It's Not Science Fiction Anymore
Submarines have fascinated people for centuries. In 1869, Jules Verne wrote "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." It's one of the classic science fiction novels of all time. Verne wrote about the adventures of Captain Nemo and his incredible electric powered submarine called the Nautilus. It is amazing how accurate Verne was about future submarine technology. In fact, nearly 100 years later, the first U.S. nuclear submarine was named after the Nautilus.

While Jules Verne certainly was advanced for his time, submarines were invented much earlier. The first actual submarine was made in 1620 by a Dutch inventor who was working for the King of England. It was made of wood and covered with greased-leather. Needless-to-say, it was very leaky and not very safe.

Submarines were used in both the American Revolution and in the Civil War. In 1776, during the Revolutionary War, American ship maker David Bushnell built a strange submarine made of oak. It had two hand-cranks to provide power. To submerge, the operator flooded the craft with water until it was heavy and dense enough to slip below the surface.

However, the operator was knee-deep in water! A hand pump was used to remove the water so the craft could surface. Colonists hoped to use the submarine to break the British naval blockade of New York harbor, but they were never able to do it.

In 1864, during the Civil War, the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley made the first "successful" underwater attack. It carried a crew of eight who used hand cranks to power the propeller. The ship moved slowly through the water at 4 knots (that's about 4 mph). Air was provided to the crew by two four-foot pipes. There was enough air to be under water for only about 30 minutes. To attack, crewmen used a pole to push a torpedo out of the submarine and toward the Union's ship. The torpedo hit its target, the USS Housatonic, but the explosion was so great it sank both ships!

Since then, great progress has been made in submarine technology. Today, submarines are still used mostly for military purposes, but scientists also use "submersibles" for research and to rescue people or objects that may be trapped thousands of feet below the surface.