SUBMARINES OF OLD.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXV, Issue 8306, 26 November 1915, Page 3

SUBMARINES OF OLD.

AMAZING' AND AMUSING

INVENTIONS

That there is " nothing 'new under sun" is a truism peculiarly applicable to tho submarine of the present dayThere are actually writings on record to show that Alexander the Great,, who died over 2000 years ago, possessed a vessel which, strictly speaking, was a submarine, for it enabled the king and his particular friends to take a trip under water lasting the better part of an hour. There was also a submergible boat used at the siege of Troy, but the only good it effected was to drown its inventor. Gunner's Brainy Device. But a submarine as we understand it to-day is something more than a mere diving bell, and if we exclude vessels of the latter class, then the credit for the first real submarine must be accorded to an Englishman of the name; of William Bourne, who was ai gunner in the Army. When it is considered that this man had nothing to guide him but his own talents, the vessel he produced was a, lnarvellously well-thought-out one. It was'provided with a. hollow mast permitting, a .free, admission of air, 'and,- almost needless Ito say, some part of this mast was always intended to remain above water. The device for sinking and raising the boat was as delightfully simple as it was effective. A screw, operated by hand, telescoped a portion of its centre, allowing the desired quantity of water to enter, and when this screw was reversed the water was ejected. If anything went amiss with the screw, a false bottom in the boat containing ballast could be sacrificed.

About this same time Napier, of Merchiston. also built from his o\vn design a submarine craft which showed many notable features, though, ,like the other one, it ended its career with nothing more, accomplished than an impress on history. The Priests' Wonder Ship. There was something inexpressibly droll about the under-water craft which two priests evolved in their spare time. Just as flying men took the bird for their model, these inventors closely copied the shape of ..the fish. They were nothing if not thorough, and even went so far as to fit their submarine with wheels to enable it to traverse the sea floor. It was also supplied with a multiplicity of pumps arid ventilators, and, to enable the crew .to work all these appliances under water, they were coated with phosphorescent paint. Though priests by profession, they kept war well in the front of their minds, . and equipped their, vessel with guns having tricky little valves to prevent the entry of water after the recoil of firing. But. perhapsj->-the most interesting and certainly, the most amusing' feature "of this wonder ship concerned the mode of egress when under water. . This part of the invention must'have,sorely perplexed the holy fathers, for they had to rest content wjtb a leather sack itightly tied at both ends. When a, mail wanted out while the ship was still submerged, he passed into the sack, which was then carefully tied up after him, and he himself unloosened the knots at the other end and rose spluttering for breath to the surface. It was a. Spartan-like operation,, which could hardly conduce to the popularity of the new craft,'nor did it, ■ ;for it soon passed away,, leaving —another landmark on tfo road to progress.

In 1640, however, a Frenchman with the Scottish name of John Bnrrie was granted a patent for a submarine, which justified its existence by performing some creditable salvage work. I perhaps the first submersible vessel-to do honest work. Unfortunately, thorp [is little data obtainable to describe ! this- submarine. I An Abbe's Dream. Barrio's invention was succeeded by I another of strikingly original design, and again the inventor was a man in j holy orders, who, as many such are, was a keen angler. It was a study of tho piscatorial art, and no sympathy with naval improvements, which led him to design the submarine called the " Borelli," after himself. Its shape was that of an ordinary boat upside down, and could, therefore, hardly have boon a thing of beauty. The propelling power was oars —not ordinary oars, but with flexible yielding backs, which became rigid on frontal pressure. Tho means adopted for sinking and raising the vessel were revolutionary in their originality —nothing other, indeed,, than huge leather bottles fastened to holes in the bottom of the boat. When these were filled, clown she would go; when squashed flat by mechanical pressure, she rose to ths surface. As a matter of fact this submarine neither descended nor ascended, as it remained a figment of the worthy abbe's brain,' though every detail of it was committed to paper. Carpenter Goes One Better.

It so happened, however, that a jobbing house carpenter, named Symons, who lived in Devonshire, saw , the abbe's plans, and straightway claimed to have actually built a. much superior submarine. This boat was made in two parts, joined in the middle with stout leather, which was water tight. The mode of entry was by a false door in the side. When ingress was desired, this door was then shut, though not before some gallons of water came 'in along with the inventor, and the inner door opened. When it was desired to sink the ship a powerful lever was turned contracting the leather, and, by thus reducing the length of the craft, while retaining the original weight, she slowly descended. Whenever the original shape was reverted to, by reversing the lever, the submarine came to the surface. For the work of a humble country carpenter the invention wars a .most meritorious one-. . .• . •

Before gaping crowds Symons made a. sticcossf'ul descent into the river Dart, remaining on one occasion for more than an hour. But, alas! instead of Government taking over the submarine, it came to be regarded merely as one of the sights of the district, and the poor carpenter was reduced to passing the hat round to make ends meet.

• A i'ew years Inter a British baronet took a patent out for a new style of vmder-water boat, but though the ■ scientific world was agog with anticipation concerning it. the invention remained a mystery : it was never- publicly seen in material or any other form. I An Inventor's Tragic End.

That was destined to be the last heard of wonder ships for 70 years to come, but at the end of that time, a perfect spate of submarine inventors came forward, refreshed, no doubt, by the long interval. . Most prominent

;imong them was a Suffolk wheelwright named J. Day, who descended with his boat in 30 feet of water in Yarmouth Broads* and remained so long out of sight that spectators fully believed they had seen the last of him. Day's remarkable feat brought him to the favourable notice of a wealthy financier, who seems to have possessed strange notions about inventions, for he exploited Day as he might hare done some prodigy in the field of sport. He began by making a big wager that Day would within a certain time go down in 100 feet of water suul remain for 12 hours. Ho lost his bet, as his protege could not get his preparations completed in the allotted period. However, a second l>et was made, and this time the gallant wheelwright descended with his submarine in Plymouth Sound, at a place where the depth was given out as 18 fathoms, but neither the poor fellow nor his boat was ever seen again. It Avas conjectured that lie had gone down [nearer 200 than 100 feet, and that the pressure of water had crushed his frail craft. At Last Something Deadly. In 1771 there came into existence a,, submarine which smacked decidedly of a warship. This was the invention of the American, David Bushnell.' Everything considered, it was wonderfully complete. It carried an ingenious torpedo worked by clockwork, and IGOlbs of gunpowder in the. form of water bombs; it could be steered to compass., and was hand-propelled by means of a bladed screw, enabling the vessel to go backward or forward. Water was admitted by an aperture at the bottom and ejected by the simple pressure of a foot. Among the ninny instruments the boat carried was a water gauge and a phosphorus lamp.

A eortain Sergeant Loo undertook to go out in Bushnell's submarine and sink the Brititsh warship Eagle. The Americans were incline<l to foci sorry for the big ship, but then she was a .dangerous enemy, and bettor out of the. way. The first essay of the sergeant failed, for ore he could get near enough his quarry the tide turned, and all his Frenzied srrowin^ could not gain an inch of headway. In the second attempt he drew near enough to disj charge his torpedo, milch to tinl am a no- | nifM.it" of. the British crew, who saw a. column of water, for no apparent reason, mount 50 feet into the air. Not to be denied, the indomitable sergeant tried his 'prentice hand again, and this time ho managed by a. fluke to blow up a- British cutter fnil of sailors. The men had picked up the torpedo before it was due to explode, and were playing with the. works when :\. disastrous explosion ensued. Fulton Shows The Way. The last; submarine inventor we will deal with here, was that really remarkable man, "Robert Fulton, an American engineer. He invented a submersible boat which might .almost be. called tlio

progenitor of the present submarine family. Much similar in appearance to submarines of the-present .day) .it was I built largely of metal, sheated with copper, and so marvellous were its various rehearsal performances that ' the end of warships was forecasted, j It was offered to the French (at war at the time with this country), and by its aid Fulton expressed his readiness I to sink the British fleet at so much' a ! head. Herein lies a story which, look- '•'. ing to the submarine atrocities of tho present day, is peculiarly appropriate. ; < To the eternal credit .of the French ' ' naval authorities, they declined to have • anything to do with' the invention,; though quite satisfied as to its merits. The French Minister of. "War declared ' that France would never descend to such despicable means of destroying ■ an enemy's ileet, .while the French Ad- j; miral added that it was an invention j fitted only I'or Algerines and pirates.— | Archibald Douglas.