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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive


Nautilus


Introduction from the Library of Congress:
Napoleon commissioned the first practical submarine, designed by the American inventor Robert Fulton. Testing of this craft, the Nautilus, was successfully carried out in France in 1800-1801, when Fulton and three mechanics descended to a depth of 25 feet. Further tests in Britain, proved successful in destroying heavy brigs in 1805.

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Nautilus207kNapoleon commissioned the first practical submarine, designed by the American inventor Robert Fulton. Testing of this craft, the Nautilus, was successfully carried out in France in 1800-1801, when Fulton and three mechanics descended to a depth of 25 feet.
This bound manuscript provides explanatory text for Fulton's illustrations of the construction and propulsion of the submarine.
"On Submarine Navigation and Attack", Bound manuscript, August 1806.
Manuscript Division Gift, 1924 (124.2), courtesy of loc.gov.
Nautilus48kDrawing entitled "Submarine above and below water level". Graphite, ink, and watercolor on paper, 1806, Prints & Photographs Division Purchase, 1983 (123.15)
Digital ID# ppmsca cph 3g06051, courtesy of loc.gov.
Nautilus28kDrawing entitled "Plunging boat (submarine), above and below water views". Ink and watercolor on paper, 1806, LC-USZC4-6051, courtesy of loc.gov.
Nautilus35kDrawing entitled "Sighting Mechanism and details". Drawing from the Library of Congress, LOC # vc004873, courtesy of loc.gov.
Nautilus57k Drawing entitled "Interior Chambers for Crew, Ballast, and Submarine Bombs. Drawing from the Library of Congress, LOC # vc00fsub. Graphite, ink and watercolor on paper, 1806. courtesy of loc.gov.
Nautilus36k This most commonly-reproduced Nautilus was drawn two years before the submarine was built; Fulton added a deck and made a number of un-documented changes in the finished product. Illustrations which show Nautilus with the hull-form and sail rig of a surface sailboat represent the never-built "improved" version. Text and photo courtesy of Nova & Captain Brayton Harris, USN (Retired).
Nautilus34k Cut out of the Nautilus. Photo courtesy of nautilus571.com.
Nautilus220kFulton's second version of Nautilus, 1804, never built. The drawing is in the William Barclary Parsons collection at the New York Public Library. Text and photo i.d. courtesy of Captain Brayton Harris, USN (Retired).
Photo courtesy of "The World Encyclopedia of Submarines" by John Parker & submitted by Robert Hurst.
Nautilus456kReconstitution of the Nautilus at `la Cite' de la Mer (Cherbourg, Normandie). Photo courtesy of wikipedia.com.
Inner-Space Explorers2.02kGeneral Dynamics Inner-Space Explorers PDF referencing the following submarines; Nautilus, Turtle, Hunley, Holland (SS-1), Nautilus (SSN-571), Seawolf (SSN-575), Skate (SSN-578), Skipjack (SSN-585), Triton (SSRN-586), & George Washington (SSBN-598).PDF courtesy of Richard Jaslovsky via Fabio Peña.

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
Submarine History / An Illustrated Survey of Key Events in Submarine History

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