Cornelis Jacobszoon Drebbel was a Dutch engineer and inventor. He was the builder of the first operational submarine in 1620 and an innovator who contributed to the development of measurement and control systems, optics and chemistry.
Portrait of Drebbel, c. 1631
"Perpetuum mobile" clock by Drebbel
First navigable submarine
Reconstruction of the Drebbel, Richmond upon Thames. In 2002, the British boatbuilder Mark Edwards built a wooden submarine based on the original version by Drebbel. It was shown in the BBC TV programme Building the Impossible in 2002.
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely operated vehicles and robots, as well as medium-sized or smaller vessels, such as the midget submarine and the wet sub. Submarines are referred to as boats rather than ships irrespective of their size.
US Virginia-class submarine underway in Groton, Connecticut, July 2004
Russian Akula-class submarine of the Northern Fleet, in 2008
An early submersible craft, built by Cornelis Drebbel, propelled by oars
1806 illustration by Robert Fulton showing a "plunging boat"
