Argonaut submarineIn 1897, the first U.S. submarine with an internal combustion engine (30-hp gasoline), the Argonaut, was demonstrated on the Patapsco River. Twenty-two newspaper representatives made descents of up to 4-hrs. It was built in 1897 at the Columbian Iron Works and Dry Dock Company of Baltimore, Maryland for the inventor, Simon Lake. He hadbuilta 14-ft (4-m) working model in 1894; his new craft was 36-ft (11-m) long, 9-ft (2.7-m) diam. Lake was issued patents for the submarine vessel on 7 Apr 1896 (No. 557,835) and on 20 Apr 1897 (No. 581,213). It had wheels to travel on the sea bed, and a divers' lock chamber. The Argonaut was the first submarine to salvage sunken objects of value. It sailed 2,000 miles.« |
