A History Of Submarines

With the post-Cold War 'Peace Dividend', government investment in submarines fell off a cliff. This is the last episode of this linear basic history about submarines. I hope you enjoyed listening to it as much as I enjoyed making it.

The Soviets continued to surprise the world with submarines that boggled the mind. But submarines couldn't save the Bolshevik fantasy. Some book tips for this episode (please do order via your fave local book shop, Amazon links just for reference): Blind Man's Bluff Admiral Gorshkov - The Man Who Challenged The Russian Navy Rising Tide - The Untold Story Of The Russian Submarines That Fought The Cold War Bonus: almost an hour of video footage onboard a Typhoon SSBN on Youtube!

It's the 1970s and early 1980s and the Soviets are giving NATO a run for their money.

It's the 1960s. While the Soviets were upping their submarine game, the Americans maxed out their own subs' espionage potential.

On October 27, 1962, amid the Cuban Missile Crisis, one submarine almost started Armageddon.

While the USSR flushed the seas with incredible numbers of submarines, in the US one Hyman G. Rickover pushed the navy into going nuclear and set up USS Nautilus to become the first submarine to traverse the North Pole submerged. Meanwhile, the Soviets had their own breakthroughs - ICBMs, SSBNs, SLBMs and, of course, Sputnik. But opposite that the Americans set up SOSUS, a revolution by itself. For more in Hyman G. Rickover, see Hyman G. Rickover, Father of the US nuclear navy (ahistoryofsubmarines.com). For more on Sergei Korolev, see Sergei Korolev, Rocket Man (ahistoryofsubmarines.com).

From the ashes of World War II rose the two new big boys on the block: the USSR and the United States. And they both knew that submarines would play a pivotal role in any World War III...

Yes, submarines can help end wars - when used properly. No, not you, Dönitz! Plus, a bone-chilling story.

The incredible war stories of Dudley Morton and Robert O'Kane exemplified how much the US submarine fleet in the Pacific changed in war.

While things took a turn for the worse for Karl Dönitz and his U-boats in the Atlantic, in the Pacific the US Silent Service was now lead by one Charles Lockwood, who desired to choke Japan into submission.

Short announcement. Don't worry, I promise I'll be back in two weeks.

Just when Karl Dönitz thinks he is finally winning the Battle of the Atlantic, the Allies deliver a stunning blow.

After Pearl Harbor, Japanese submarines make their mark while US and allied subs retreat to safer waters. Meanwhile, a dramatic incident in the South Atlantic turns an already grim U-boat war even darker.

It's early 1942 and Hitler has declared war on the United States. Dönitz sends his U-boats to the mostly unprotected US east coast while slowly but surely the Allies start to implement new anti-submarine warfare technology.

December 1941. You know what that means. And also: Слава Україні! Slava Ukraini!

March to December 1941. US president Roosevelt wanted to help Britain against the U-boat scourge but had to do so secretly. The result was a confusing, undeclared war against Germany. Meanwhile, more U-boats are finally coming online and the Battle of the Atlantic escalates. Like this pod? Please keep it going and rate it. Better still, recommend it to your friends!

May 1940 - February 1941. Even with his small fleet of U-boats, Karl Dönitz is making an impact while the new Italian friends join the fray. Meanwhile, France and Norway fall, providing the Nazis more bases to operate from and the British some major headaches to overcome. If you enjoy this pod, please rate us and better still, recommend us to your friends!

The German navy was not ready and Karl Dönitz knew it. But there was no escaping Hitler's war. And of course, all the best for the new year! Bit of a struggle this time as I was suffering from a cold somewhat. Still, enjoy!

Thank you for all your comments, feedback and your questions for this mailbag edition. Please do rate this pod :) Want to get in touch? ahistoryofsubmarines@gmail.com Website: https://ahistoryofsubmarines.com

We're in the Interbellum. While one half of the world was done with war, the other half was gearing up for the new one.

It's 1918 and the convoy system has dashed any remaining hope of the German empire winning the war by U-boat. Do take a look at the enormous U-118 U-boat washed ashore on the beach of Hastings, as mentioned in the pod: When U-118 got beached at Hastings, UK, 1919 (ahistoryofsubmarines.com)

It's 1917 and the German high command has realized that they can't go on like this. Great Britain must be brought to its knees before the United States will inevitably join the allies. And so the Kaiser bets all his money on the U-boat. This is part 3 on the 4 part episode of submarines in World War I. Don't forget: click here to subscribe!

It's 1915. With the Imperial Navy locked safely inside its harbours, the Germans decide to unleash their U-boats in the first bout of unrestricted submarine warfare. It does not go well.

German U-boats weren't the first to fire, but when they did, they shocked the world. This episode is dedicated to Ron Leers. Rest in peace, dad.

Without the Whitehead torpedo, submarines would probably have been a blip in world history.

John P. Holland and Simon Lake were the Bill Gates and Steve Jobs of submarines. They didn't know it then, but they changed the world. This episode is about these two giants who improved submarines, ironed out all the wrinkles, solved problems others couldn't - and exported the submarine to the world. Without Holland and Lake, it's questionable whether submarines could have taken their place as they did in world history. If you like the A History Of Submarines podcast, please rate us in your favorite pod app, subscribe and recommend us to your friends! It's what keeps this podcast afloat.

We're in 1870 to 1900. The breakthrough of electric engines, the first time a battleship is torpedoed by a submerged submersible and true submarine frenzy in France. With the efficacy of submarine attack now proven by the CSS Hunley, French and Spanish inventors further improved submersibles. France especially was in the vanguard of submarine development, realizing it had found a possible weapon against the hegemony of the British navy. Still, some problems continued to elude engineers... If you like A History Of Submarines, please mention it to your friends! The Isaac Peral submersible: https://bit.ly/3z08sDV On the Ictinéo I & II: https://bit.ly/3hovVsB The Gustave Zédé: https://bit.ly/3tutUQq

Any arguments against the procurement of submersibles ended on February 17, 1864, when lieutenant Dixon and his eight men in the submersible H.L. Hunley crashed their spar torpedo into the USS Housatonic outside Charleston, South-Carolina. Interestingly, though, the H.L. Hunley was by far not the only submersible that made waves at that time. In Europe, and in fact in the rebel lands of the Confederacy, inventors had engaged in a flurry of activity and innovation, profoundly speeding up the development stages of the modern submersible. But it was the sound of the explosion and sinking of the USS Housatonic that reverberated in the halls of admiralties everywhere. The future would no longer be how most men wearing navy blue had imagined it. So much happened in such a short time that this episode covers the period between roughly 1850 and 1870. Sources, among many: Farnham Bishop, Simon Lake, Herbert C. Fyfe, Delpeche.

In this episode, cut into several parts for your convenience, we dive into what is the decisive period for submarine invention. During this period, from 1800 until 1914, inventors were able to learn from each other owing to the much easier proliferation of knowledge. No longer did submarine inventors and adventurers have to start from scratch or rely on incomplete information. And what also helped a bunch: governments the world over started appreciating the uses of submerged attack boats. From Robert Fulton's famous 'Nautilus' and his time working for Napoleon Bonaparte to Wilhelm Bauer and the German Confederation to Spain, this first part covers 1800 to approximately 1850. Part two, up in two weeks, will also focus on submersibles in the American Civil War. Part three, up after that (after a little vacation break), will focus mostly on that major invention that gave submersibles the punch it needed: the torpedo. The end of part three will also see submersibles on the brink of World War One...

The history of submarines is one of men wanting to discover new frontiers through perseverance and grit, greed, luck - and tragedy. This first episode takes us all the way back to antiquity, to the days of Aristotle and Herodotus. Then we will see how the first submersibles first surface in the imagination and fantasies of inventors and dreamers, and to then be made a reality by men like Cornelis Drebbel and David Bushnell. So get to that listening station, don those headphones and dive in.

The trailer episode for the A History Of Submarines podcast about, you guessed it - the history of submarines! Almost 400 years of history crammed into one podcast series, covering the first designs and incarnations, the first successes and the failures, the wars in which they proved pivotal, the Cold War, and the present day. With added bonus episodes and premium features. After listening to A History Of Submarines podcast, you'll know everything there is to know about how the metal beasts of the deep revolutionised warfare.