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David Bushnell’s Turtle, the first American submarine. Built in 1775, its intended purpose was to break the British naval blockade of New York harbor during the American Revolution. With slight positive buoyancy, Turtle normally floated with approximately six inches of exposed surface. Turtle was powered by a hand-driven propeller. The operator would submerge under the target, and using a screw projecting from the top of Turtle, he would attach a clock-detonated explosive charge. This 1875 drawing by Lt. Francis Barber is the most familiar rendering of Turtle. However, it contains several errors, including internal ballast tanks and helical screw propellers.

The first submarine purchased by the Navy was the Alligator. It had two crude air purifiers, a chemical based system for producing oxygen and a bellows to force air through lime.

The Hunley was a Confederate submarine. It is considered to be the first submarine to launch a successful attack. It used a torpedo that was pushed against a ship using a pole. It was hand powered and took eight men to turn the crank shaft that turned the propeller. The Hunley could reach a maximum speed of 4 knots. Air was provided by two pipes and the boat could stay submerged for 30 minutes.

The Intelligent Whale, a man-powered submarine purchased by the U.S. Navy in 1870, but never placed into service, featured air purifiers, pressurized air to empty ballast tanks and the ability to release a diver while submerged. The Intelligent Whale is credited with inspiring John Holland to develop his first submarine

The first modern submarine was the Holland. By today's standards it was a backwards toy but it did work and it was acquired by the U.S. Navy in 1900. It was invented by John Holland, who had won a design competition and the Navy purchased it on April 11, 1900 for $150,000, a tidy sum in those days. The name of the Navy sub was the Holland VI. It was a 64 ton boat and when it was commissioned it was named the USS Holand and later was designated SS-1.

Early U.S. submarines were called Pig Boats. The name fit very well since they were dirty and fumes permeated them.

USS Seal, the first U.S. submarine built by Simon Lake. Mr. Lake was the only competitor of John Holland and is credited with the following design aspects of the modern submarine: escape trunk, conning tower, diving planes, control room, and the rotating, retractable periscope.

Coastal and harbor defense was one of the earliest missions of the submarine force. Since early submarines could not transit over long distances they were transported by colliers. The U.S. Navy recognized the need to improve submarine design to allow for long range, high-speed operation while submerged. During the winter of 1909, the U.S. submarine C-1 conducted the first tests of the predecessor to today’s snorkel masts. Called ventilator tubes, this technological innovation provided surface air to the diesel engines while the submarine was at periscope depth

 

L-10, one of the Electric Boat L class submarines. This class introduced the first strengthened internal bulkheads in submarines, which allowed the boats to dive to deeper depths

The L-boats, stationed in the Azores during World War One, introduced air purification to the submarine fleet. Stale air was blown over chemicals, and compressed oxygen was released into the submarine to supplement the interior atmosphere.

World War I illustrated a need to shift the priorities in submarine construction and operation. In order to be effective combatants, submarines required improved stealth capabilities such as rapid submergence (i.e., crash dives) and long submerged endurance at low speeds following a torpedo attack. Existing submarines were all considered too small to incorporate these capabilities. However, such designs like the H-boat pictured here, H-2 (circa 1920), were the only ones that could be built quickly. As a result, these submarines were overloaded with the addition of key elements required for wartime sailing-chariot bridge, torpedo room ventilation, oscillator, and gyrocompass.

The S-class boats were used as the test platforms for a range of sonar designs tested in the 1920s and 1930s. Higher frequencies and small, trainable transducers allowed for narrow beam width and exclusion of natural sea noises and other interference

 

Another consideration in the early 1920s was the use of a submarine to forward deploy aircraft. Submarine S-1 was the first U.S. submarine fitted out and extensively tested with a small scout plane

Following World War I, a long range, high endurance submarine became a critical need. The first U.S. unit was authorized for construction in 1925. V-4, later renamed Argonaut, was originally intended for a mine laying mission. This submarine had twice the battery volume of earlier designs and included the first 240v electrical system, allowing for smaller onboard electric motors. Argonaut served as a predecessor to the submarine designs utilized during World War II.

Gato (SS 212) provided the prototype design for the World War II vintage submarine. Construction of this class was accelerated in 1940 due to the escalation of the war in Europe. In order to increase production capability the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company in Wisconsin was contracted to build submarines under license from Electric Boat.