRIPTION OF PLATES.

Plate I. Bushnell's submarine boat.

Plate II. Pig. 1, cross section of Montgery's proposed war vessel.
Pig. 2, Nasmyth's mortar.
Fig. 8, Villeroi's submarine boat.
Pig. 4, Alstilt's submarine boat.
Pig. 5, Toselli's " Submarine Mole."

Plate III. Admiral Bourgoie' submarine boat.

Plate IV. Intelligent whale.

Plate V. Pig. 1, Vertical longitudinal section of Dr. Barbour's submarine
boat.
Fig. 2, Horizontal longitudinal section of same.

Plate VI. Rowell's submarine boat. [Omitted — W. N. J.]

Plate VII. Phillip's submarine boat for ordinary purposes.

Plate VIII. Phillips' submarine boat for war purposes.

Plate IX. Fig. 1, Automatic constant depth apparatus of Phillips' sub-
marine boat. [Omitted.]
Fig. 2, Automatic regulator for bow and stern of Phillips' sub-
marine boat. [Omitted.]

Plate X, Holland's submarine torpedo boat.

Pig. 1, Vertical longitudinal section.

Pig. 2, Horizontal longitudinal section.

Pig. 8, End view.

Pig. 4, Vertical cross section behind operator.

Pig. 6, Horizontal longitudinal section of torpedo.

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MAR 3 1951

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