The Holland IV , also called the Zalinski Boat, was an experimental submarine built by

John Philip Holland John Philip Holland (; February 24, 1841August 12, 1914) was an Irish marine engineer who developed the first submarine to be formally commissioned by the US Navy, USS Holland (SS-1) and the first Royal Navy submarine, ''Holland 1''. Early lif ...

and financed by

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

Lieutenant Edmund Zalinski in 1885. For the project Holland and Zalinski founded the Nautilus Submarine Boat Company (1885-1886).Scientific American on August 7, 1886

History

Edmund Zalinski wanted a vessel for the Zalinski dynamite gun. John Philip Holland was a submarine engineer and inventor. Edmund Zalinski and some of his friends and employees put in the funds for the prototype submarine. Holland designed a one-man submarine 50 feet long and 8 feet in diameter built with a wooden hull on an iron frame. On September 4, 1885, the ''Holland IV'' was seriously damaged during a launch. The

launch Launch or launched may refer to: Involving vehicles * Launch (boat), one of several different sorts of boat ** Motor launch (naval), a small military vessel used by the Royal Navy * Air launch, the practice of dropping an aircraft, rocket, or ...

wood ship way broke as the sub was being launched. Holland IV then smashed into

pier A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...

pilings A pile or piling is a vertical structural element of a deep foundation, driven or drilled deep into the ground at the building site. A deep foundation is a type of foundation that transfers building loads to the earth farther down from th ...

. The ''Holland IV '' was raised, repaired and taken to

Fort Hamilton Fort Hamilton is a United States Army installation in the southwestern corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, surrounded by the communities of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights. It is one of several posts that are part of the region which ...

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. The operator of the ''Holland IV '' would stand in the center of the vessel and was able to look out glass windows to maneuver the submarine. The submarine has a single propeller powered by a

Brayton cycle The Brayton cycle, also known as the Joule cycle, is a thermodynamic cycle that describes the operation of certain heat engines that have air or some other gas as their working fluid. It is characterized by isentropic process, isentropic compre ...

gasoline engine A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American and Canadian English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as Autogas, liquefied petroleum gas and Common ...

. To dive and surface the sub had vertical and horizontal

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

s movable by the operator. The ''Holland IV ''used compressed air to surface the submarine. ''Holland IV '' has a top speed of 9 mph. Initial tests at Hendrick's Reef, near

Fort Lafayette Fort Lafayette was an island coastal fortification in The Narrows of New York Harbor (New York Bay), built offshore from nearby Fort Hamilton at the southern tip of what is now the Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, Bay Ridge neighborhood in the New York City ...

, New York, were good as the submarine was able to successfully dive and surface. For safety, Holland had designs so the operator could depart the submarine. **The ''Holland IV'' was designed to have three modes of attacking other vessels: *Zalinski

dynamite gun A dynamite gun is any of a class of artillery pieces that use compressed air to propel an explosive projectile (such as one containing dynamite). Dynamite guns were in use for a brief period from the 1880s to the beginning of the twentieth century. ...

, to be placed at the bow of the submarine. *Maneuver the submarine under a vessel and detach buoyant cartridges charge. Then move the submarine away from the charge and detonate the

explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An ex ...

charge using electricity over

wire file:Sample cross-section of high tension power (pylon) line.jpg, Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample d ...

s. *Fire a steel-pointed cartridge explosive charge into the bottom of a vessel. Then move the submarine away from the charge and detonate the explosive charge using electricity over wires.

Background

Holland's first submarine was the '' Holland I'' built and tested in 1878. Holland's second submarine was the ''

Fenian Ram ''Fenian Ram'' is a submarine designed by John Philip Holland for use by the Fenian Brotherhood, the American counterpart to the Irish Republican Brotherhood, against the British. The Fenian Ram was the world's first practical submarine. It wa ...

'' also called the ''Holland II'', built and tested in 1881. The '' Holland III'' was built and tested in 1883. The most successful submarine Holland VI, was launched May 17, 1897, later sold to the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

and renamed USS Holland (SS-1). The

Holland Torpedo Boat Company Holland Torpedo Boat Company was founded by John Philip Holland (18411914) in 1893. Holland was an Irish engineer-inventor, who designed and built the first practical submarine. His ''Holland VI'' was renamed the USS ''Holland'' (SS-1), and became ...

was founded 1893.Profile
, United States Navy. Retrieved 21 December 2015.

References

{{Holland Torpedo Boat Company John Philip Holland 1897 ships

History

Background

See also

References