Types of Underwater Propulsion Drives
The first military submarine saw action in 1775, during the American Revolutionary War. Since then, there have been many advancements in their design--making them larger, faster and more powerful. One of the most important areas of continued development has been the method of underwater propulsion used to power submarines through the water.
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The first submarine to see military action was the "American Turtle" developed by David Bushnell in 1776. Made of a wooden shell sealed with tar, the Turtle was powered by two hand cranks, which individually turned propellers on the front and top of the submarine. The propeller on the front drove it forward. The propeller on the top elevated or lowered the submarine, although that was normally accomplished by a bilge tank that was emptied or filled with a hand crank. Powered entirely by the pilot, the Turtle had a top speed of 3 knots in calm water.
Compressed Air Engine
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The first submarine to run under its own power was the French "Plongeur," launched in 1863. This vessel was powered by compressed air, which was slowly released to turn a propeller that could drive the submarine for 10 km at a speed of roughly 4 knots. Although this form of underwater propulsion is notable for being the first that wasn't human-powered, the limits of compressed air propulsion led to "Plongeur" being converted to use a 2-cylinder steam engine in 1873.
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Steam Power
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In 1867, Spanish inventor Narcís Monturiol i Estarriol fitted the first steam engine to his submarine Ictineo II. Uniquely, the engine he built did not use fire to heat the steam that would power the engine's pistons. Instead, he relied on a chemical reaction caused by mixing zinc, potassium chloride and manganese dioxide together. This reaction generated enough heat to boil the water needed to produce steam. This eliminated one of the major obstacles to using steam power underwater--how to burn a fire without access to the air.
Electric Power
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Spanish engineer Isaac Peral developed the world's first electric underwater propulsion drive in 1888. This electric motor drove a single shaft propeller that could propel the submerged submarine at over 10 knots. Peral also developed a chemical reaction which could create breathable air for the crew, and an underwater electric light for searching the ocean floor. Ironically, the Spanish Navy did not decide to pursue development of this submarine technology; and it was only later that researchers realized the Peral submarine actually outperformed submarines from World War II.
Diesel Power
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In 1896 Irish inventor John Philip Holland developed what would become the standard for underwater propulsion systems for the next half century. His Holland Type VI submarine used a diesel engine to power his submarine above the surface, and then used electrical batteries to power the submarine while submerged. The advantage of this system was that the batteries could be recharged by the diesel engine, greatly expanding the submarine's range of operations. This is the technology used throughout World War I and World War II.
Nuclear Power
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In 1955, the United States Navy launched the Nautilus, which was the world's first nuclear powered submarine. Using the heat of a nuclear reaction to pressurize water and drive a turbine, it gave the Nautilus the capacity of running for hundreds or thousands of miles without refueling. Paired with technology that extracted breathable oxygen from seawater, the development of nuclear powered underwater propulsion drives made it theoretically possible for submarines to remain submerged for weeks or even months.
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References
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