236 SUBMARINE NAVIGATION. 



can not leave unnoticed the work done in the United States by Mr. 

 Holhind, who devoted himself for a quarter of a century to continu- 

 ous experiment on submarines and eventually achieved success. The 

 Holland type was first adopted by the United States Navy, and Avas 

 subsequently accepted by the British Admiralty as the point of de- 

 parture for our subsequent construction of submarijies. In France 

 also successive designs for submarines were prepared by competent 

 naval architects, and a few vessels were built and tried. The Plon- 

 geur^ of 1860, was a submarine of large size, considerable cost, and 

 well-considered design; but her limited radius of action and com- 

 paratively low speed left her for many years without a successor on 

 the French navy list. The high relative standing attained by the 

 French navy as compared with our own, in consequence of the vigor- 

 ous action of the Emperor Napoleon III in developing steam propul- 

 sion and armor protection for seagoing ships, no doubt greatly in- 

 fluenced French policy at that time and delayed development of sub- 

 marine construction. When conditions were altered in consequence 

 of the Franco-German war of 1870, and the position of the French 

 navy in relation to the British became less favorable, it was natural 

 that the question of submarine construction should assume greater 

 importance in France. In the interval, moreover, great advances 

 had been made in materials of construction and in means of propul- 

 sion available for submarines. The extended use of steel and the 

 practical a])plications of electricity gave to designers greater facili- 

 ties than existed previously, and public interest in the construction of 

 submarines and small, swift vessels was increased by the writings of 

 the jeune ecole, who strongly condemned the continued construction 

 of armored " mastodons." 



The modern development of submarines for war purposes is chiefly 

 due to French initiative. During the earlier stages of this develop- 

 ment progress was extremely slow. The Gymnote was ordered in 

 1886 and the Gustave Zede in 1888, and the trials continued over 

 nearly eight years, large sums of money being spent thereon. In 

 1896 competitive designs for submarines were invited, but no great 

 activity was displayed in this department of construction until the 

 Fashoda incident two years later. Since that time remarkable de- 

 velopments have been made in France, considerable numbers of sub- 

 marines have been laid down, rival types have been constructed, and 

 many designers have been engaged in the work. Up to the present 

 time about 70 submarines and submersibles have been ordered; 

 in July, 1904, the total nmnber of completed vessels was 28, 

 and at the end of 1907 it is estimated that France will possess 

 60 completed submarines, Avitli a total displacement of nearly 

 13,600 tons. The first French submarine of modern type, the 

 Gymnote^ was 56 feet long and of 30 tons displacement. The latest 



