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At the beginning of the twentieth century, Great Britain was
the world's leading naval power. It possessed the world's largest
battle fleet, which had helped to keep the peace for nearly a
century since Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo in 1815. However,
the development of the submarine introduced a grave threat to
Britain's dominant naval position. It was a weapon which could
be used by weaker powers to undermine traditional naval mastery
and, therefore, Britain had most to fear from it.
Thus, in April 1901, Viscount Selbourne, First Lord of the Admiralty,
announced the purchase of five boats "to assist the Admiralty
in assessing their true value". As Britain had no designers
of its own, an order was placed with the Irish-American inventor
John P. Holland of New Jersey. Construction was undertaken by
Vickers Son & Maxim at Barrow-in-Furness and HM Submarine
Torpedo Boat No.1 (usually known as Holland 1) was launched
on 2 October 1901. Captain Reginald Bacon RN, a torpedo specialist,
was appointed as the first head of the new submarine service.
Building the Holland class gave the Admiralty valuable experience
in submarine construction and the limitations of the American
boats stimulated larger and better British designs, starting with
the A class in 1902. The success of both types in the 1904 naval
manoeuvres proved that the submarine was here to stay.
Although the Holland boats never lost a man, some disastrous
accidents in the other classes before the First World War proved
how dangerous was the new service. However, these experiences
were utilised to improve designs, especially safety features.
Submarine strength expanded rapidly, driven by Admiral Sir John
Fisher, the First Sea Lord, who had great faith in the new weapon.
B,C, D and E class boats were built, each a successive improvement
in size, propulsion, armament and seaworthiness. Even so, living
conditions remained primitive in the extreme.
Despite certain sections of the Navy regarding the submarine
service as "no occupation of a gentleman" and
its members as little better than "unwashed chauffeurs"
who were in "the Trade" (an epithet which later
became an unofficial proud nickname), the service was, apart from
an initial lack of enthusiasm, always oversubscribed with volunteers
for its crews. The officers, who were all relatively junior, had
to go through a rigorous selection process and the ratings had
to be men of long service and exemplary conduct.
See Images 2 and 3 in the Image
Gallery.
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