![Brandttaucher 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Brandttaucher_01.jpg)
''Brandtaucher'' (
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
for ''Fire-diver'') was a
submersible
A submersible is a small watercraft designed to operate underwater. The term "submersible" is often used to differentiate from other underwater vessels known as submarines, in that a submarine is a fully self-sufficient craft, capable of ind ...
designed by the
Bavarian inventor
An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...
and
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
Wilhelm Bauer
Wilhelm Bauer (23 December 1822 – 20 June 1875) was a German inventor and engineer who built several hand-powered submarines.
Biography
Wilhelm Bauer was born in Dillingen in the Kingdom of Bavaria. His father was a sergeant of a Bavarian ...
and built by
Schweffel & Howaldt in Kiel for
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...
's
Flotilla
A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' (fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet.
Composition
A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class ...
(part of the ''
Reichsflotte
The ''Reichsflotte'' (, ''Imperial Fleet'') was the first navy for all of Germany, established by the revolutionary German Empire to provide a naval force in the First Schleswig War against Denmark. The decision was made on 14 June 1848 by the F ...
'') in 1850. The ''Brandtaucher'' is the oldest known surviving
submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
in the world.
History
In January 1850, Bauer, a cavalryman during the
German-Danish War
The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. T ...
, designed ''Brandtaucher'' as a way to end the Danish naval blockade of Germany. Bauer's early sketch attracted the attention of the Minister of Marine, who allowed him to construct a model. The model was demonstrated in
Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...
harbour in front of naval dignitaries. Its satisfactory performance led to the construction of a full-scale model, which was funded by contributions from army personnel and local civilians. Due to the inadequate funding, the scale of the boat had to be downgraded and the design altered and simplified; resulting in a reduced diving depth from 30 m to 9.5 m. This redesign included eliminating the use of enclosed ballast tanks to contain the water being taken into and expelled from the submarine. Instead, the water was allowed to pool inside the bottom of the hull, below the main floor, and was able to move relatively unobstructed within this area when the ship changed orientation. The resulting instability was probably a significant contributing factor to the loss of the vessel.
As built, ''Brandtaucher'' was 8.07 m long and 2.02 m at maximum beam, with a draught of 2.63 m. It was propelled by a crew of three turning large tread wheels connected to a
propeller
A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
. The boat could reach a speed of three knots, but this could not be maintained for long periods of time.
On 1 February 1851, ''Brandtaucher'' sank after a diving accident during acceptance trials in Kiel Harbour.
The submarine experienced equipment failure, and sank to the bottom of a 60-foot hole at the bottom of Kiel Harbour. Bauer escaped by letting in water, thus increasing the air pressure, which allowed Bauer and his two companions to open the hatch and swim to the surface. This was the first submarine escape to be witnessed and reported.
[
In 1887 the wreck was discovered, and it was raised on 5 July 1887. ''Brandtaucher'' was first placed on display at the Naval Academy in Kiel and then in 1906 it was moved to the ''Museum für Meereskunde'' in Berlin. From 1963 to 1965 it was restored in the GDR at ]Rostock
Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, c ...
, and placed on display at the Nationale Volksarmee Museum in Potsdam
Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
. The boat can now be viewed at the ''Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr Military History Museum (german: Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr (MHMBw)) is the military museum of the German Armed Forces, the ''Bundeswehr'', and one of the major military history museums in Germany. It is located in ...
'' (German Armed Forces Museum of Military History), in Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
.
References
Further reading
*
*
*
{{Oldest surviving ships (pre-1919)
19th-century submarines
Submarines of Germany
Ships preserved in museums
German inventions
Museum ships in Germany
Hand-cranked submarines
1850 in Germany