Glossary Term Submarine Warfare

Summary

Submarine warfare has its beginnings in the American Civil War.

Before this time many experiments in submarine vessels had been undertaken but it was when the H.L. Holland, a confederate submersible, became the first submarine to sink an enemy ship that submarines began to gain traction in international warfare.

Skip to

Related entries

Related Vessels

Published resources

Book Sections

  • Brown, D. K., 'Defeat in the Atlantic? Anti-submarine Warfare 1917-19', in ed. A. Preston (ed.), Warship 2002-2003, Conway Maritime Press Ltd., London, 2003, pp. 126-166. Details
  • Cernuschi, E. and O'Hara, V., 'A Century-Long Dream: Single purpose engine submarines of the Italian Navy, 1892-2003', in A. Preston (ed.), Warship 2004, Conway Maritime Press Ltd., London, 2004, pp. 76-91. Details
  • Hawley, J. G., 'Non-air-breathing diesel submarine engines', in R. W. Lowe and L. Bogle, B. VanDeMark and M. Yu (eds), New Interpretations in Naval History; Selected papers from the Eleventh Naval History Symposium, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 2001, pp. 339-350. Details
  • Sleeman, C. W., 'Torpedoes: the present condition of submarine warfare', in Naval Annual 1887, J. Griffin and Co., Portsmouth, 1888, pp. 482-497. Details

Journal Articles

  • 'Holland Submarines', The Engineer, vol. 88, 8 December 1899, p. 583. Details
  • 'The loss of the submarine "Affray."', The Engineer, vol. 191, 18 May 1951, p. 658. Details
  • 'Submarine Warfare', Engineering, Letter to the Editor by J Ericsson, vol. 9, 1 April 1870, p. 213. Details
  • 'The Harvey Submarine Torpedo', Engineering, vol. 9, 8 April 1870, p. 241. Details
  • 'Foreign and Colonial Notes: Submarine Torpedoes', Engineering, vol. 31, 23 February 1872, p. 131. Details
  • 'Submarine torpedoes', Engineering, vol. 13, 23 February 1872, p. 131. Details
  • 'Notes from Paris: Submarine Navigation', Engineering, vol. 14, 6 December 1872, p. 390. Details
  • 'Jurgensen's magneto-electric apparatus for firing submarine torpedoes', The Engineer, vol. 34, 2 August 1872, pp. 69-70. Details
  • 'The Oberon Submarine Mine Experiments', The Engineer, vol. 39, 28 May 1875, p. 361. Details
  • 'Submarine Boats', The Engineer, vol. 40, 3 September 1875, pp. 157-158. Details
  • 'The American School of Submarine Mines', Engineering, vol. 30, 23 July 1880, pp. 77-78. Details
  • 'Submarine Experiments in the Seine', Engineering, vol. 30, 2 July 1880, p. 18. Details
  • 'Capt. Ericsson's Submarine Torpedo System', American Machinist, vol. 4, no. 39, 24 September 1881, pp. 1-2. Details
  • 'The Naval and Submarine Exhibition', Engineering, vol. 33, 7 April 1882, pp. 317-319. Details
  • 'A submarine mine detector', Engineering, vol. 34, 21 July 1882, p. 65. Details
  • 'Garrett's Submarine Torpedo Boat', The Engineer, vol. 53, 6 January 1882, p. 8 and 13. Details
  • 'Submarine Mines', The Engineer, vol. 56, 17 August 1883, p. 126. Details
  • 'The Nordenfelt Submarine Boat', Engineering, vol. 40, 2 October 1885, p. 334. Details
  • 'Ericsson's Submarine Gun', The Engineer, vol. 59, 2 January 1885, p. 2. Details
  • 'The Nordenfelt Submarine Boat', Engineering, vol. 40, 16 October 1885, p. 371. Details
  • 'The submarine boat', Engineering, vol. 40, 20 November 1885, pp. 501-502 and 496. Details
  • 'Nordenfelt's Submarine Boat', The Engineer, vol. 61, 12 February 1886, p. 130. Details
  • 'Submarine Boats', The Engineer, vol. 62, 3 December 1886, p. 439. Details
  • 'A Submarine Voyage', The Engineer, vol. 62, 24 December 1886, p. 506. Details
  • 'The Submarine Torpedo Boat Nordenfelt', The Engineer, vol. 63, 3 June 1887, pp. 444-445. Details
  • 'The New Submarine Boat Nordenfelt', The Engineer, vol. 63, 20 May 1887, p. 400. Details
  • 'The Nordenfelt Submarine Boat at Constantinople', The Engineer, vol. 63, 24 June 1887, p. 499. Details
  • 'Submarine torpedo boats', Engineering, vol. 44, 30 December 1887, pp. 680-681. Details
  • 'Official Trial of the Nordenfelt Submarine Vessel', The Engineer, vol. 64, 23 December 1887, p. 511. Details
  • 'The Nordenfeldt Submarine Boats for Turkey', The Engineer, vol. 63, 11 February 1887, pp. 103-105. Details
  • 'Trial of the Machinery for a Submarine Torpedo Boat', Engineering, vol. 45, 27 April 1888, p. 419. Details
  • 'The Nordenfelt Submarine Boat', The Engineer, vol. 65, 16 March 1888, pp. 212-213. Details
  • 'Nordenfelt Submarine Torpedo Boats', The Engineer, vol. 65, 24 February 1888, p. 157. Details
  • 'The Nordenfelt Submarine Torpedo Boat', The Engineer, vol. 70, 5 September 1890, p. 190. Details
  • 'Submarine Navigation', The Engineer, vol. 79, 31 May 1895, p. 461. Details
  • 'A link in the history of submarine boats', The Engineer, vol. 82, 17 July 1896, p. 54. Details
  • 'Submarine Explosion', The Engineer, vol. 83, 30 April 1897, p. 449. Details
  • 'American Engineering News: Submarine Torpedo Boat', The Engineer, vol. 83, 18 June 1897, p. 627. Details
  • 'The Holland Submarine Boat', The Engineer, vol. 83, 11 June 1897, p. 598. Details
  • 'American Engineering News: Submarine torpedo boat', The Engineer, vol. 85, 27 May 1898, p. 514. Details
  • 'The Holland Submarine Torpedo Boat', The Engineer, vol. 85, 13 May 1898, p. 461. Details
  • 'The Lake Submarine Boat', The Engineer, vol. 88, 6 October 1899, p. 344. Details
  • 'Submarine Boats', The Engineer, vol. 87, 20 January 1899, pp. 61-62. Details
  • 'The Holland Submarine Boat', The Engineer, vol. 88, 28 July 1899, p. 103. Details
  • 'The French Submarine Boats', The Engineer, vol. 87, 13 January 1899, p. 36. Details
  • 'French Submarine Boats', The Engineer, vol. 88, 27 October 1899, p. 421. Details
  • 'Submarine Boats', The Engineer, vol. 88, 6 October 1899, p. 353. Details
  • 'The French Submarine Boat Morse', The Engineer, vol. 89, 36608, p. 318. Details
  • 'Submarine Boats No II', The Engineer, vol. 91, 8 February 1901, pp. 146-147. Details
  • 'Submarine Boats No III', The Engineer, vol. 91, 15 February 1901, p. 166. Details
  • 'The Holland Submarine Boat', The Engineer, vol. 91, 36951, pp. 225-226. Details
  • 'Oil Engines for Submarine Torpedo Boats', The Engineer, vol. 91, 37014, p. 450. Details
  • 'Submarine Torpedo Boat Holland', The Engineer, vol. 91, 36958, p. 240. Details
  • 'French Submarine Boats', The Engineer, vol. 91, 37014, p. 455. Details
  • 'The French Submarine Boats', The Engineer, vol. 91, 36909, pp. 55-56. Details
  • 'Launch of a British Submarine', The Engineer, vol. 92, 37168, p. 361. Details
  • 'Submarine Boats', The Engineer, vol. 91, 36909, pp. 67-68. Details
  • 'Early Submarine Warfare', The Engineer, vol. 91, 36923, pp. 109-110. Details
  • 'Submarine Boats', The Engineer, vol. 91, 36951, p. 218. Details
  • 'Submarines and their antidotes', The Engineer, vol. 91, 37021, p. 480. Details
  • 'The new French submarine Triton', The Engineer, vol. 92, 37105, p. 126. Details
  • 'French Submarines', The Engineer, vol. 92, 37140, p. 255. Details
  • 'The antidote to submarines', The Engineer, vol. 91, 37070, p. 674. Details
  • 'The French Submarine Espadon', The Engineer, vol. 92, 37147, p. 272. Details
  • 'Submarines at War: A history of undersea warfare from the American Revolution to the Cold War', U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, vol. 129, no. 9, 37865, p. 98. Details
  • Baker, A. D., 'Counting sails: The submarine census', U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, vol. 133, no. 6, 39234, pp. 44-47. Details
  • Biles, J. H., 'On the protection of battleships against submarine attack', Transactions of the Institution of Naval Architects, vol. 56, 38439, pp. 257-270. Details
  • Bircham, F. R. S., 'Internal combustion engines for submarines', Transactions of the Institution of Naval Architects, vol. 51, 38434, pp. 55-76. Details
  • Bolton, R., 'Letters To The Editor: The Submarine Torpedo', The Engineer, vol. 75, 10 March 1893, p. 208. Details
  • Bridge, C. A. G., 'The overrated submarine', The Nineteenth Century and after, vol. 93, January-June 1923, pp. 658-667. Details
  • Chace, M. S., 'Results of experimental tank tests on models of submarines', Transactions of the Institution of Naval Architects, vol. 53, no. 2, pp. 61-70. Details
  • Cochran and Co., 'Letter to the Editor: Submarine Boats', Engineering, vol. 40, 9 October 1885, p. 360. Details
  • Eardley-Wilmot, S., 'Is the submarine doomed?', The Nineteenth Century and after, vol. 88, 1920, pp. 346-355. Details
  • Ericsson, J., 'A new system of submarine attack', Engineering, vol. 9, 15 April 1870, pp. 257-258. Details
  • Field, C., 'The beginnings of submarine warfare', The Journal of the Royal United Service Institution, vol. 64, no. 455, August 1919, pp. 382-392. Details
  • Field, C., 'The beginnings of submarine warfare', The Journal of the Royal United service Institution, vol. 64, no. 455, 43678, pp. 382-392. Details
  • Friedman, N., 'New submarine model concept', U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, vol. 130, no. 1, 37987, p. 4. Details
  • Holland, W. J., '100 years of submarines', U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, vol. 126, no. 1, 36526, pp. 71-73. Details
  • Hovgaard, Kaptain William, 'The Motion of Submarine Boats in the Vertical Plane', The Engineer, vol. 91, April 1901. Details
  • Hovgaard, W., 'Buoyancy and stability of submarines', Transactions of the Institution of Naval Architects, vol. 59, 38442, pp. 202-223. Details
  • Hurd, A. S., 'The coming of the submarine - the new British boats', The Nineteenth Century and after, vol. 51, January-June 1902, pp. 220-232. Details
  • Hurd, A. S., 'The success of the submarine', The Nineteenth Century and after, vol. 54, July-December 1903, pp. 711-721. Details
  • Lake, S., 'Safe Submarine Vessels and the Future of the Art', Transactions of the Institution of Naval Architects, vol. 49, 1907, pp. 37-64. Details
  • Lake, S., 'Safe submarine vessels and the future of the art', Transactions of the Institution of Naval Architects, vol. 49, 1907, pp. 37-64 and plates XII-XV. Details
  • Lautenschlager, K., 'The Submarine in Naval Warfare, 1901-2001', International Security; Winter 1986-87, vol. 11, no. 3, 1987. Details
  • Maber, J. M., 'Nordenfelt Submarines', Warship, vol. 32, 1984, pp. 218-225. Details
  • McEvoy, C. A., 'Abstract of Patent: Torpedoes or Submarine Mines', Engineering (London), vol. 39, 2 January 1885, p. 23. Details
  • Milner, M., 'From Nelsonic to Newtonian: the development of anti-submarine warfare in the North Atlantic 1939-1945', The Mariner’s Mirror, vol. 92, no. 4, November 2006, pp. 465-476. Details
  • Navalis, 'Letters to the Editor: Submarine Boats', The Engineer, vol. 92, 37133, pp. 228-229. Details
  • Polaris., 'Letter to the Editor: Submarine Torpedo Boats', Engineering, vol. 40, 16 October 1885, p. 383. Details
  • Rushmore, D. B., Lanman, W. and Lop, E. A., 'Bibliography of the literature of submarines, mines and torpedoes', General Electric Review, vol. 20, August 1917, pp. 675-694. Details
  • Scoville, N., 'Missile submarines and national security', Scientific American, vol. 226, no. 6, pp. 15-27. Details
  • Stevens, R., 'The British Submarine Service: Past, Present and Future', The Royal united Service Institute Journal, vol. 146, no. 3, 37043, pp. 38-40. Details
  • Tall, J., 'The history of the Royal Navy Submarine Service', The Royal United Service Institute Journal, vol. 146, no. 3, 37043, pp. 41-45. Details
  • Towell, F. G., 'Letters to the Editor: Submarine Boats', The Engineer, vol. 90, 36776, p. 247. Details
  • Townes, B., 'The submarine H. L. Hunley', Maritime Life and traditions, no. 14, pp. 34-45. Details
  • Tuck, J. H. L., 'Abstract of Patent: Submarine Boats, & c' J H L Tuck, San Francisco, USA', Engineering, vol. 39, 22 May 1885, p. 591. Details
  • Waddington J. F., 'Letters to the Editor: Submarine Vessels', The Engineer, vol. 62, 10 December 1886, p. 474. Details
  • Walter d'Alton, 'Letters to the Editor: Submarine Boats', The Engineer, vol. 87, 3 February 1899, p. 118. Details
  • Weir, R., 'Submarine Torpedoes', Engineering, The New York Society of Practical Engineering, vol. 10, 30 December 1870, p. 488. Details
  • Wilkinson, G. F., 'The principles and practice of submarine mining', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers, vol. 5, 1904, pp. 90-149. Details

Letters Patents

  • Callender, M. L., Improvement in submarine explosive projectiles, United States Patent Office.. Details
  • Cavett, W. K., Submarine ram and torpedo-exploder, United States Patent Office, 28 January 1890. Details
  • Di Pistoja, A. G. von B., Automatic sinking-valve for submarine torpedoes, United States Patent Office, 15 October 1889. Details
  • Elliot, W. H., Improvement in operating a submarine battery connected with a boat or other vessel, United States Patent Office, 13 May 1862. Details
  • Ericsson, J., Submarine projectile, United States Patent Office, 13 May 1884. Details
  • Fuller, A. M., Submarine torpedo-boat, United States Patent Office, 3909. Details
  • Giese, W., Improvements in submarine torpedoes, United States Patent Office., 1879. Details
  • Giese, W., Improvements in submarine torpedoes, United States Patent Office., 1879. Details
  • Griswold, H. P., Submarine torpedo-boat, United States Patent Office, 4 September 1888. Details
  • Haight, G. E. and Wood, W. H., Submarine torpedo-boat, United States Patent Office, 30 March 1886. Details
  • Hardy, M. A., Submarine torpedo-boat, United States Patent Office, 5 July 1881. Details
  • Hicks, H. F., Submarine torpedo, United States Patent Office, 29 August 1882. Details
  • Holland, J. P., Submarine boat, United States Patent Office, 605. Details
  • Holland, J. P., Automatic diving mechanism for submarine boats, United States Patent Office, 773. Details
  • Hubbe, M., Submarine torpedo-boat, United States Patent Office, 5 July 1881. Details
  • Hubbe, M. and Hardy, M. A., Submarine torpedo, United States Patent Office, 21 March 1882. Details
  • Humphrey, A. F., Mine or submarine-boat destroyer, United States Patent Office, 1403. Details
  • Ketcham, I. A., Improved apparatus for operating submarine batteries, United states Patent Office, 14 October 1862. Details
  • King, W. R., Improvement in submarine torpedoes, United states Patent Office, 3 May 1870. Details
  • Lay, J. L., Improvement in electro-magnetic steering apparatus for submarine torpedo-boats, United States Patent Office., 1877. Details
  • Lay, J. L., Improvement in electro-magnetic steering apparatus for submarine boats, United States Patent Office., 1877. Details
  • Leon, K. O., Torpedo and other submarine apparatus, United States Patent Office, 5596. Details
  • Merriam, S. S., Improved submarine and torpedo boat, United states Patent Office, 9 October 1866. Details
  • Newton, H. E., Guns and vessels for submarine warfare & c., 1880. Details
  • Poore, G. and Storey, W. C., Submarine vessel, United States Patent Office., 1889. Details
  • Reynolds, G. H., Submarine torpedo-boat, United States Patent Office, 16 August 1881. Details
  • Sciford, B. F., Apparatus for carrying submarine torpedoes, United States Patent Office, 6632. Details
  • Sjostrand, U., Device for searching submarine mines, & c, United States Patent Office, 2306. Details
  • Smith, H. J., Improvement in submarine torpedoes and boats, United States Patent Office, 31 December 1872. Details
  • Smith, O. C., Improved submarine armament of vessels, United States Patent Office, 22 July 1862. Details
  • Sullivan, T. and Etheridge, E. L., Submarine torpedo, United States Patent Office, 27 September 1887. Details
  • Tucker, T., Submarine projectile, United States Patent Office, 3006. Details
  • Willoughby, J. D., Improvement in submarine explosive projectiles, United states Patent Office, 23381. Details
  • Wood, W. W. W. and Lay, J. L., Improved apparatus for operating submarine shells or torpedoes, United states Patent Office, 14 March 1865. Details
  • Wood, W. W. W. and Lay, J. L., Improved apparatus for carrying and exploding submarine torpedoes & c, United states Patent Office, 14 March 1865. Details

Newspaper Articles

  • 'Submarine Warfare', The Times, 11 October 1870. Details
  • 'Newport's Torpedo Station. To again test submarine explosion - the Cunningham Rocket', The New York Times, 24 December 1893. Details

Prepared by: Rebecca Rigby