When we think of submarines, sleek steel hulls and nuclear reactors come to mind, but the story began long before modern engineering. In this roundup of the 10 ancient precursors that set the stage for today’s underwater vessels, we travel back over two millennia to discover inventive minds, daring experiments, and the early devices that hinted at the future of submersible travel.
10 Nautilus, 1800
Long before Jules Verne’s famous novel, the 1800 Nautilus—named by Verne himself—was already prowling the seas. Built in France, this copper‑clad craft featured a collapsible wooden mast, a sail, and a hand‑cranked propeller for underwater thrust. Its designer, American Robert Fulton, better known for his steamboats, saw the sub as a tool to end naval warfare, pitching it to France, Britain, and the United States. Yet, despite its self‑propelled bomb, no navy showed interest; a French admiral even quipped it was fit only for “Algerians or pirates.”
9 “Turtle”, 1776
The first combat‑used submarine was American engineer David Bushnell’s “Turtle” during the Revolutionary War. Intended to attach time‑delay mines to British vessels, it failed all three attempts. This pear‑shaped wooden hull, reinforced with iron bands, measured 2.3 × 1.8 m and held a single operator, who powered it by hand. After the project’s collapse, Bushnell vanished to Georgia, changed his name to Bush, and became a doctor, apparently to escape the “Turtle”’s ignominious reputation.
8 Improved Diving Bell, 1775
By the late 18th century, the diving bell was a proven technology, yet innovators still saw room for upgrades. Edinburgh confectioner Charles Spalding, spurred by a lost cargo ship, refined the bell in 1775. His enhancements added balance weights for stability, a signaling rope system, a viewing window, and rope‑based seating. Though he successfully dove to recover wreckage, he never reclaimed his goods. Awarded by the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, Spalding continued diving until his fatal descent on the Belgioso wreck in Dublin Bay in 1783.
7 Morel, 1720
The world’s first military submarine emerged in 1720 under Russian carpenter Yefim Nikonov. Dubbed the Model but misnamed “Morel” by a clerk, this six‑meter‑long wooden barrel, reinforced with iron hoops and fitted with flamethrowers, was powered by oarsmen in diving suits. Water entered via ten tin plates into leather bags to submerge, and a copper piston pump expelled it for surfacing. After a successful prototype dive, a second trial saw it fail to resurface, yet the tsar still backed the project. Unfortunately, after Peter the Great’s death, funding vanished, and a 1727 test ended in disaster, leading to Nikonov’s banishment and a two‑century hiatus in Russian submarine development.
6 Halley’s Diving Bell, 1691
Edmond Halley, famed for his comet, is credited with advancing the diving bell in 1691. His design allowed divers to remain underwater for up to an hour and a half at 20 m depth, thanks to a system that replenished air from weighted barrels via internal valves. Later, French mathematician Denis Papin improved this with continuous air supply through bellows and a pipe. Halley also fashioned a mini‑bell helmet linked by a gut‑filled air hose, hoping divers could “go out of the diving bell, and stay in the water as long as they pleased.” However, he underestimated pressure effects, describing ear pain as “as if a quill had been thrust into them,” prompting later developments like John Lethbridge’s armored diving suit.
5 Margarita Diving Bell, 1625
Predating Halley’s bell by nearly three‑quarters of a century, the Margarita diving bell earned its name from the sunken Spanish galleon Santa Margarita. Archaeologists long mistook its saucer‑shaped copper cap for a fish‑cooking device, but recent research identified it as a 700‑pound bell designed in 1606. Measuring 1.2 m tall and 0.9 m wide, it featured a tube supplying fresh air from the surface. This artifact, described as the “rarest technological treasure,” stands as the oldest solid evidence of a historically recorded diving bell.
4 Drebbel’s Submarine, 1620
Dutch physician Cornelis Drebbel is credited with the world’s first navigable submarine, built in London for King James I. Though details are scarce, the vessel resembled a reinforced rowing boat wrapped in leather, propelled by six oars on each side that passed through watertight sleeves. Between 1620 and 1624, Drebbel successfully navigated the Thames, typically reaching depths of up to 15 ft. Submersion was controlled by filling and emptying pigskin bladders with surrounding water, linked to pipes and ropes for operation. Air tubes extending to the surface allowed hour‑long dives, and even the king reportedly rode aboard.
3 Bourne’s Submarine, 1578
Decades before Drebbel, English mathematician William Bourne drafted a submarine concept in his 1578 work “Inventions, or, Devises.” His design featured a wooden frame covered in leather, powered by oarsmen inside. Though never built, Bourne secured patronage from English aristocracy—earls, lords, and an admiral—raising hopes for construction. Unfortunately, he died four years later, never witnessing Drebbel’s later claim to fame.
2 Lake Nemi Diving Bell, 1531
The earliest reliably documented diving bell may be the one employed to salvage Caligula’s sunken barges in Lake Nemi near Rome. After a failed 1446 attempt by Genovese divers, a cardinal commissioned a sophisticated bell. Its exact mechanics remain mysterious, but it featured an air‑expulsion system and a fresh‑air supply, allowing divers to work until exhaustion rather than suffocation. Despite its modest size, dives could last up to two hours, showcasing advanced engineering for the era.
1 Bathysphere, 332 BC
For the Siege of Tyre, Alexander the Great is said to have commissioned a glass barrel—some call it a bathysphere—to scout underwater defenses. Made of white glass and reinforced with metal bands, this 600‑foot‑long chain‑lowered vessel held Alexander and two companions. Aristotle recorded their awe at the bright lights inside, yet Alexander felt melancholy, later reflecting that “the world is damned and lost; the large and powerful fish devour the small fry.” While its exact nature (diving bell vs. submersible) is debated, Aristotle’s “Problemata” describes a similar air‑filled kettle used to extend divers’ underwater time, illustrating early attempts to overcome pressure and breathlessness.