The History of Submarines
Wouldn’t it be fun to ride a torpedo, or drive a nuclear reactor around underwater? In this research paper I am going to illustrate the ingenius submarine. The submarine is one of the most important strategic and tactical weapons systems of the 20th Century, and this importance will increase in the 21st Century. The tiny, leaking, creaking, and unsafe submarine boats of the 1890’s, displacing under two hundred tons and carrying a handful of men and a few torpedoes have grown into massive, sophisticated and deadly weapons systems.
These displacing as much as 26,000 tons, carrying a crew of over a hundred and armed with missiles which can destroy large areas of the world. Every day hundreds of submarines are patrolling the oceans of the world. Many of them are on routine training, but some are armed with strategic missiles and for them every patrol is as fully functional as if they were at war. The surface of the ocean is hostile enough on occasion, but the depths are always hostile to man. Yet, for many centuries man has dreamed of penetrating the depths of the oceans and now this dream has become possible.A submarine is a ship that travels underwater. Most submarines are designed for use in war - to attack enemy ships or to fire missiles at enemy countries.
These submarines range in length from about 200 feet to more than 550 feet. Their rounded hulls are about 30 feet in diameter. More than 150 crew members can live and work aboard such warships. At war a submarines will attack from beneath the surface of the water.
A submarine needs to remain underwater to be effective. Early submarines did not stay submerged for long periods, because they had to surface often to get air for their engines and crews. Today’s nuclear submarines can stay underwater for several months at a time. A submarines long, cigar shaped body enables it to move swiftly while underwater.
A pressure hull, made of high strength steel or titanium surrounds the ship and prevents it from being crushed by the pressure of the water around it. Built into the bow and stern of the pressure hull are tanks that, when filled with water, give the submarine ballast (weight) for diving. Submarines that are not built in the United States usually have a second, outer hull. The space between the hulls is used to store ballast tanks and equipment that does not nee...
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...cal responsibilities. One submarine was briefly considered for what might be termed the ultimate command-control role. When the U.S.
Navy’s nuclear-propelled radar picket Triton became redundant in its radar picket role, plans were prepared to convert it into a submerged Alternative National Command Post (ANCP) for the President and his staff to use during a nuclear war. The project never became to be. The sophisticated and deadly submarine has not seen the last of its days. It is already one of the most deadly weapons in the world. The submarine may rise to be one of the most strategic weapons in the world, since ¾ the earth is water. The submarine ships will increase with technology, and skill. And the great history of those who persevered to meet man’s dream of navigating underwater will remain."Again the question arises as to what a submarine can do against a merchant ship when she has found her? She cannot capture the merchant ship; she has no spare hands to put her prize crew on board, little or nothing would be gained by disabling her engine or propeller, she cannot convoy herself into harbor… there is nothing else the submarine can do except sink her to the capture…"
In the American Revolutionary War, a manned underwater craft named the American Turtle (or the "water-machine") was used against the British Navy. David Brushnell designed this ingenious machine in 1771. The submarine was a one manned, egg-shaped vessel which was propelled by hand-operated screw-like devices. It was bottom-heavy in order for it to remain upright. The operator would plant a submersible mine that could be triggered by a simple clockwork mechanism. He could paddle away after he attached the magazine of gunpowder onto the enemy ship. The operator could stay under for about thirty minutes
Ballast (10) - heavy material that is placed low in vessels to improve stability. Ex: iron, gravel, and lead
By the second torpedo, all the men on The USS Indianapolis were wide awake. Things were starting to go wrong on the USS “Indy.” Flames were venting and all the power h...
...was recognized for having been travelled remarkably long on its engine before breaking down which exceeded industry standards. The crew were congratulating for their heroics and recognized their arduous task of manning the troublesome submarines.
Throughout the years submarine technology has advanced throughout the years from the original military submarine the turtle to the German u boats during WWII modern nuclear power submarines that we have today. These developments have required a lot of technological improvements. To make the u boats work the Germans need better battery and electrical motor technologies and the nuclear submarine obviously needed nuclear technology. Submarines have always been an innovative way to win the navel war.
Status of the Navy. (2004, September). The US Navy: Around the World, Around the Clock. Retrieved September 10, 2004 from http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ news/.www/status.html
The U.S. Navy nurtured into a challenging power in the years previous to World War II, with battleship construction being revived in 1937, commencing with the USS North Carolina . It was able to add to its fleets throughout the early years of the war when the US was still not involved, growing production of vessels both large and small. In a conflict that had a number of amphibious landings, naval superiority was important in both Europe and the Pacific. The mutual resource...
Whether fortunately or unfortunately, the limits of innovation are often put to the test. In the case of a submarine launched to sea in 1938, the USS Squalus, bad luck proved disastrous. Within minutes of a test dive, twenty-six men drowned. Years later, Peter Maas compiled the known information about the tragedy into The Terrible Hours: The Greatest Submarine Rescue in History. Over the heartbreaking journey of hopelessness to hope, crisis to survival, and depths to ascension, Maas weaves the sad tale depicting the unknown dangers that technology possesses.
Tom Clancy's "The Hunt for Red October" is a thriller that goes into the life of a Soviet submarine captain who lost his wife to a drunken Russian surgeon. This tragic case of negligence was ignored because the surgeon was the son of a communist party high official. The loss of his wife has caused Captain Marko Radius’s hatred of the corrupt U.S.S.R. for years. But now, Ramius has the chance to take action. Captain Ramius has been given command of the newest Soviet prototype sub, the Typhoon-class missile submarine. When the Americans are given photographs of it, they are extremely curious as to why it is so special. Jac...
The technology on the Titanic consisted of engines powered by steam, electrical systems, and wireless systems. In the ship there were two huge triple expansion engines and a Parson’s low steam pressure turbine. The engines were powered by steam that made by the 20 boilers in the Titanic. The low pressure turbine would be powered by steam and then the turbine’s propellers would drive the centre propeller of the titanic and create electricity for the ship to use. While the low pressure turbine powered the centre propeller, the triple expansion engines was used to drive the port and starboard wing propellers. However the triple expansion would re-use steam that would be wasted as exhaust and therefore using all of the energy from the steam. The titanic also had the most electrical systems ever seen in a ship. Such electricity systems would be elevators and electric gym equipment. The Titanic even had the
The R.M.S. (Royal Mail Steamer) Titanic was the second of three superliners constructed by White Star Line to cross the Atlantic. The superliner measured 882 feet in length, it was longer than the tallest skyscraper in New York, at the time, and the rudder alone was heavier than Christopher Columbus’s Santa Maria. The Titanic was built of 20 thousand tons of steel and iron. When the Titanic was built in 1912 it cost White Star Line $7.5 million dollars. Courier Mail, The (Brisbane). 04/03/2012, p38-38. 1.
Hackmann, Willem Dirk. “SONAR.” Encyclopedia of World War II. Vol. 2. New York: Facts on File, 2007. Modern World History Online. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. .
Its purpose was to protect the hull of the ship, but whenever they were able to obtain it for investigation, it showed to be almost completely shattered (Bassett). This meant that yet another device for protection was made of poor quality material, and led the ship to its downfall. Had the whole body of the ship been covered with a higher quality metal, perhaps any damage to the ship would not have allowed for the same amount of damage that was seen and witnessed on that night.
In 1912, the “Mother of All Shipwrecks” went down including the trust of all future technology. Jim Willis states in 100 Media Moments that Changed America that, “The Titanic was the pride of the white starline” (Willis 48). The white starline put so much confidence in the titanic they decreased the number of life boats on board. The Titanic’s massive size was the only record it truly held. William H. Garzke from The World Book explains that “Many people believed the ship was unsinkable because its new hull was divided into 16 water tight compartments” (Garzke 300). These water tight compartments had such a small chance of any water escaping past them, that the boat could still stay afloat even with a few compartments filled with water. The water compartments were so sealed that the never imagined t...
The Titanic took two years and two months to complete. It was finished in 1911. The boat was 883 feet long, 92 feet wide, and 104 feet high from the bottom of the keel to the top of the bridge. There were a total of ten decks and eight of these were passenger berths. She weighed 46,328 tons. Her top speed was 23 knots around 26 mph. The total cost to build her, in American dollars, was $7,500,000. The Titanic had three...