OF ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY
An honest and patriotic man, who took up a poor young man, and who, through his thorough grasp of things mechanical, was among the first to see practical possibilities in the dreams of a young inventor. With his financial means he was able to assist materially in the development and perfection of an important weapon for the defence of his country, thus rendering a valuable service to the nation.
Without his assistance much of the development work described in this volume would have been impossible of accomplishment.
No greater tribute can be paid to him than to remark of him that he is one—and there are but few of whom this may be said—who has steadfastly refused to take advantage of conditions which offered him the opportunity to increase his personal fortune at the expense of other individuals or of the welfare of his country.
[FOREWORD]
Some twenty years ago the author began to collect data with the idea of publishing a book on the submarine at a future time. There was very little information concerning submarines available at that date, as the early experiments in this field of navigation were generally conducted in secrecy. There had been constructed, up to that time, no submarine vessel which was entirely successful, and for this reason inventors and designers were disinclined to reveal the features of the vessels upon which they were experimenting.
Since then there has been considerable dissemination of facts about the submarine; much of this knowledge has found its way into print, some in short historical sketches published by the author and other designers. However, most of the publications on this subject have come from the hands of professional writers and newspaper men, some of whom have not had the engineering knowledge to sift the practical from the impractical, and who have not had any actual first-hand acquaintance with the facts. They have not understood the mechanical details of the submarine and the principles governing its operation well enough to comprehend or to elucidate the various phases of the development of this type of vessel. The result has been that many inaccuracies have been published, both in respect to the history of the development of the submarine and in regard to the practical operation of such vessels.
There have been published one or two good works dealing with this subject in a very complete and intelligible manner, but intended for those engaged in engineering pursuits. One of the best of these was "The Evolution of the Submarine Boat, Mine and Torpedo, from the Sixteenth Century to the Present Time," by Commander Murray F. Sueter, of the Royal British Navy, published in 1907.