Submarine Navigation: Past and Present

By Alan Burgoyne
E. P. Dutton & Co., New York, 1903
page 27 - 34

“We now come to the most persistent inventor to be found in the whole history of submarine navigation; I refer to Wilhelm Bauer. Bauer was a turner by trade, and carried on his business at Dillingen, and the Germans have right on their side in boasting that their country bred the man who did more in searching a solution of the submarine navigation problem than any other inventor. Bauer was born in 1822 at Dilligen in Bavaria; at twenty years of age he joined the army, serving in the Light Horse for seven years. During the war between Germany and Denmark, Bauer was struck by the amount of damage caused by the Danish fleet on the German sea-border, and it was to prevent these raids that first caused him to turn his mind to submarine navigation. Casting aside all other occupations, he threw himself heart and soul into the subject he had newly adopted and which appealed to him so strongly. He is said to have been haunted by his new conception day and night, but could not put his ideas into practical shape until he one day saw a dolphin gamboling in the sea. He was attracted by its antics, and whilst watching, it suddenly occurred to him to base his plans on the shape of this amphibian. His friends teased him sorely over this fancy of his, endeavouring to persuade him how useless the form he had adopted would be. Bauer, however, clung to his idea, and in 1850 he had his first submarine built at Kiel.

“This vessel he called ‘Der Brandtauscher,’ and it cost over ₤550, most of which was paid by the army of Slesvig-Holstein, whilst he was also aided by several admirals and civilian friends. He was unfortunately persuaded to alter certain details in the construction of his vessel by Dr. G. Karsten, a professor of science at Kiel, who disagreed altogether with his principles. This man Karsten did a great deal of harm to Bauer by writing pernicious articles about him and his inventions. Owing partly to this cause, and partly to the fact that Bauer’s knowledge of the subject had scarcely reached that stage when an extensive experiment could be successful or even warranted, ‘Der Brandtauscher’ proved a failure. It sank in Kiel harbour in 1851, but happily with no one on board, and although attempts were made for years to refloat it, they were not attended with success, and so Bauer’s first submarine is still where it sank, provided the ravages of time have not destroyed it. This little misadventure made not the slightest difference to Bauer, who at once essayed his luck again, this time trying the Government of Austria; where he was received evasively and by no means encouraged, the Austrians feeling but little interest in the new class of vessel.

“The way in which he eventually received attention touches on the romantic. A lady of wealth and standing, a persona grata at court, was attracted by his peculiar personality and pleaded his cause to the authorities, not without success, for Bauer was called to Trieste and presented to the Emperor, who ordered the Admiralty to appoint an examining committee to sit over plans of the inventor.

“This commission gave a favourable report, the result of which was the voting of 31,800 francs by the Naval Defence Committee, 21,200 francs y the Bourse of Trieste, 31,800 francs by the Minister of Commerce at Vienna, and 21,200 francs by the Austrian Lloyd Company, in all 100,000 francs, or ₤4,240 for the construction of one of his ships. When all matters had presumably been settled. Von Baumgarten, Minister of Commerce, took it into his head that Bauer’s principles were absolutely wrong and contrary to all laws of nature. This decision, in direct opposition to the one arrived at by the Commission appointed by the Emperor, soon became the cause of a public controversy, and to save unpleasant results Bauer and his invention were dropped, and the matter buries in ministerial forgetfulness.

“Disheartened a little at this last check, Bauer turned his back on Europe, and coming to England, pleaded his cause before Prince Albert, begging him to take interest in his invention and to back him up in his experiments. The Prince Consort lent a sympathetic ear to the tale of the cast-out inventor, taking him under his protection. His Royal Highness supplied the exiled scientist with funds for several years. Bauer designed a war corvette and a submarine boat in the designer’s loft of ‘Palmerston and Scott Russel,’ being aided in his task, which took seven months, by Charles Fox and the great engineer Brunel. It is said that Bauer was unfairly treated whilst here, in that copies of his plans were made . A vessel was built after the plans of Bauer, but modifications by Lord palmerston, Pausmore, and scott Russel were introduced, the result being a disastrous failure, for at one of the trials the boat sank and drowned a large number of people. After an ineffectual attempt to persuade the American Government to adopt his inventions, Bauer as a last resource, went to Russia. Germany would not receive him, and indeed a pamphlet was issued warning all good patriots not to assist Bauer in any way, as he had offered to foreign nations that which should have belonged solely to Germany. This unjust treatment would have certainly driven most men to thoughts of suicide, or at least have made them give up all ideas of submarine navigation. Not so with Bauer, however; he was of different caliber, and failures seemed only to encourage his ardour. “Bauer’s Russian submarine boat (Fig. VIII) was built at the Leuchtemberg Works, St. Petersburg, in May, 1855, and was received by the Russian Admiralty on November 2nd of the same year. He called it ‘Le Diable Marin.’ “After a great deal of delay it was transported from St. Petersburg to Cronstadt, where trials were to take place. On arrival at its destination Bauer discovered a mistake in his calculations, the repairing of which cost 10,700 roubles.

“On May 20th, 1856, his marine monster was eventually launched in front of the breakwater at Cronstadt, and at once started on its trials.

“The following is a description of Bauer’s invention:

“The Russian submarine. ‘Le Diable Marin,’ resembled a dolphin in outward shape. It had a length of 15 m. 80 (52 feet). a beam of 3 m. 80 (12 ft. 5 in.), and a depth of 3 m. 35 (11 ft). The framework of the hull was of iron, and the hull was credited with the power of resisting a 45 m. 50 (150 ft.) column of water. The exterior consisted of sheets 0 m. 61 (2 ft.) in breadth and 3 m. 05 (10 ft.) in length having thickness of 15 mm. (.6 of an inch); these sheets were clamped together, and given additional strength by being fastened to the keel by iron corner-pieces, having a thickness of 180 mm. (7 in.). In the bows was a hatchway for entrance and exit. “That the weight might be the more easily distributed, the forward part of the ship was 6 inches less in height than the middle portion. Two port-holes were let into the hatchway fitted with thick glass. These glasses were 50 mm. (2 in.) thick, and 250 mm. (10 in.) in diameter, and let into metallic sockets. “Propulsion was obtained by means of a propeller in the stern; this propeller was protected by four iron braces. The motive power consisted of four wheels 2 m. 13 (7 ft.) in diameter, worked on the system of the treadmill. The axle was 88 mm. (3.46 in.) in diameter, and was fitted with accelerating gear at its after end. The least satisfactory detail in Bauer’s inventions is the lack of efficient propulsive engines. “Stability and submersion were obtained by four cylinders. Of these, three were large, having a length of 3 m. 05 (10 ft.) and a diameter of 1 m. 40 (4 ft. 6 in.); they could hold 22,500 kilograms of water, sufficient to sink the boat completely. “The fourth cylinder was smaller, and was used to maintaining thestability of the boat. It had a length of 1 m. 52 (5 ft.), and a diameter of 350 mm. (13.78 in.). “Pumps were used for forcing the water into the cylinders, and longitudinal stability was obtained by reducing or augmenting the volume of water carried as ballast. “In the bows was fixed a large mine, containing 500 lb. Of powder and other combustible matter; on either side of this mine protruded a thick indiarubber glove, to allow of fixing it to the keel of the vessel to be attacked. A door by which divers might descend to the bottom of the water was also provided, and this is not unnatural when one considers that Bauer’s very first submarine was intended for industrial purposes. “Large tubes over 30 feet in length, and pierced by little holes, were placed along the top of the boat, and from these a continual rain fell, the falling water purifying to a large extent the vitiated air.

“On May 26th, 1856, bauer tried his boat for the first time. At three o’clock in the morning, in a thick black fog, Bauer standing on the bows of his vessel, appeared off Cronstadt, and hailed the sentinel with the official password. The man frightened to death at this marine apparition, ran away as hard as he could, dropping his rifle instead of giving the alarm with it. The same result happened with all the sentries, and the coast clear, Bauer forced his way into the Port Imperial.

“The serious trials began later, ‘Le Diable Marin’ being manned by Bauer, Lieutenant Fedorowitch, another junior officer, ten men, and a mechanic. “Having reduced the floatability to practically nil, Bauer let 5 litres of water into the small regulating cylinder, and the vessel slowly sank from sight, to the great surprise of the crew, who kept their eyes glued to the darkening port-hole. After this first immersion, Bauer ejcted double the quantity of water he had allowed in, and ‘Le Diable Marin’ rushed to the surface, the reappearance of the sun being hailed by the crew with cries of ‘Staba Bochu.’ The crew soon overcame all nervousness, however, and forgot their Slavonic ‘Allah! Allah!’ in the interest of the vessel that contained them. During the next few days, confident now in the courage of his crew, Bauer went through an exhaustive series of trials, turning, diving, rising, speed ahead and astern, all which evolutions were carried out satisfactorily. On June 12th, having descended to a depth of 17 feet, he remained submerged whilst he wrote letters to his mother, King Maximilian of Bavaria, and the Grand-Duke Constantine. “Experiments were then made to discover what effects submersion had on the compass, and a scientist, Lenz, who with a confrère Fritsch had made several descents, discovered that at three different depths no deviation from the magnetic line was noticeable.

“Bauer also made a trial of the vitality of man in an inclosed space, the amount of air he consumed, and the contamination such air could contain without damaging the health.

“Bauer noticed that the voices of people on the surface could be distinguished beneath the water, and, on making experiments, discovered that the blow of a hammer on a sheet of iron could be heard at a great distance when submerged, water making an excellent conductor.

“At the coronation of Alexander II, Bauer remained submerged during the whole ceremony with a band of four musicians, who, when the first gun of the royal salute was fired from the flagship in the harbour, played the Russian imperial hymn, accompanied by the voices of the whole crew. The boat remained submerged for four hours on this occasion (Fig. VIII.).

“In spite of all his successes. Bauer was not appreciated in Russia, and the Russian Admiralty detested him as a tiresome innovator. Lieutenant Fedorowitch remained Bauer’s firm friend through all his troubles.

“It was not that the Russians were disinclined to adopt the submarine boat! They wanted it very much, but they were not prepared to have the inventor as part of the bargain, and consequently they tried to draw all the knowledge of Fedorowitch. This they found impossible; so a commission was appointed to plan trials to be carried out, at all of which Fedorowitch was to take the helm. The submarine boat was to pass under a ship anchored in shallow water. Bauer, knowing nothing of this lack of depth, allowed his vessel to go too near the bottom, the result being that the propeller was caught up in a mass of seaweed, and, despite the endeavors of the whole crew, it could not be freed. Bauer’s ill luck seemed to dog him everywhere, as he was only 40 feet from his goal when the accident occurred. Seeing that all efforts were unavailing, the inventor drove out the whole of the water, and let drop the safety weights at the bottom of the boat. The bows at once rose to the surface with a jerk, but the propeller still remained entangled. Lieutenant Fedorowitch at once opened the hatchway and got out, and was picked up by the boat of the examining commission. Bauer remained below, lightening his vessel until an inrush of water warned him that he had not a moment to lose if he did not wish to be drowned. “This almost fatal accident terminated Bauer’s one hundred and thirty-fourth and last attempt at submarine navigation in Russia. He managed to refloat his boat after four weeks’ work, but it was again lost off Ochda, ten versts from the land, and there it is to this day, if it has survived the action of the sea-water. In 1858, Bauer, after making four requests, was given permission to leave the country, which he did immediately.

“Besides the vessels already mentioned Bauer designed a vessel which was intended to destroy its opponent’s by fire. In form it resembled his ‘Diable Marin,’ except that in the bows instead of a mine there projected a large cup, which contained some explosive matter. This cup was guided under the hull of the ship and the charge ignited, the result being (according to Bauer) the destruction of the ship attacked. This vessel was to be utilized for coast defence only. It dimensions are unknown, but it was to be supplied with engines of 100 I.H.P. For the construction of his vessel Bauer required 100,000 thalers, but all his efforts could not raise more than 40,000. So the project fell through.

“Bauer, having reached the end of his resources and wearied of his patrons, was at last obliged to abandon his pet hobby, and from this date he slowly sank out of men’s minds. His splendid energy and dogged determination are certainly monuments in the history of the evolution of the submarine boat. It must be remembered that in no respect was he to blame for the fact that his inventions did not arouse more sympathy or were not more successful. The spiritlessness and the perversity of the time are answerable for his relative failure. He undoubtedly advanced the science of submarine navigation many steps, and he proved conclusively that to live under water in comfort was not impossible.

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