SUBMARINES OF OLD.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11754, 19 July 1916, Page 4

SUBMARINES OF OLD.

That there is "nothing new under tho sun" is a truism peculiarly applicable to the submarine of the prosent day. There, are actually writings on record to show that Alexander the Great, who died over two thousand 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 tho better part of an hour. There was also a submergiblo 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 boll, and if wo exclude vessels of the latter class, then tho credit for the first real submarine must be accorded to an Englishman of the name of William Bourne, who was a gunner in tho Army. When it ia considered that this man had nothing to guide him but his own talents', tho vessel he produced was a marvellously well-thought-out one. It was provided with a hollow mast permitting a free admission of air, and, almost needless to say, some part of this mast was always intended to remain above water. The device for sinking and raising tho boat was as delightfully simple as it was effective. A scrow, operated by hand, telescoped a portion of its centro, allowing the desired quantity of water to enter, and when this screw was reversed tho water was ejected.' If anything went amiss with the screw, a falso bottom in the boat containing ballast could be sacrificed. About this same time Napier, of Merchiston, also built from his'own 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 trie 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 tho sea floor. It was also supplied with a multiplicity of pumps and. 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 tho entry of water after the recoil of firing. But perhaps 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 soroly perplexed the' holy fathers, for they had to rest content with a leather sack tightly tjed ,at both ends. When a man wanted to go out while the sh'ip 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 the road to progress. In 1640, however, a Frenchman with the Scottish name of John Barrio, was granted a patent for a submarine, which justified its existence by performing soni© creditable salvage work, perhaps the first submersible vessel to do honest work. Unfortunately, there is little data obtainable to describe this submarine. AN ABBE'S DREAM. ; Barrio's invention was succeeded by another of strikingly original design, and again tho inventor was a man in holy orders, who, as many such are, was a keen angler. It was a study of the piscatorial art, and no sympathy with naval improvements, which led him to design the submarine called tho "Borelli," after himself., Its shape was that of an ordinary boat upside down, and. could, therefore, hardly have been a thing of beauty. The propelling power was oars—not ordinary oars, but with yieldbacks, which became rigid on frontal pressure. The means adopted for sinking and raising the vessel were revolutionary in their originality—nothing other, indeed, than huge leather bottles fastened to holes in tho bottom of the boat. When these were filled, down she would go; when squashed flat by mechanical pressure, she rose to the 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 inventor,'and tho inner door opened. When it was desired to sink the ship a powerful lever

AMAZING AND AMUSING INVENTIONS.

was turned contracting tho leather, and, by thus reducing "the length of the craft, while retaining the original weight, she slowly descended. Whenover the original shape was reverted to, by reversing the lever, tho submarine came to the surface. For the work of a humble country carpenter tho invontion was a most meritorious one. Beforo gaping crowds Symons made a successful descent into the river Dart, remaining on one occasion for more than an hour. But, alas! instead of the. 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 tho hat round to make ends meet. A few years later a British baronet took a patent out for a new style of-under-watcr boat, but though the seien tifk world was agog with anticipation concerning it, the invention remained a mystery; it was never publicly seen in material or any other form. AN INVENTOR'S TRAGIC END. That was destined to be the last word of wonder ships for seventy 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 among them was a Suffolk wheelwright named J. Day, who descended with hv boat in .thirty feet of water in Yarmouth Broads, and remained po long out of sight that spectators fully believed they had seen the last of him. Day's remarkable feat brought him te the favourable notice of a wealthy financier, who see7ns to have possessed strange notions about inventions, for h-? exploited Day as he might have done «oine prodigy in the field of sport. He began by making a big wager that Dav would within a'certain time go.down in 100 feet of water and reinai nfor twelve hours. He lost his bet, as his protege could not get his preparations completed in the allotted period: However, a second bet was mode, and this time tho 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. Tt was conjectured that he had gone down nearer 200 than 100 feet,' and that tho pressure of water had crushed his frail craft. AT LAST SOMETHING DEADLY. In 1771 there came into existence a submarine wh'ch smacked decidedly of a warship. This' was the invention of an American, .David Bushnell. Everything considered, it was wondrously complete. It earned an ingenious torpedo worked by clockwork, and 1501b or gunpowder in the .form of water bombs; i-fc cduld be steered to compass,' and was hand-propelled by moans 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 many instruments the boat carried was a wa(cr gauge and a phosphorus lamp. A certain Sergeant Lee undertook,to go out in Bushnell's submarine and sink the British warship Eagle. Tho Americans were inclined'to feel sorry for the big slrp, biit then she was a dangerous enemy, and better out of the way. Th? first essay of the engagement failed, for ere he could get near enouah to his quarry tho tide turned, and all his frenzied screwing could noi gain r .n inch of headway. In the second attempt, he drew near enough to discharge his torpedo, much to the amazement of the British crew, who saw a column ' of water, for no aparcnt reason, mount fifty feet into the air. Not to be denied, the indomitable sergeant' tried his 'prentice hand aqain, and 'this time ho managed by a fluke to blow up a British cutter full of sailors. The men had picked up the torpedo before it was due to explode, and were playing with the' works when a dangerous explosion occurred. 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 the progenitor of the present submarine family. Much similar in appearance to submarines of the, present day, it was built largely of metal, sheathed with copper, and so marvellous wero its various rehearsal performances that the end of warships was forecasted. It was offered to the French (at war at the time with this country), and hy its, aid Fulton expressed his readiness to sink the British fleet at so much a head. Herein lies a story which, looking to the submarine atrocities of the 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 fleet, while the French Admiral added that it was an invention fitted only for Algcrines and pirates.