Sub Marine Explorer

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coordinates: 8 ° 16 ′ 53.7 "  N , 78 ° 50 ′ 45.2"  W.

Sub Marine Explorer
The wreck of the Sub Marine Explorer
The wreck of the Sub Marine Explorer
Ship data
flag United States 35United States United States
Ship type Submarine
Shipyard Ariel Patterson in Brooklyn , New York
Launch 1865
Whereabouts Abandoned in 1869
Ship dimensions and crew
length
12 m ( Lüa )
width 3.30 m
displacement 30 t surfaced
about 80 t submerged
 
crew 3-6
Machine system
machine Hand crank
Machine
performance 		3–6 men
Top
speed 		4 kn (7 km / h)
propeller 1
Mission data submarine
Dive time 4 h
Immersion depth, max. 40 m

The Sub Marine Explorer was a submarine built in 1865 by the German-American Julius Kröhl . Since it was the first boat to reappear under its own power, it is considered the world's first functional submarine. The wreck , which was only identified in 2001, is now on the north beach of the uninhabited island of San Telmo ( Panama ). Due to the severe corrosion , salvage or restoration is no longer possible.

technology

The submarine was about 12 feet long, 30 tons and was with muscle power driven. Unlike other models in its time the boat had a modern streamlined hull and was due to its massive keel of wrought iron is very stable in the water. The submarine had a system of ballast chambers for diving and compressed air tanks for surfacing. In addition, pressure equalization was made possible, through which work on the bottom was possible by means of three hatches in the bottom of the ship. Breathing air was available for four hours. It could be dived up to 40 meters.

The vehicle had an advanced diving mechanism that is in principle still used today by modern submarines. On both sides there were three brass valves in the floor that could be operated from the inside. If you opened this, sea water got into the outer immersion body of the double hull. Once the desired depth was reached, the valves were closed. If you wanted to surface, air was let into the diving body from a compressed air chamber. This air was pressed into the sealed air chamber by a small steam engine before the dive .

history

In 1863 Julius Kröhl, who emigrated to America, offered his design for a 12-meter-long submarine to the military of the northern states . However, the navy had no interest in his invention, as they had the upper hand at sea and already owned a submarine, the Alligator (which went down in a storm shortly before its first use).

It was not until an offer from William Henry Tiffany, brother of the founder of Tiffany , that Kröhl made the construction of the boat possible. Tiffany was a major partner in the Pacific Pearl Company, a company that wanted to search for pearls in the Pacific and needed a suitable diving apparatus. This was the economic salvation for Kröhl, because up to then the material costs amounted to 17,000 dollars, about 300,000 dollars based on today's value (2010). The boat was assembled in a dock in Brooklyn and finalized in 1865. In camera, test drives were carried out in the East River . The boat was officially presented on May 30, 1866. In front of the amazed eyes of the invited guests, the boat sank to the bottom of the river and reappeared on its own after 90 minutes. No other submarine had done this before. The next day the New York Times reported on the successful demonstration.

In September 1866, the boat was moved from New York to the Pacific coast of Panama after it had been dismantled for this transport. In December, the parts arrived in Panama City and were reassembled there. After that, the boat was mainly used in pearl fishing . In September 1867 Kröhl and the team died unexpectedly. Malaria was given as the cause of death , but today it can be assumed that the crew died as a result of the then unknown diving disease . The successor crew met the same fate. The New York Times , according to two years later were some very successful with the boat dives carried out in which several tons of oysters were harvested. However, after operations on eleven consecutive days, all members of the crew died again.

The wreck today

The boat was ultimately abandoned and abandoned by the sick crew. The wreck is still unsecured on the beach of the island of San Telmo in the Gulf of Panama south of Panama City . It was only discovered and identified in 2001 by underwater archaeologist James P. Delgado after locals had mistaken it for a wreck of a Japanese small submarine from World War II .

After the examinations on the submarine, the plan was made to recover it and bring it back to the USA. An analysis of the hull, however, showed that the damage caused by corrosion due to the long period in salt water was too great. The iron of the ship's hull had completely turned into rust , so that the boat can be regarded as irretrievably lost - salvage or restoration is no longer possible. However, the findings from research into the original can enable a later reconstruction .

Web links

Commons : Sub Marine Explorer  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Footnotes

  1. ^ "Purchasing Power of Money in the United States from 1774 to Present" on MesuringWorth