This is a view of the internals of a submarine in World War 1
Who invented the submarine?
The idea of a submersible craft was not new during the great war. while it is not clear who created the first underwater vessel, it is known who created the first militarized underwater craft. The H.L Hunley, created by the marine engineer of the same name in 1863, was a confederate ship and the first submarine to see military use. the ship was also armed with one of the first torpedoes. During the Hunley's short career, she hit and sunk the USS Housatonic. Shortly afterwards, She was sunk by her own torpedo, as the hull was fractured in the blast. |
How do submarines work?
Submarines, unlike surface craft, used both a propeller, used exclusively in underwater movement, and a rudder for navigation. Submarines submerged themselves by filling there ballast tanks, located in the fore and aft of the vessel, with seawater. This would offset the bouncy of the craft so it would sink to the depth of 30 feet. All allied submarines carried no guns, and were used exclusively for mine-laying and reconnaissance. Germany, however, had their boats armed with 8 torpedoes, four in the fore and four aft. Only 4 torpedoes were ready to fire, however, and the others needed to be reloaded before firing. Submarines needed to surface before they could fire their torpedoes. In addition, german submarines carried an anti- aircraft gun, which was also effective against sea vessels. space was extremely cramped on these ships, to the point where they stored food in the spare toilet. Fresh air needed to be vented to the boat once a day through the snorkel. |
Impacts on the war
Ultimately, the U-Boat was a moderate influence on the war. while it was not a front-line weapon, like the machine gun, it was still powerful, nevertheless. It was used to launch ambushes on battleships and troop transport. However, the Submarine's real value was it's ability to take down civilian craft undetected. Ultimately, the submarine was used primarily to sink supply transports and was also used as a weapon of terror. It highly discouraged transport between the British isles and elsewhere, due to the high chance of attack. Pros and Cons:
Pros:
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German U-Boat sinking a troop transport
Impact on people
While many people of many different nationalities were impacted by submarine warfare, none were impacted quite as much as great Brittan. For thi reason, I will focus on the British and the way Submarines impacted them. Soldiers: Submarine warfare had very little impact o the western front. The impact was felt by most soldiers in the form of their rations. Because transport vessels were targets for the U-Boats, the rations that the soldiers received were often far less than predicted. Political Leaders: Submarine warfare most certainly had an impact on Leaders, both military and civilian. Military leaders had to operate with the knowledge that around half of their supply shipments will no make it to the front line. Civilian leaders have to try to constantly keep the public in a state of relative calm, something that was made harder by the use of submarines. Civilians: Civilians were also greatly impacted by the U-Boat. In particular, transport to and from Brittan became extremely dangerous. The use of submarines terrified many British nationals, who often refused to travel outside the country. The submarine was as much a psychological weapon, as a physical one. |
Improvements
The submarine is still very much in use today, even though the technology has improved greatly. for starters, the submarine can now stay submerged for it's entire voyage, and it can fire it's torpedoes underwater. Many submarines also run off of a nuclear engine. The minimum cruising depth of a U.S. submarine is 200 feet today. The maximum cruising depth is classified. Submarines also have a mostly autonomous loading system for torpedoes, and it is not uncommon for them to carry 30+ torpedoes. |
This is a modern U.S. Los-Angeles class nuclear submarine.
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