Modern Submarines in War and Peace

[ no place ]: International Marine Engineering, 1916. first collected edition. Wraps. Very Good. first collected edition. 48 pages. 9 x 12 inches. Self wrappers, stapled. Minor wear and soiling to the front and rear pages. Generally clean internally. Nicely illustrated. Wraps. This work gathers together for the first time a series of articles originally published by Simon Lake in International Marine Engineering from July 1915 to April 1916. It does a good job of identifying the state of the art at the time, and is surprisingly hard to find. Worldcat shows several copies only.

Each section is headed "Modern Submarines in War and Peace" Subtitles identify the section number and topic. The nine parts are listed here: [I] Present status of the submarine and its future possibilities -- early submarines and lessons applied to modern development -- II. Development of the submarine beginning with 1893 -- principles of construction and operation -- III. Early development of the submarine in Germany, France and Italy -- modifications of original inventions -- IV. Motive power of submarines for surface work -- the heavy oil diesel type engine -- periscopes -- V. Construction and installation of storage batteries -- tactics of the submarine in warfare -- the invisible weapon -- VI. Coast defense and cruising or "fleet" submarines -Value of so called "amphibious" submarines for defense purposes -- VII. Under-ice navigation with a submarine -- experiments and tests with the protector in 1903 -- VIII. Application of the submarine to commercial enterprises -- cargo carrying submarines -- sea bottom exploration and wreck salvage -- IX. Submarines for the recovery of shellfish -- future development of the submarine and its use in warfare.

Simon Lake was a productive engineer (with over 200 patents to his name) and played an important role in early submersibles. He competed with John Philip Holland for early military submarine contracts in the United States. He eventually founded the Lake Torpedo Boat company out of Bridgeport, Connecticut which did successfully supply the US Navy with submarines. While not a household name, Lake contributed greatly to the introduction of the submarine as a primary tool in the US Navy's arsenal.