Submarines

by Violet Sigurdsson and Izabela Lipinski

The Submarine

Inventions

2. The inventor

6. Video

5. Fun facts

4. How it works

3. Drebbel's submarine

1. What is a submarine?

Index

What is a submarine?

A submarine is typically a warship that can operate underwater. It has a periscope to see above the water and is usually armed with missles or torpedoes.

Cornelius Drebbel: the inventor of the submarine

Birth: 1572 in Alkmaar, the NetherlandsDeath: 1633 in London, UKWhen he invented the submarine: 1620

The submarine looks to be based on the design of a row boat, seeing as it had a wooden frame covered entirely in waterproof leather. Depth was controlled by bladders of pigskin connected to pipes that led out of the cabin;to dive the bladders were filled with water by releasing a rope that controlled the opening and closing of the pipes. In order to surface, the rowers squeezed all the water out of the bladders and tied them off with rope again. This enabled the submarine to safely dive to depths of 4 to 5 metres.

Drebbel's submarine

How it works

The vessel was steered by a rudder, and powered by four oars which were fed into the water through leather seals. Air tubes led from the cabin to the waters surface and were kept in place by the use of floats – the submarine was able to be underwater for several hours at a time.

Fun facts

Drebbel's invention later led to the creation of the Oberon-class submarine, HMAS Onslow. A warship that was commissioned during the cold war (1968) and served Australia for 30 years

At the time of its invention, the submarine appeared to have been made well ahead of its time and was not of any interest to the English Royal Navy.

Drebbel’s submarine was tested several times, and it was reported that even King James I was on board during one of the tests, becoming the first monarch to travel under water.

VIDEO

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