| dc.description.abstract | The 1864 sinking of the USS Housatonic by the Confederate submersible H. L. Hunley, during America’s Civil War, accelerated the race to develop a mechanically powered submarine capable of sinking enemy shipping.
The development of internal combustion engines, improvement in electric motors and storage batteries, and invention of the locomotive torpedo, coupled with enhancement of submersible designs, changed the face of naval warfare. Iterative improvements in submarine designs and associated technologies enabled the transformation of submarine warfare from its original mission of blockade breaking, through coastal defense and denial of freedom of the sea, to its modern role of strategic power projection.
The United States Navy purchased its first ‘modern’ submarine in 1900, and over the next 11 years several different classes of American submarines were developed, with expanding size, range, and lethality. Each of these classes exhibit designers’ attempts, some more successful than others, to improve the vessel. The overall success of a class of boats can be measured by the number of vessels produced, by the number of countries which built and operated them, and by the length of time that they remained in service. Of these early submarines, the H-Class boats and their simple yet effective design stands out.
Early development of American submarines was costly; more submariners died and more submarines were lost in the years leading up to the First World War than were lost in combat during that war. Submariners lived in conditions best described as hazardous squalor. When running on the surface, the boat was often filled with gasoline vapor and exhaust fumes; fires, explosions, and carbon monoxide poisoning were common. Submerged, the boat was cold and dank, and the air quickly became low in oxygen and saturated with carbon dioxide. Men slept on cold steel decks, ate poorly, and used buckets for toilets. Understandably many of the improvements in submarine design came from the men that operated them.
This dissertation places manned submersibles in historical context and presents a summary of the technological advances in submarine design and construction leading to the development of the H-Class submarine; presents the historical and archaeological record of USS H1; and draws conclusions regarding the H-Class submarines’ contribution to development of undersea warfare. | en |
