Uncle Sam's Devil of the Deep

Zebra

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2011
Messages
6,060
Likes
2,303
Country flag
Submarine inventor remembered 100 years on | Submarine Diary

Submarine inventor remembered 100 years on

100th anniversary of the death of submarine inventor John P. Holland and to mark the anniversary a special commemorative event is being planned for later this month in his native County Clare.

The Liscannor Development Committee will host a day of events honouring the life and achievements of the local inventor on Sunday 31st August as part of Heritage Week 2014.

The event at Liscannor Harbour will feature the unveiling of a commemorative stone and a talk on Holland's life, a film of his achievements, music and songs of the sea, and a photography and children's art exhibition.







John Philip Holland was born in Liscannor in 1841. His father, John Holland senior patrolled the headlands of County Clare as a rider with the British Coastguard Service. The young Holland was a teacher in Ireland until 1872 when he immigrated to the USA, where he taught in Paterson, New Jersey, until 1879. He drew up plans of submarines and in 1881, with funds from Irish associates, launched a small submarine called "The Fenian Ram". He was later awarded a contract to build a submarine for the US Navy.

In 1900, the Navy bought the Holland VI for $150,000, about half of its design cost, and later renamed it The USS Holland. The vessel could travel 800km on the surface of the sea and 40km submerged. One US newspaper described it as "Uncle Sam's Devil of the Deep". Other countries, including Great Britain, Japan and the Netherlands, purchased Holland's submarine designs. He died on 12 August 1914, just months before a German submarine sank a British vessel at the start of World War I.








The John P. Holland Commemoration is one of 75 Heritage Week events being coordinated by Clare County Council and The Heritage Council, with support from the Department of Arts, Heritage & the Gaeltacht and Fáilte Ireland. Among the other events taking place in Clare from August 23-31st is a a lecture on the life of an Kilrush-born Boer War General Sir Thomas Kelly-Kenny, a Victorian Heritage Walk around Kilkee, a tour of Lisdoonvarna's famous restorative waters, a tour of towerhouses around Shannon Town, and a recital of traditional Irish tunes on the Uilleann Pipes by Matt Horsely at Ennis Friary.

The centenary of the outbreak of World War One is also being marked with a lecture by historian Cormac O Comhrai's on life in Ireland during the Great War, while Killaloe will also be marking the millennial anniversary of the death of one of its most famous citizens, Brian Ború. Meanwhile, annual festivals such as the Tulla Week of Welcomes and the Dan Furey Weekend in Labasheeda are holding heritage events as part of the weeklong celebration.



Source – Submarine inventor remembered 100 years on | The Clare Herald
 

Zebra

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2011
Messages
6,060
Likes
2,303
Country flag
http://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87/history/fullhist.html

The U.S. Navy's involvement with the submarine dates from 1888 when the Bureau of Construction and Repair (BUC&R) sponsored a design competition that brought John Holland a naval contract to build the experimental Plunger. As the new century dawned, prominent American naval leaders like Admiral George Dewey called the submarine a real threat to international surface forces, leading the Navy to acquire its first submarine in 1900. Overcoming competition from fellow American inventor, Simon Lake, Holland sold his newest model, Holland VI, to the Navy for $160,000 on 11 April. This 64-ton submarine, commissioned as USS Holland, or SS-1, on 12 October of the same year, was equipped with an Otto-type gasoline engine for surface running and electric motors for submerged operations.
 

Zebra

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2011
Messages
6,060
Likes
2,303
Country flag
Little off topic.....Prepared for NOVA by Captain Brayton Harris, USN (Retired)

Author, The Navy Times Book of Submarines: A Political, Social and Military History
"Submarine history: The Navy Times Book of Submarines, by Brayton Harris"



1) "WORLD SUBMARINE HISTORY, TIMELINE PART ONE: 1580-1869"
Submarine History 1580-1869: timeline of submarine development


2) "WORLD SUBMARINE HISTORY TIMELINE 1870-1914"
Submarine History 1870-1914: A Timeline of Development


3) WORLD SUBMARINE HISTORY TIMELINE 1914-1941
Submarine History 1914-1941: A Timeline of Development


4) "WORLD SUBMARINE HISTORY TIMELINE PART FOUR: 1941-2000"
Submarine History 1945-2000: A Timeline of Development
 

anupamsurey

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2014
Messages
1,032
Likes
514
Country flag
submarine is one of the thing which was conceptualized by a non-scientific person, ever heard of Capt. Nemo and his ship ?, but respect to those scientists who made such marvels possible.
 

Latest Replies

Global Defence

New threads

Articles

Top