Under the Sea

Submarine Model, Seamen's Bank for Savings, New York, New York,
Gottscho-Schleisner, Inc., photographer, 1943.
Architecture and Interior Design for 20th Century America, 1935-1955

On April 11, 1900, the U.S. Navy acquired its first submarine, a 53-foot craft designed by Irish immigrant John P. Holland. Propelled by gasoline while on the surface and by electricity when submerged, the Holland served as a blueprint for modern submarine design. By the eve of World War I, Holland and Holland-inspired vessels were a part of large naval fleets throughout the world.

Designs for underwater boats date back to the 1500s. In the nineteenth century, the first truly practical submarines began to appear, with a period of intense development occurring at the end of the century as nations strived to establish their sea power. Seizing upon the latest military technology, the United States used subs in both the War of 1812 and the Civil War. It was not until World War I, however, that submarines emerged as major weapons.

The powerhouses among wartime submarines were German U-boats which outclassed standard subs in both size, speed, and military might. Canadian recruit Fred Smith experienced the efficiency of a U-boat firsthand. "It was the start of the World War," he recalled in an American Life Histories, 1936-1940 interview:

We left Halifax in a transport bound for England — about 5,000 of us. We were not many miles at sea and I was down below, talking with members of the crew who were off watch…Suddenly there came a shock as if an enormous club had walloped the ship in the side…We all made the deck promptly enough, to find that a German submarine was among those present. She had fired two torpedoes into us. We were in a sinking condition, but were able to beach ourselves between a couple large rocks, which are numerous along that shore…but destroyers soon came to chase the submarine and all of us were taken off the transport, after a few hours, without any loss of life.

"Great Lakes Sailors," April 25, 1939.
American Life Histories, 1936-1940

Uncle Sam's Largest Submarine, The Detroit News Timely Topics,
Pacific and Atlantic Photos, Inc., photographer, circa 1915-1930.
Touring Turn-of-the-Century America, 1880-1920

For more about submarines in American Memory:

• Search on submarine in American Life Histories, 1936-1940 to find more submarine stories, including a former Coast Guard radio operator's account of a fatal collision between a sub and a steamer in 1925. Note: Once you have retrieved a list of hits, go to any item and use the BEST MATCH link in the page header to jump to the segment of the piece pertaining to submarines.
• John Holland's torpedo boat company was one of two American companies manufacturing submarines at the turn of the century. In 1901, Holland's rival, inventor Simon Lake, launched the Protector, the Lake Company's second submarine. For a fascinating account of the competition staged by the U.S. government to evaluate the Protector and the Holland, read the 1904 Congressional debates over the purchase of torpedo boats found in African American Perspectives, 1818-1907. This document offers detailed descriptions of both vessels as well as Congressional opinions on the importance of submarine warfare.
• For more images related to submarines, search the American Memory photo collections on submarine. Among the materials available is a 1946 series of photographs documenting the U.S. Naval Submarine Base in New London, Connecticut.
• Also, don't miss inventor Robert Fulton's submarine designs from 1806 featured in the online exhibition American Treasures of the Library of Congress.

The First Submarine to Sink a Battleship

Horace Lawson Hunley (1823-1863) of New Orleans was one of the developers of the Confederate submarine known as the H.L. Hunley. Four feet wide and about forty feet long, with a hull height of four feet and three inches, the H.L. Hunley was the first sub to sink a ship in battle.

Monitor Map…with Map on Large Scale of the Harbor of Charleston,
Louis Prang and Company, Boston, 1863.
Map Collections (1500-Present)

Just outside the Charleston, South Carolina harbor, while the city was under siege, the H.L. Hunley pushed a metal spar into the stern of the Union's largest warship on February 17, 1864. Within minutes the 1,240 ton U.S.S. Housatonic sank. The nine man crew of the H.L. Hunley then signaled, but never returned to, their Sullivan Island destination. It was not until 136 years later (August 8, 2000) that the submarine was raised from the floor of Charleston Harbor.

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