Frank Taylor Cable (19 June 1863 – 21 May 1945) was an early pioneer in

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 ...

development and piloted the first

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

submarine, during its pre-commissioning trials.

Early life and education

Cable was born in New Milford, Connecticut, where his father was a farmer. He attended

Claverack College Claverack College, also known as Washington Seminary and Hudson River Institute, was a coeducational boarding school in Claverack, New York, United States. It was in operation from 1779 until 1902. History The school was founded as the Washingto ...

Hudson, New York Hudson is a city and the county seat of Columbia County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 5,894. Located on the east side of the Hudson River and 120 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, it was named for the rive ...

, followed by

Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and the center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memori ...

and

Drexel Institute Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, S ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Career

Cable was employed by the

Electro-Dynamic Company The Electro-Dynamic Company manufactured electric motors and generators 1880–2000, principally as a subsidiary of the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics and its predecessors. History The company was founded by electrical inventor Wi ...

owned by financier

Isaac Rice Isaac Leopold Rice (February 22, 1850 – November 2, 1915) was a German-born Jewish American businessman, investor, musicologist, author, and chess patron.

and

William Woodnut Griscom William Woodnut Griscom (1851–1897) was an American inventor responsible for introducing electric motors for the purpose of marine propulsion. With some 40 patents to his name, Griscom also founded the Electro-Dynamic Company in 1880, based in ...

. Rice was a financial supporter of inventor

John Phillip Holland John Philip Holland ( ga, Seán Pilib Ó hUallacháin/Ó Maolchalann) (24 February 184112 August 1914) was an Irish engineer who developed the first submarine to be formally commissioned by the US Navy, and the first Royal Navy submarine, ''Ho ...

, whose Holland Torpedo Boat Company (the forerunner and precursor to the Electric Boat Division of

General Dynamics Corporation General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the U ...

) was developing a prototype submarine, ''Holland VI'', for the

. When ''Holland VI'' accidentally sank with its hatches open in New York harbor on 13 October 1897, Cable was dispatched by Rice to assist with the repairs. The submarine's internal components had been flooded with corrosive salt water, leading to short circuits and corrosion. Cable had previously specialized in the design and production of propulsion machinery, including diesel engines and electric motors and was able to co-ordinate repair work and restore the submarine's operations. Cable was retained as an electrician at Holland's company — while still working for Rice — and made a number of changes to the submarine design. A key proposal of Cable's was to improve the submarine's handling by relocating the

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

and stern diving planes aft the

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 proposal was accepted and by 4 July 1898 ''Holland VI'' was ready for sea trials. Cable was chosen as the civilian trial captain and successfully commanded the vessel during its early operations. ''Holland VI'' was purchased by the United States Navy on 11 April 1900 with the initial designation of and the subsequent designation of SS-1. The craft was officially commissioned into U.S. Navy service on 12 October 1900. In 1902, Cable supervised the building of five submarines in England. Following the commissioning of USS ''Holland'', Cable was engaged to train prospective submarine crews in Britain, Japan and Russia. Upon his return to the United States in 1905, he went on to become a co-founder of the

Electric Boat Company Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

, based in

Groton, Connecticut Groton is a town in New London County, Connecticut located on the Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United States Navy. The Naval Submarine Base New London is ...

, the primary manufacturer of United States submarines. He was appointed company general manager in 1930 and died in 1945. Cable worked for Electric Boat for nearly 45 years. In 1910, Frank Cable and former Navy officer

Lawrence Y. Spear Lawrence York Spear (23 October 1870 – 9 September 1950) was an American naval officer and businessman who spent the majority of his career working for the Electric Boat Company. Biography Born in Warren, Ohio, Spear graduated from the United St ...

organized the

New London Ship and Engine Company The New London Ship and Engine Company (NELSECO) was established in Groton, Connecticut as a subsidiary of the Electric Boat Company to manufacture diesel engines. History Electric Boat acquired a license to manufacture MAN diesels, probably in 1 ...

(NELSECO) to build the diesel engines for the Navy's D and E class submarines. The NELSECO plant was located on the eastern bank of the Thames River in

where the

General Dynamics Electric Boat Division A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

yard is today (2018). Cable served as the vice-president and general manager of NELSECO until its merger with Electric Boat in 1930. Cable was appointed general manager of Electric Boat following the merger. Cable lived in

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decade ...

until his death on 21 May 1945, at the age of 81. In 1978, the

submarine tender A submarine tender is a type of depot ship that supplies and supports submarines. Development Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally do not have the ability to carry large amounts of food, fuel, torpedoes, and ...

was named in his honour.

References

External links

* History of The Electric Boat Company and Frank Cable's role therein. https://web.archive.org/web/20061016074338/http://www.gdeb.com/about/centennial/eb-100yrs-2.html * Original site of operations for Electric Boat Company was at Crescent Shipyard, Elizabethport, New Jersey. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/crescent.htm
"Frank Taylor Cable"
''Gary McCue'', 1999 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cable, Frank 1863 births 1945 deaths People from New Milford, Connecticut American electrical engineers Submarine pioneers Engineers from Connecticut

Early life and education

Career

References

Further reading

External links