John P. Holland biography and submarines
The early years
In fact, John did not speak any English until he attended the St. Macreehy's National School just down the street from the house in Liscannor. John proved to be a capable student, but struggled with serious health issues, including poor eyesight. His family survived the Great Famine in Ireland relatively intact only because his father's employment gave them a relatively clean and well maintained house. John witnessed the depredations of the Great Famine firsthand, and the British government's lack of response instilled in him a deeply seated animosity towards the British.
John took to his studies with vigor and by 1853 his family moved to Limerick with John attending the Christian Brothers School there. By age 17 he joined the brotherhood and was given the Christian name Philip, which he retained as his middle name for the rest of his life. He was soon accepted as a teacher. During this period he fell under the influence of Brother James Dominic Burke, a renowned man of science. John took to the science studies with gusto, displaying a tremendous mechanical aptitude. Brother Burke was conducting experiments in underwater propulsion using electricity and the firing of torpedoes against ships in a model basin. These activities struck a spark in John, and he began his lifelong fascination with submarines.
When exactly he designed his first submarine is somewhat up for debate, but it is quite likely that he made his first sketches during the period of 1858-1872, as he moved in and out of various Christian Brothers sponsored teaching positions while dealing with several health issues. Although this sketch here comes from a later interpretation, this is essentially the first design from the fertile mind of John P. Holland. As you can see here this was a human powered affair, with a recumbent seated operator wearing a diving suit. Ballast controls were between the operator's legs as he pushed two treadles that were mechanically linked to the propeller shaft. The boat was rectangular in cross section, with four detachable "torpedoes" (i.e. mines) in a compartment behind the operator. This design was never built, as even John could recognize its limitations. In some texts it is referred to as the "Holland I" design, although Holland himself never referred to it in this fashion.
1872 would prove to be a watershed year in the life of John P. Holland. That year he became involved in an effort sponsored by subset of the Christian Brothers that campaigned for better and more efficient schools. This effort angered the bulk of the group, who saw it as an affront to their teaching philosophy. John was also continuously battling health issues, and these stresses caused him to decline perpetual vows with the order at Christmas 1872. His father had passed away many years earlier, and his elderly mother and brother Michael had emigrated to the U.S. He decided to join them and set sail for a new life in the states on May 26, 1873. He spent the summer and fall in Liverpool while he awaited further passage, finally landing in Boston in November, 1873. Nearly broke when he landed, one of the few possessions that he had upon arrival were the drawings of his initial submarine design.
He no sooner landed in a wintery Boston when he slipped and fell on an icy street. He broke a leg, and spent the next three months laid up in bed as he healed. He used the time to go back and reconsider his submarine designs, refining them and improving the drawings. John landed a job at the St. John's Parochial School in Paterson, NJ and began working in earnest on his submarine ideas in his spare time. After consulting with a friend in 1875, he submitted the initial pedal powered design to the Navy Department. The Navy utterly rejected Holland's work, with the Secretary calling it "a fantastic scheme of a civilian landsman."
It was at this time that his brother Michael introduced him to members of the Fenian Brotherhood, an American based society of Irish expatriates whose goal was the overthrow of British influence and control in Ireland. The Fenians did not shy away from violence as a means to an end, and Holland's technical expertise and fervent belief in a free Ireland impressed the Fenian leadership. They saw his concepts as a means of hitting back at the British Royal Navy.
Holland I
The Brayton kerosine engine was the only means of propulsion. There was no battery or electric motor for submerged propulsion. Compressed air tanks fore and aft supplied air for the engine, breathing, and blowing ballast tanks. Exhaust from the engine was vented overboard. Using less air than a modern lawnmower gasoline engine, running the Brayton engine while submerged was at least practical, if not incredibly dangerous due to fumes, heat, and noise. Even still its use would have resulted in a very limited underwater endurance, as rather soon you would simply run out of air with the engine using the bulk of what was stored.
On May 22, 1878 the boat was ready. It was loaded onto a horse-drawn wagon and taken down to the Upper Passaic River in Paterson. Launched into the river with a crowd of onlookers lining the banks, Holland himself entered the boat and attempted to get the balky Brayton engine running. Accounts differ as to whether he was successful in that particular task. Some say that he needed the extra heat of a shore based steam engine to get the engine running, with another account stating a steam line was run to the sub from another boat and it stayed attached during the trial run in the river with the steam boat following on the surface. At any rate, Holland was successful in running the boat up and down the river, submerging to a depth of 12 feet. It was even reported that he stayed submerged for quite a while in an endurance test, likely with the Brayton engine stopped to preserve air. Holland's notes recorded after the test indicated that he was satisfied with the performance of the Holland I overall, but he noted that the midships mounted diving planes were ineffective due to the fact that they were mounted near the center of gravity of the boat and thus had little effect in controlling depth or angle. He resolved to move them aft in later boats.
Members of the Fenian Brotherhood were present for the test and they were very pleased. They immediately offered to finance a follow-on boat. The Holland I was stripped of useful equipment by Holland, and he deliberately scuttled the boat in the Passaic River near the Spruce Street bridge. A short time later some local men salvaged the conning tower for scrap, but in 1927 the entire boat was raised from the mud and donated to the Paterson Museum. The photo above is a recent shot of the boat as it currently sits in the museum after restoration work and receiving a replacement conning tower.
Holland II (aka "Fenian Ram") & Holland III
Holland IV (aka "The Zalinski Boat")
Holland V (Plunger 1895)
The Electric Boat era and Holland's later years
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