Nautilus (submarine, 1800)
 Replica of the Nautilus
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The Nautilus was a submarine designed and built by the American Robert Fulton . Precursors were the three wooden dive boats of Cornelis Drebbel from 1620, which by Denis Papin in 1691 on behalf of the Landgrave of Kassel designed submersible boat and the first equipped with real underwater propulsion Turtle ( "turtle") of the American David Bushnell from the year 1776th
Fulton, who was active in France at the end of the 18th century , constructed the Nautilus between 1793 and 1797. To be able to realize the project, he turned to the board of directors, but was refused. Only after submitting his proposal to the Minister of the Navy was he given permission to build. The Nautilus was built in 1800 at the Perrier shipyard in Rouen ; it was 21 feet 3 inches (6.47 meters) long and was made of copper plates mounted on an iron boat frame. The Nautilus was the first submarine to have rudder and depth rudders for steering. The buoyancy could be regulated by flooding and emptying the hollow iron keel. The vehicle was supplied with air through a waterproof leather snorkel . Under water, the Nautilus was propelled by a propeller that was set in rotation by hand cranks, and above water by means of a fan-like sail on a fold-out mast.
The first successful test took place in July 1800 in Rouen. However, as the current of the Seine was impairing, Fulton moved the boat to Le Havre . Compared to a boat rowed by two sailors, the Nautilus, also powered by two men, covered a distance of 360 feet (110 m) two minutes faster. During this time Fulton changed the rudder, giving the propeller four blades similar to a windmill.
On July 3, 1801, Fulton reached a depth of 25 feet (7.6 m) during a diving attempt at Le Havre. With a crew of three, he dived for over an hour by the light of two candles. Using a copper "bomb" that contained 200 cubic feet (5.7 m³) of compressed air, he was able to extend the time to 4½ hours. As a further renovation, a 1.5 inch (38 mm) pane of glass was added to the observation tower. The incident light was enough for the inventor to read a clock, so that candles were no longer needed in daylight. Fulton observed that a compass could also be used underwater. The Nautilus sank a schooner through a nachgeschleppte gunpowder charge that Fulton Torpedo (after the Latin word for " torpedo called"). The marine observing committee enthusiastically recommended the construction of two more brass submarines 36 feet (11 m) long, 12 feet (3.7 m) wide with eight crew members and eight hours of diving time.
Although he had attracted Napoleon's attention with the project, France decided not to continue financing development, for various reasons.
Fulton went to England and designed a new Nautilus for the Royal Navy . This should be 35 feet (11 m) long and capable of cruising at sea with a crew of 6 for 20 days. It should be possible to attach 30 mines to its surface. In the above water silhouette it resembled a sloop with a mast and sails. The double-bladed propeller should continue to be operated by hand. Submerged, two ventilation pipes took over the air supply, light could enter through the tower. After the British naval victory at Trafalgar , the production was stopped and Fulton left England in October 1806, leaving all his papers on the submarine construction with the American consul. These were not published until 1920.
In honor of Fulton, the writer Jules Verne named Captain Nemo's submarine Nautilus in his novels 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1870) and The Mysterious Island (1874/1875) .
Web links
literature
- Heinz Neukirchen: Maritime power as reflected in history . Gondrom-Verlag 1988. ISBN 3-8112-0368-1 .