Argonaut (submarine)
Argonaut was a class of submarines built by engineer Simon Lake. When used without clarification Argonaut generally refers to the second-built and larger submarine launched in 1900 at Baltimore. She was 36-foot (11 m) long, cigar shaped and built of steel. She had a White and Middleton gas engine and propeller, dynamo, searchlight, and pumps for air and water. Her main attribute like that of the older sibling and predecessor Argonaut Junior (1894); was a wet diving chamber that allowed a diver to leave and re-enter the submarine. Argonaut No 1, and Argonaut No 2 are used as the name of this vessel.
Longitudinal section of Argonaut | |
Class overview | |
---|---|
Builders | Simon Lake, Baltimore, Maryland |
Preceded by | Argonaut Junior |
Completed | 2 |
Retired | 2 |
History | |
Name | Argonaut |
Launched | 1898 |
General characteristics for Argonaut No 1 | |
Type | Submarine |
Length | 36 ft (11.0 m) |
Propulsion | Gas engine and propeller |
Argonaut No 1 was built in 1897 and is 36 feet (11 m) in length. In September 1898 it made an open-ocean passage from Norfolk, Virginia, to Sandy Hook, New Jersey, becoming the first submarine to operate successfully in the open sea.[1][2]
Argonaut No 2 was a reconstruction of Argonaut No 1 finishing in 1900 with a length of 60 feet (18 m) and significantly different profile.[3][4][5]
Citations
- "Hitler's Lost Sub: 400 years of subs". NOVA (PBS). November 2000. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
- Raanan, Gideon. "Submarines on Stamps: Simon Lake and his family of Argonauts and Protectors". Hadas Studio. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
- "Argonauts" (web). The Simon Lake Submarine Web Site. 2003. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
- Corbin, Thomas W. Corbin (1913). The Romance of Submarine Engineering: Containing Interesting. Original from the New York Public Library: Seeley, Service & co., ltd. p. 109.
- Herbert C. Fyfe, Edward James Reed (1907). Submarine Warfare, Past and Present. Original from the University of California: E.G. Richards. p. 288.
Argonaut Junior.
References
- Poluhowich, John (1999). Argonaut: The Submarine Legacy of Simon Lake. Texas A&M University Press. pp. 181. ISBN 0890968942.
Further reading
- Lake, Jeff. "Argonauts". The Simon Lake Submarine Web Site. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- "Construction and Operation of the Submarine Boat Argonaut". Marine Engineering. II (2): 7–10. February 1898.