Robert Fulton and the Submarine

That Robert Fulton devoted some attention to the possibility of an underwater boat during the years when his mind was laboring with plans for the propulsion of boats by steam, has been known since that time. Not, however, until 1896, did it become clear to what extent he had carried his ideas. In that year Lieut. Emile Duboc discovered in the Archives Nationales in Paris the full account of Fultons negotiations with the French Government and the plans of the boat that he had constructed, and in which he actually plunged. Other investigators, chiefly Lieut. Maurice Delpeuch of the French navy and Mr. S. L. Pesce, have made public this interesting record. To their respective treatises, Les Sous-Marines travers les Sicles and La Navigation sous marine the author of this book is indebted for much information. It was also known that Fulton left France for England in 1804 presumably to work for the government of the latter country in the development of torpedoes. It has been supposed that he made some suggestions for a submarine, suggestions that were not taken seriously. His first biographer, Cadwallader D. Colden, and his own published writings make no reference to an underwater boat. But such a boat was the basis and essence of his work and not merely an incidental suggestion. The lack of knowledge and consequently the erroneous supposition are due to the fact that what he actually proposed to the government was purposely kept secret for political reasons. A manuscript wholly in Fultons handwriting, signed in three places, and large, carefully viiiexecuted water-colored drawings made and each signed by him have recently been found in England. This manuscript and drawings show that the main idea that he laid before the British Government was a sea-going submarine vastly superior to the one that he had previously submitted to the French authorities. The manuscript and other substantiating documents and letters that have been examined prove clearly that it was alarm on the part of the British Admiralty regarding his initial French submarine that led the government to induce Fulton to go to England and place himself and his devices unreservedly at their service. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 63351
Author: Parsons, William Barclay
Release Date: Oct 1, 2020
Format: eBook
Language: English