Submarines
Submarines
Kathryn Vanpoucke
Since the late 1700s, inventors were trying to find a way to attack other ships from underwater. David Bushnell was the creator of the first submarine; it was named the “Turtle”, which was seven and a half feet tall and six feet wide. The person inside would sit on a stool and turn hand-cranked propellers. Another important part of his creation was a wood screw.
The design was made so the submarine would go below the enemy, British warship HMS Eagle, and drill the screw into the ship, along with a waterproof fuse connected to a mine. The operator would then speed away as quickly as possible. The features the submarine had included; air pipes that brought fresh air in to the submarine, ballast tanks, and a very basic torpedo to attack enemies. Ballast tanks would open to let water in so the submarine would sink and let water out so the submarine would go back to the surface.
John Philip Holland had been designing submarines, his first design that he had turned in to the U.S. Navy in 1875 was rejected. He then perfected his designs and by the sixth try he finally made a submarine that worked out. The submarine was named after the creator, USS Holland. The submarine had gasoline engines which turned a propeller to run the submarine on the surface.
The submarine also had ballast tanks like the Turtle, which controlled the buoyancy. The USS Holland also had a conning tower; it was made so crew members could easily look above. Unlike the Turtle, the USS Holland was shaped like a cylinder so it could guide smoothly and quickly underwater. The USS Holland had better torpedoes than the Turtle too; the Holland could shoot aerial torpedoes and Whitehead torpedoes.
An aerial torpedo is specifically made to be dropped into water. The Whitehead torpedo was also meant for underwater, but the torpedo did have some problems and some advantages. The torpedoes problem was that you had to get four hundred feet away from your target to get a
Kathryn Vanpoucke
Since the late 1700s, inventors were trying to find a way to attack other ships from underwater. David Bushnell was the creator of the first submarine; it was named the “Turtle”, which was seven and a half feet tall and six feet wide. The person inside would sit on a stool and turn hand-cranked propellers. Another important part of his creation was a wood screw.
The design was made so the submarine would go below the enemy, British warship HMS Eagle, and drill the screw into the ship, along with a waterproof fuse connected to a mine. The operator would then speed away as quickly as possible. The features the submarine had included; air pipes that brought fresh air in to the submarine, ballast tanks, and a very basic torpedo to attack enemies. Ballast tanks would open to let water in so the submarine would sink and let water out so the submarine would go back to the surface.
John Philip Holland had been designing submarines, his first design that he had turned in to the U.S. Navy in 1875 was rejected. He then perfected his designs and by the sixth try he finally made a submarine that worked out. The submarine was named after the creator, USS Holland. The submarine had gasoline engines which turned a propeller to run the submarine on the surface.
The submarine also had ballast tanks like the Turtle, which controlled the buoyancy. The USS Holland also had a conning tower; it was made so crew members could easily look above. Unlike the Turtle, the USS Holland was shaped like a cylinder so it could guide smoothly and quickly underwater. The USS Holland had better torpedoes than the Turtle too; the Holland could shoot aerial torpedoes and Whitehead torpedoes.
An aerial torpedo is specifically made to be dropped into water. The Whitehead torpedo was also meant for underwater, but the torpedo did have some problems and some advantages. The torpedoes problem was that you had to get four hundred feet away from your target to get a
References: Doyle, Kevin. Submarines, 2003 Minneapolis, U.S.A. Lightfoot, Bill. Beneath the surface, 2005 Vancouver, BC Parker, John Stone, Lynn. Fighting forces on the sea, 2006 Vero Beach, FL Sutherland, Jonathan and Canwell, Diane Swanson, Jennifer. How submarines work, 2012 Mankato, MN http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4100&tid=100&ct=4