Argonaut (submarine)

Longitudinal section of Argonaut
Class overview
BuildersSimon Lake, Baltimore, Maryland
Preceded byArgonaut Junior
Completed2
Retired2
History
NameArgonaut
Launched1898
General characteristics for Argonaut No 1
TypeSubmarine
Length36 ft (11.0 m)
PropulsionGas engine and propeller
Cross section of Argonaut amidships

Argonaut was a class of submarines built by engineer Simon Lake. When used without clarification Argonaut generally refers to the second-built and larger submarine launched in 1900 at Baltimore. She was 36-foot (11 m) long, cigar shaped and built of steel. She had a White and Middleton gas engine and propeller, dynamo, searchlight, and pumps for air and water. Her main attribute like that of the older sibling and predecessor Argonaut Junior (1894); was a wet diving chamber that allowed a diver to leave and re-enter the submarine. Argonaut No 1, and Argonaut No 2 are used as the name of this vessel.

Argonaut No 1 was built in 1897 and is 36 feet (11 m) in length. In September 1898 it made an open-ocean passage from Norfolk, Virginia, to Sandy Hook, New Jersey, becoming the first submarine to operate successfully in the open sea.[1][2]

Argonaut No 2 was a reconstruction of Argonaut No 1 finishing in 1900 with a length of 60 feet (18 m) and significantly different profile.[3][4][5]

  1. ^ "Hitler's Lost Sub: 400 years of subs". NOVA (PBS). November 2000. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  2. ^ Raanan, Gideon. "Submarines on Stamps: Simon Lake and his family of Argonauts and Protectors". Hadas Studio. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  3. ^ "Argonauts" (web). The Simon Lake Submarine Web Site. 2003. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
  4. ^ Corbin, Thomas W. Corbin (1913). The Romance of Submarine Engineering: Containing Interesting. Original from the New York Public Library: Seeley, Service & co., ltd. p. 109.
  5. ^ Herbert C. Fyfe, Edward James Reed (1907). Submarine Warfare, Past and Present. Original from the University of California: E.G. Richards. p. 288. Argonaut Junior.