Two early attempts at submarines
In 1653 De Son designed and built this boat in Holland. A spring motor turned the paddle that was open to the sea. Rams at each end attacked ships. On the building ways the spring motor worked, but once in water it was too weak to turn the paddle.

Fulton's Nautilus:

  1. sail for surface power; it and mast lowered for diving
  2. spike to sink ships from below
  3. anchor
  4. diving plane that was a first
  5. kingston valves to let water into tanks
  6. crank for propeller.

Robert Fulton, who later invented the steam ship, earlier invented this submarine he named the Nautilus. Built in France in 1800, the crank moved it slowly when it moved with the current. In 1800 it successfully dove in the English channel near shore but moved slowly and was 'extremely difficult to manage,' Fulton said.

— Drawings from Compton-Hall's The Submarine Pioneers