The submarine was a technology just past it’s infancy, just beginning to realize it’s own capabilities at the beginning of the first World War. John Phillip Holland was the leading designer in submarine technology, he was the first to combine gas engines for running on the surface, and electric motors for running when submerged. The world quickly adopted those means of propulsion for submersible crafts, since it allowed them to be feasible in a combat setting. At a later date, the US Navy swapped out the gas engines for diesel ones, due to the the fact that gasoline is extremely explosive, and diesel fuel is much less volatile.
The British had 74 submarines in service at the beginning of the war, with 34 more under construction. This was more than any other country in the world at the time, and this progressive attitude toward the new technology is represented in a quote by British admiral John Arbuthnot Fischer, “…the very best among us fail to realise the vast impending revolution in naval warfare that the submarine will accomplish!” On the other end of the spectrum is German Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, who said, “The submarine is of no great value in war at sea. We have no money to waste on experimental vessels.” This opinion probably illustrates why Germany had only 28 submarines with 17 more in production at the start of the war. However, the primary reason for the Germans increasing the size of their submarine fleet, was that Kaiser Wilhelm took a ride on a submarine, and, realizing it’s military potential, ordered that more submarines be added. He may have been thinking about the fact that Britain (as an island) is much more vulnerable to attacks from submarines. However, the submarine as an offensive weapon created some problems with traditional naval tactics and morals up to that point.
Prior to the popularity of the submarine, naval combat involved communication between the attacking ship and the defensive ship; which allowed for the crew of the defending ship to be taken prisoner on the attacker’s ship while the defender’s ship was sunk. Thus, the rise in popularity of the submarine in offensive maneuvers inherently changed this pattern, since there is barely enough room on a submarine for its intended crew, let alone the crew of an entire ship. This led to the opinion of submarines being cowardly, since they snuck up from below, sunk a ship without warning or chance of surrender and returned to the depths. This method, was nevertheless highly successful, and for this reason, submarines were feared. However, it was quickly discovered that speed and course correction were affective defensives agains submarine attacks.
By the end of the war, Germans submarines had sunk 5,000 ships and 13,000,000 tons of freight. This shows the usefulness of the submarine as a weapon, which has forever changed the way that naval warfare will fought.
The British had 74 submarines in service at the beginning of the war, with 34 more under construction. This was more than any other country in the world at the time, and this progressive attitude toward the new technology is represented in a quote by British admiral John Arbuthnot Fischer, “…the very best among us fail to realise the vast impending revolution in naval warfare that the submarine will accomplish!” On the other end of the spectrum is German Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, who said, “The submarine is of no great value in war at sea. We have no money to waste on experimental vessels.” This opinion probably illustrates why Germany had only 28 submarines with 17 more in production at the start of the war. However, the primary reason for the Germans increasing the size of their submarine fleet, was that Kaiser Wilhelm took a ride on a submarine, and, realizing it’s military potential, ordered that more submarines be added. He may have been thinking about the fact that Britain (as an island) is much more vulnerable to attacks from submarines. However, the submarine as an offensive weapon created some problems with traditional naval tactics and morals up to that point.
Prior to the popularity of the submarine, naval combat involved communication between the attacking ship and the defensive ship; which allowed for the crew of the defending ship to be taken prisoner on the attacker’s ship while the defender’s ship was sunk. Thus, the rise in popularity of the submarine in offensive maneuvers inherently changed this pattern, since there is barely enough room on a submarine for its intended crew, let alone the crew of an entire ship. This led to the opinion of submarines being cowardly, since they snuck up from below, sunk a ship without warning or chance of surrender and returned to the depths. This method, was nevertheless highly successful, and for this reason, submarines were feared. However, it was quickly discovered that speed and course correction were affective defensives agains submarine attacks.
By the end of the war, Germans submarines had sunk 5,000 ships and 13,000,000 tons of freight. This shows the usefulness of the submarine as a weapon, which has forever changed the way that naval warfare will fought.