Chapter 1-THE DEVELOPMENT OF NAVAL SHIPS 



craft suffered from one major defect: its bat- 

 teries had to be recharged and overhauled at 

 such short intervals that its effective range 

 never exceeded 80 miles. 



In 1875, in New Jersey, John P. Holland built 

 his first submarine. Twenty-five years and nine 

 boats later, Holland finally built the U.S. Navy's 

 first submarine, the USS Holland (fig. 1-9). Al- 

 though Holland's early models had features which 

 were later discontinued, many of his initial 

 ideas, perfected in practice, are still in use 

 today. The Holland had a length of 54 feet and a 

 displacement of 75 tons. A 50-horsepower gaso- 

 line engine provided power for surface propul- 

 sion and for battery charging; electric motors 

 run from the storage batteries provided power 

 for underwater running. 



Just before Holland delivered his first sub- 

 marine to the Navy, his company was reorganized 

 into the Electric Boat Company, which continued 

 to be the chief supplier of U.S. Navy submarines 

 until 1917. After the acceptance of the Holland , 

 new contracts for submarines came rapidly. The 

 A-boats, of which there were seven, were com- 

 pleted in 1903. These were improved versions 

 of the Holland ; they were 67 feet long and were 

 equipped with gasoline engines and electric 

 motors. This propulsion combination persisted 

 through a series of B-boats, C-boats, and D- 

 boats turned out by the Electric Boat Company. 



The E-boat type of submarine was the first 

 to use diesel engines. Diesel engines eliminated 

 much of the physical discomfort that had been 

 caused by fumes and exhaust gases of the old 

 gasoline engines. The K-boats, L-boats, and 

 O-boats of World War I were all driven by 

 diesel engines. 



There was little that was spectacular about 

 submarine development in the United States 

 between 1918 and 1941. The submarines built 

 just before and during World War II ranged 

 from 300 to 320 feet in length and displaced 

 approximately 1500 tons on the surface. These 

 included such famous classes as Balao , Gato, 

 Tambor , Sargo , Salmon , Perch, and Pike . 



In the latter part of World War II, the 

 Germans adopted a radical change in submarine 

 design known as the "schnorkel." The spelling 

 was reduced to "snorkel" by the Americans and 

 to "snort" by the British. The snorkel is a 

 breathing tube which is raised while the sub- 

 marine is at periscope depth. With the snorkel 

 in the raised position, air for the diesel engines 

 can be obtained from the surface. 



The snorkel was developed and improved by 

 the U.S. Navy at the end of World War II and was 

 installed on a number of submarines. Another 

 post-war development was the Guppy submar- 

 ine. The Guppy (Greater Underwater Propulsion 

 Power) was a conversion of the fleet-type sub- 

 marine of World War II. The main change was 

 in the superstructure of the hull; this was changed 

 by reducing the surface area, streamlining every 

 protruding object, and enclosing the periscope 

 shears in a streamlined metal fairing. 



With the advent of nuclear power, a new 

 era of submarine development has begun. The 

 first nuclear submarine was the USS Nautilus , 

 SSN 571, which was commissioned on 30 Sep- 

 tember 1954. At 1100 on 17 January 1955, the 

 Nautilus sent its historic message: "Underway 

 on nuclear power." 



The Nautilus broke all existing records for 

 speed and submerged endurance, but even these 



Figure 1-9. — The USS Holland ; first U.S. Navy submarine. 



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