Engineering Wonders: Submarines and Submersibles

Engineering Wonders: Submarines and Submersibles — page 3
THE FIRST SUBMARINES Throughout human history people throughout have been curious about the underwater world At first explorers simply held their breath and dove in But they could only stay submerged for a few minutes before they ran out of air Around 3000 BCE Greek divers used hollow reeds to breathe under water They also carried bags of air These did not last long though Divers still had to surface quickly An Idea Is Bourne In 1578 William Bourne 1535 1582 an English mathematician and Royal Navy gunner published a book that described his idea for engineering a submarine However Bourne's submarine was never built