Bushnell invented the submarine
In 1775, the North American War of Independence finally broke out. Under the leadership of Commander-in-Chief Washington, the American people took up arms one after another and launched a desperate battle with the British army, driving the British army from the mainland to the sea. The whole country celebrated this decisive victory. How could the majestic British Empire tolerate the heroic deeds of other countries to destroy its heroes, so it organized a remnant of defeated troops in an attempt to make a comeback. Although the British colonial rulers lost their land advantage, they still retained their maritime advantage. They gathered a large number of warships and bombarded the U.S. Coast Guard Army in turn, causing heavy casualties to the U.S. military and greatly reducing its morale. Seeing that the American troops had neither the strength to parry nor the ability to fight back, the British army became more and more aggressive. The warships were rampaging along the coast, showing off their power. From time to time, they would send a few cannons to the coastal defenders, and then retreat in a swaggering manner. Faced with the provocation and bullying of the British army, the American soldiers were so angry that they gritted their teeth: "This is like sitting on someone's neck and shit! If you can secretly go over and blow up a few of its ships, that would be such a relief!"
There was a man named Dave Bushnell among the soldiers. He didn't curse, but he was holding his breath and said nothing. He thought that shouting was of no use, and he should quickly come up with a way to deal with the enemy ships. Bushnell has been thinking hard, how can he run around the enemy ship all of a sudden? From the air? No, it’s easy to expose the target; from underwater? No, no one can hold their breath for such a long time and swim over, and they don’t have enough strength! What should we do? "He was so anxious that he beat his chest and beat his feet.
One evening, after he was off duty, he and a few soldiers went for a walk on the beach together. They climbed to the rocks and chatted while admiring the sea view under the setting sun. They had seen enough of the distant scenery. , and looked at the close-up view, the water was very clear, and the aquatic creatures were clearly visible. They saw a group of lively small fish swimming freely in the water, as if they were looking for food, or playing. Suddenly, there was a big fish under the water. He quietly swam over, swam under the small fish, jumped up suddenly, and bit a small fish. The other small fish were frightened and went their separate ways. The soldiers saw this "in the underwater world". "Naval Battle", I found it very interesting. This inspired Bushnell greatly: It turns out that this is how the clumsy big fish catches the clever and fast small fish. Can you build a boat like the big fish, which can hide in the water without knowing what is going on? How happy would it be to sneak under a British warship and lay a mine to blow it up? He became more and more obsessed with it, and he still sat there blankly until his companions told him to leave. Hello! What's wrong with you? I miss your sweetheart, hehe! "The companion slapped him.
"I have a way, I can sink it! " Bushnell's words made his companions confused. So he explained his thoughts in detail. When his companions heard this, they all thought this method was good. Suddenly someone raised a question: "Fish can float and sink freely in the water. , but the boat is different. It’s easy to float on the water, but can it be sunk in the water? Bushnell was silent when asked. Yes, how can we make the boat float and sink at the same time? Why can fish do this? He slapped his thigh: "Yes!" The fish floats to the surface for a while and dives to the bottom for a while, relying on the swim bladder in its belly. If we also imitate a 'whoring' for the boat, wouldn't the problem be solved? ”
Bushnell led his companions to actually build a secret boat that could sneak underwater. It was originally intended to be made in the shape of a fish, but after it was built, it looked like a turtle. Therefore, the companions So we gave it the code name - Turtle. The secret ship code-named "Turtle" has a water tank similar to a fish bladder at the bottom. There are two water pumps in the water tank. When the boat wants to sink on the water, it goes into the tank. Filling with water; when the boat wants to float underwater, it drains the water from the cabin and presses air into the water cabin. Modeled on the fins of a fish, two propellers are installed on the outside of the "turtle": one for forward and reverse, and one for forward and backward. Lifting. In addition, the "Turtle" has a rudder at the tail, which can control the course.
One night, Bushnell and a few soldiers quietly drove the "Turtle" to the British warship, and then dived into the water. They dived under the British warship. They wanted to use the drill pipe on the top of the "turtle" to drill through the enemy ship and then lay mines. Unexpectedly, the bottom of the British ship was covered with a thick layer of metal, and they could not penetrate it after drilling for more than an hour. The soldiers couldn't hold it any longer, so they had to come up for air. It was already dark, the sky was dark, the water and the sky were the same color, and they couldn't tell their direction at all. They launched their warships to pursue them. "The turtle" was so frightened that he retreated, but his speed could not be increased. He was about to be smashed to pieces by the enemy ship.
At this extremely critical moment, Bushnell was quick to think and took off the spare mine. After lighting the fuse, he hurriedly got into the "Turtle" and the "Turtle" dived into the water. The British ship was looking for the whereabouts of the monster. Suddenly there was a loud noise beside the ship, and the battleship immediately caught fire. The British army turned around and ran away while putting out the fire, fearing that the monster would quietly pursue them again. From then on, British ships no longer dared to show off their power unscrupulously along the coast of the United States.
Later, after people continued to improve, a new mysterious weapon-the submarine was made. Submarines show their prowess in naval battles. In World War II, German submarines alone sank 782 transport ships of the British and American Atlantic Fleets, causing huge damage to the other side's transportation lines.
Nowadays, in addition to being used for combat, submarines are mainly used for the development of marine resources and scientific investigation. Its role has also changed from destroying and causing trouble to benefiting mankind.