Arthur Leopold Busch

Arthur Leopold Busch (1866-1956) was a British-born American naval architect (born on March 5, 1866) responsible for the development of America's first submarines. He was the shipyard superintendent at Lewis Nixon's Crescent Shipyard located in Elizabethport, New Jersey at the turn of the last century. This shipyard is where the United States Navy's first submarines were built under Busch's supervision beginning in the late fall of 1896. Busch worked in unison with John Philip Holland to design and build the first submarine craft accepted by the United States Navy, on April 11, 1900. This particular day is commemorated [today] by the United States submarine community as "Submarine Day".

This pioneering craft was originally laid down by John Philip Holland as the "Holland VI" but was renamed the USS Holland on April 11, 1900. Holland's company was then known as The Holland Torpedo Boat Company - the forerunner and precursor to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation. The Electric Boat Company is this company's "Cold War" progeny as General Dynamics can trace their company's origins to this very point begining with the success and purchase of the United States Navy's first commissioned submarine, USS Holland. The USS Holland was eventually given the SS-1 designation... America's first truly viable submarine. The United States Government (then) ordered more submarines after the (successful trials and) purchase of Holland VI. These submarines were known as the A-class/Adder-class submarines. A proto-type version of the A-Boats (sometimes referred to as the Plunger class submarine) was constructed first under Busch's direction at the Crescent Shipyard in the year 1900. This submarine craft was called Fulton, named after the American steamship pioneer Robert Fulton. However, it was never commissioned into U. S. Navy service and was sold to the Imperial Russian Navy in 1905 during their conflict with the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Busch was (also) responsible for the design and development of many ship classes for the United States Navy and contributed to their production through both World Wars as he raised enthusiasm for the American cause.

Arthur Busch was sent to Yokosuka, Japan (at the) Yokosuka Naval Arsenal during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 to build the Imperial Japanese Navy's first submarines during this time period. This work was done on behalf of the newly renamed Electric Boat Company and the company's very first President/CEO, Isaac Leopold Rice. Originally, these first five (Type VII) submarines were constructed at the Fore River Ship and Engine Company located in Quincy, Massachuttsetts under Busch's direction. Electric Boat moved company operations to this shipyard at this very point in 1904. The company remained there for some twenty years before opening their own shipyard at its present location in Groton, Connecticut.

Busch was a shipbuilding consultant during World War II and worked at some of the largest shipyards in the world for the great majority of his life. He was a draftsman-in-charge at the famous Harland and Wolff shipyards in Belfast, Ireland between the years 1888-1892... the same shipyard where the RMS Titanic was built a decade a so afterwords. After World War I, Busch changed his last name to Du Busc in 1919 - this was most probably due to the large amount of anti-German sentiment that existed in the United States during that time. Mr. Busch (Du Busc) can trace his family lineage to that of Huguenot origins. Mr. Busch was a longtime member of SNAME - The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. SNAME became organized in 1893 in the state of New Jersey and is still a viable concern today. Nixon and Busch initially met at William Cramp and Sons Shipbuilders in the year 1892 (the same year) when Busch arrived in America from Harland and Wolff Shipbuilders.

References

• Who Built Those Subs? by John P. Holland's primary biographer and submarine historian, Richard Knowles Morris, PhD; published by the United States Naval Institute in Naval History Magazine - October 1998 (125th anniversary) issue.

• John P. Holland, 1841-1914 - Inventor of the Modern Submarine, published by the University of South Carolina Press, 1998, originally published in 1966 under the same title.

• Submarine Pioneers, by Richard Compton-Hall MBE RN, Sutton Publishing LTD. UK. 1999.

• International Directory of Company Histories, Volume 86. Published by Thomson Gale Group/St. James Press, July 2007 under the heading General Dynamics/Electric Boat Corporation. pp 136-139.

• The Defender, "The Story of General Dynamics", published by Harper-Collins, 1986. Written by former Business Week on-line editor Roger Franklin.

• The Klaxon, official newsletter of the U. S. Navy's "Silent Service", published by the Nautilus Memorial Submarine Force Library and Museum, New London/Groton CT. March 1992.

• Documents and letters written by John Philip Holland, Elihu B. Frost, Lewis Nixon etc. complementing Arthur L. Busch's proficiency in the field of naval architecture and shipbuilding during the time when the United States Navy's first submarines were being developed at Nixon's Crescent Shipyard (NJ). These documents are archived and can be found housed at The Nautilus Memorial Submarine Force Library and Museum otherwise as the U. S. Navy Submarine Force Museum and Library in New London CT.

• The New York Times, Sunday March 11th, 1956. Obituary section.

External links

• Biography on geocities.com Revised by Gary W. McCue, Naval Architect/Submarine Historian.
• Official Chief of Naval Operations/Submarine Warfare Division web page under — U.S. Submarine Pioneers
• [1] Official Electric Boat/General Dynamics web site acknowledging Arthur L. Busch's key role as the company's first shipbuilder. John Philip Holland's diminished role within his (own) company is also acknowledged.
• [2]General Dynamics origins traces back to John P. Holland's company. Mr. Busch was present and on the scene since this company's foundation back on 07 February 1899.
• [3] Nixon and Busch started Crescent in January 1895.
• [4] Further information on submarines built at Crescent under Arthur Busch's supervision including the proto-type submarine Fulton.