This List of pre-20th century submarines includes those pioneering submarines constructed prior to the turn of the 2oth century, which marks the point when the submarine became a viable weapon of war. This saw the advent of such vessels as the American USS Holland and the French Narval, which set the pattern for submarine design for much of the 20th century.
Main article: History of submarines
List[]
| Name | Builder | Launched | disposed/lost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| unnamed | Cornelis Drebbel | 1620 | propelled by oars | |
| unnamed | Denis Papin | 1690 | ||
| unnamed | Yefim Nikonov (ru) | 1720 | build for Peter the Great in Russia | |
| Turtle | David Bushnell | 1775 | 1777 | first submarine vessel used in attempted combat |
| Nautilus | Robert Fulton | 1797 | 1802 | built for the French Navy |
| Villeroi submarine | Brutus de Villeroi | August 1832 | ? sold | demonstrated at Noirmoutier, France |
| Schilder submarine (ru) | Karl Schilder (ru) | 1834 | ? | demonstrated to Tsar Nicholas I |
| Submarino HipopĆ³tamo (es) | Jose Rodriguez Lavandera (es) | 18 Sep 1837 | tested in Ecuador | |
| Brandtaucher | Wilhelm Bauer | 1851 | 1 Feb 1851 | sank during trials, model displayed in the Bundeswehr Military History Museum in Dresden |
| Gern submarine | Ottomar Gern | 1854 | ? | fate unknown |
| Salvage submarine | Brutus de Villeroi | 1859 | seized by police 1862 | built at Philadelphia; basis for USS Alligator |
| Ictineo I | NarcĆs Monturiol | 1859 | January 1862 | destroyed in accident; completed 50 dives before loss. Replica in Maritime Museum, Barcelona |
| Garcibuzo (es) | Cosme GarcĆa SĆ”ez | 1860 | ? | test dive at Alicante. Garcia was unable to find a buyer, and the boat was scuttled. |
| USS Alligator | Neafie & Levy | 1 May 1862 | 2 Apr 1863 | first United States Navy submarine |
| Pioneer | Horace Lawson Hunley | Feb 1862 | 25 Apr 1862 | first submarine built for the Confederate States of America (CSA), replica is at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center |
| Bayou St. John submarine | unknown | 1861 | 1863 | built for the CSA. On display at the Capitol Park Museum - Baton Rouge |
| Plongeur | SimƩon Bourgois | 16 Apr 1863 | 2 Feb 1872 | Built for French Navy, converted to water tanker in 1873, sold for scrap in 1937 |
| American Diver | H. L. Hunley | Jan 1863 | Feb 1863 | built for the CSA, sank in Mobile Bay |
| H. L. Hunley | H. L. Hunley | Jul 1863 | 17 Feb 1864 | built for the CSA, first combat submarine to sink a warship. Located at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in Charleston, South Carolina |
| Intelligent Whale | Price and Bushnell | 1863 | Sep 1872 | on exhibit at the National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey |
| Sub Marine Explorer | Kroehl and Patterson | 1865 | 1869 | abandoned on shore of the island of San Telmo in the Pearl Islands |
| IctĆneo II | NarcĆs Monturiol | 20 May 1865 | Dec 1867 | intended for Spanish Navy, sold for scrap, replica on display at harbor of Barcelona |
| Flach | Karl Flach (es) | 1866 | 3 May 1866 | built for Chile, lost in the Bay of Valparaiso |
| Alexandrovski submarine | Ivan Alexandrovski (ru) | 1866 | ? | demonstrated to Tsar Alexander II |
| Resurgam I | George Garrett | 1878 | ? | fate unknown |
| Resurgam II | George Garrett | 26 Nov 1879 | 25 Feb 1880 | sank in Liverpool Bay, replica on display near Woodside terminal of Mersey Ferry |
| Holland I | John Philip Holland | 22 May 1878 | 1878 | scuttled, raised in 1927, on display at the Paterson Museum in New Jersey |
| unnamed | Stefan Drzewiecki | 1878 | ? | human powered, model in the National Maritime Museum in Gdansk . |
| Toro Submarino | Peruvian Navy | 1880 | 16 Jan 1881 | scuttled to avoid capture |
| Fenian Ram (Holland II) | J. P. Holland | 1881 | 1883 | on display at the Paterson Museum in New Jersey |
| unnamed | Stefan Drzewiecki | 1881 | converted from human to electric propulsion by Drzewiecki in 1884, on display in the Central Naval Museum, Saint Petersburg | |
| Drzewiecki submarine series (ru) | Stefan Drzewiecki | 1881 | 1891 | class of 50 boats built for harbour defence; withdrawn from service in 1891 |
| Holland III | J. P. Holland | 1881 | Nov 1883 | stolen and sunk in Hudson River |
| Zalinski Boat (Holland IV) | J. P. Holland | Sep 1885 | 1886 | funded by Edmund Zalinski, sold in 1886 |
| Nordenfelt I | Thorsten Nordenfelt | 1886 | 1886 | Sold to Greek Navy, scrapped 1901 |
| AbdĆ¼l Hamid (Nordenfelt II) | Barrow Shipyard | 6 Sep 1886 | 1910 | Nordenfelt class, first submarine to launch a live torpedo underwater, scrapped |
| AbdĆ¼l Mecit (Nordenfelt III) | Barrow Shipyard | 1886 | 1910 | Nordenfelt, scrapped |
| Nautilus | Ash and Campbell | 1886 | became stuck in the mud during trials and was discontinued | |
| Porpoise | James Franklin Waddington | 1886 | never sold, broken up for scrap | |
| Nordenfelt IV | Thorsten Nordenfelt | 1887 | 1887 | Sold to Russian Government, scrapped |
| Gymnote | ZƩdƩ & Krebs | 24 Sep 1888 | 1908 | research sub, completed over 2,000 dives, scrapped |
| Peral | Isaac Peral | 1889 | 1890 | build for Spanish Navy, on display at Cartagena Naval Museum |
| Delfino | Giacinto Pullino (it) | 1890 | 1919 | built for the Italian Regia Marina: stricken 1919 |
| Gustave ZƩdƩ | ZƩdƩ & Romazzotti | 1893 | 1911 | one of the world's earliest effective naval submarines |
| Argonaut Junior | Simon Lake | 1894 | 1895 | |
| Plunger (Holland V) | John Philip Holland | 7 Aug 1897 | 1899 | scrapped in 1917 |
| Argonaut 1 & Argonaut 2 | Simon Lake | 1897 | 1901 | Argonaut 2 was an enlarged reconstruction of Argonaut 1 |
| USS Holland (SS-1) (Holland VI) | J.P. Holland | 1897 | 1910 | commissioned 1900, decommissioned 1905 |
| Morse | Gaston Romazzotti | 1899 | 1909 | stricken following accident at sea |
| Narval | Maxime Laubeuf | 1899 | 1920 | first double hulled, dual -propulsion boat; archetype for most European submarine designs in 20th century |
| Protector | Simon Lake | 1901 | 1904 | sold to Russia in 1904 |
See also[]
References[]
External links[]
The original article can be found at List of pre-20th century submarines and the edit history here.