Calendar of Discovery and Invention

Abstract

October 2, 1901.—The first British submarine, launched at Barrow on Oct. 2, 1901, was 63 ft, long and 11 ft. 9 in, wide. From the sixteenth century onwards, numerous attempts were made to produce a boat to travel untor water, but the early models failed because they relied on man power for propulsion. The greatest impetus to submarine building came with the ‘Holland vessel, constructed about 1897 by J. P. Holland inl America. It was propelled by a gasolene engine on the surface, and used electricity for under-water work. It also had planes, which could be inclined to assist in diving and rising.