SUBMARINE. NAVIGATION.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13207, 4 July 1906, Page 3

SUBMARINE. NAVIGATION.

Sir William White, lecturing to the .Royal Institution recently, gave sotn« interesting details of the progress of submarine -navigation. Attempts to use submarines have been made for ne a rly a> hundred and fifty yea**. During the Crimean War an experimental yessel was , actually constructed by the Admiralty.. During the American Civil War the Confederates constructed a submarine and destroyed ■ a Federal ship; but the submarine and its crew perished in the exploit. B?he period 1&60-1880 was marked by persistent efforts to' design a workable model. Holland- laboured indefat-ig-aibly for a quarter of a century v France had made a beginning in 1860, and craft successively approaching nearer to the modern lines were built in 1886, 18S8, 1896. It is estimated that the Republic will have about 60 ready by the end of next year, with a total displacement of 13,600 tons. There has been a great increase in. size and cost of these vessels. The earliest of the modem type were; some^ 56ft ' long, with 30 tows' displacement, tfae latent are about - 150 ft long, with 4'2{) tons displacement and cost about £70,000. Great ', Braitain - relies on' the Holland type, interpreted by VieWs, Maxim and 'Co. f J he latest designs /comprise craft 15Cft long, 300 tons displacement and a radius of action of about 500 miles. They are capable of doing nine knots under water For several reasons high speed is, not to bfi expected. Among constructors great controversy has nnscn taetwecwi tho - advocates ,of s-ju - 1 morales," and "submarines rea-jec-tivr-ly. The French pin .their faith to "srtbmereihlep," wlucli have tao greater reserves of buoyancy and & greater freeboard.- Tlicy enn thus moMs a sea passage of some length. (All bntiah submarines, however., would m I/Vance fee clnssecl as "sntmersiblos. i Tho moneer of all this rlovelooirent L was Bushwell, who in 1776, dnrmr 1 tho war liotwcen tho ."United Staffs and •Enp-lan-'l, showed th? way i"> 1 nearly all rmrticulers. Tie \«~oros • to • hove realised- the disadvantage 1 attaching to wntor - tonka rs " hallnst rhnm'Ws. B°low tfvo surface \- {\\<n vn«<u>\ ii 5'5 ' i'h a rowWrnn o-f nr^ • equipoise, and a, very slight change in weisrht wi-H swirl 'her to the bot- ' torn rn»foro fhn rlw-nw^d c-ooirefv can f bo stofDerl. Tt iV i-isnnl now t^ Icon » «\ smnH iv^pr''rt of hnnyencsy. a*H <^- 3 t, R ;,n itjifv' p.n^^r.rcrenffo "by brin^in^ I l^riznTi'+'rtl -^ii.-MprVynfo pl^V. Ttetn"^- - +vnos- - Tho 'b-^lnst tnnks mvVo ci"™- ■ 5 twrl J-i'V Tvnmy>s of romnrrsse'l p'v\ 1 clean atmosplsroro for the c/rew -\ns

the great trouble, " but by use of ehonrical contrivances to absorb the carbon dioxide, by carrying cylinders of oxygen, and so forth, this is easily contrived. It may be addei to Sir William White's remarks that, as Boyle tells us, one Cornelius Dtrehtfl contrived for James I a vessel to bq "rowtd under water," and also a liquor to be carried in that ves-'f! tlva'fc would supply the want cf fresh air. The boat was tried successfully in the Thames.