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Submarines have helped us in many ways, from being an important part of wars to delivering weapons. They have gone through many changes, growing from the size of a row boat to the length of five buses. Over the years, submarines have become an important vessel for the Navy.

Early Submarines

The first submarines were built in the early 1500’s. They were small oar-propelled wooden boats covered in treated leather. These submarines could only travel a couple of feet below the water’s surface for short distances. They were very small and rugged inside. In the 1700’s and 1800’s the submarines were becoming much larger and could dive further and for longer periods of time. They were still hand powered. In the late 1800’s periscopes were added on to submarines. This was very important because it allowed the crews to view the enemy while being submerged.

Submarines became very popular, and in 1914 during World War I most countries had them as part of their naval fleet. These submarines were still very rough, but they made a big impact in the war using the periscopes to locate enemy ships. Once the enemy ship had been located, the submarine crew would notify the naval fleet of the enemy ship’s location. 1939, during World War II, submarines started to get better engines and were constantly being improved so that they could move faster and stay submerged for longer periods.

Submarines are used for many things, but one of the main things they are used for is underwater attacks for the United States Navy. The Navy probably used the submarine the most during World War II. Submarines were one of the most feared machines during World War II because of how sneaky they could be, and because they carried very powerful missiles. They would sneak up on the enemy boats by approaching them from behind undetected. They did this was because they knew that the enemy boat’s radar could not pick up their signal if they approached from the rear. It was easy for submarines to sink enemy boats because their radar was not good enough to detect them. One thing that U.S. submarines had trouble with during World War II was other submarines that they were up against. This was because they never knew if they would be shooting their missiles straight up or straight ahead. What they would have to do when they would encounter an enemy submarine was to react faster and get the first missile off. However, they were lucky in this regard because they did not run into other submarines that often.

Submarines Today

In the United States Navy today submarines have a very important role. They are the ones who go ahead of the main fleet of ships to scope out the enemy’s positions. This could be a very tricky task since you had to be very cautious of where you were and where your enemies were. The key for this task was to be very quiet in moving about and to always stay fully submerged. Once the submarine had its enemies on radar, that is when they would alert all of the ships and aircraft in the main fleet about what to expect when they got into enemy territories. That was very important because that would make it much easier for the United States to destroy enemy weapons and machinery.

For the submarines to be able to carry out their duties, they had to have a crew. Imagine living on a submarine. Living on a submarine is not as bad as it might seem. There are about 140 crew members aboard each naval submarine, each with enough space for crew comfort. Even though the crew has nice sleeping places, they still always have to be prepared for any kind of incident. To get the privilege of becoming a crew member on a submarine, you must go through a lot of training. You have to be very smart to be able to hand all of the controls, and you must be in excellent physical shape. There are usually 130 enlisted persons and 12 officers on board, with one of the officers being the captain. The captain must always know what to do in every situation that may arise because he is the one leading the other 141 crew members. If he were to make an error he could be putting each crew members’ life on the line. The captain of a submarine has a difficult and demanding job that requires his total concentration, but so does the rest of the crew. They are the ones who work together to control the vessel, and every crew member has a responsibility.

Submarines have really changed uses and the way they work since World War I and II. Today’s submarines have much more technology and capability than those used in the past. They have radio equipment, radar, and highly sensitive tracking systems. They are used for seeking out and destroying enemies during wars. During the two World Wars the jeep and tank were their main priorities. Today it is the submarine and aircraft. Submarines continue to be used more because their technology is always improving.

Future Submarines

These are the current conditions of the United States’ submarines, but what does the future hold? In the future, the major development for submarines is that they are going to be much quieter, quicker, and smaller than they are today. This would help the submarines a lot because of how much more difficult it would be for them to be targeted by the enemy. This would give the United States a large advantage over all of the countries we may meet in war. Some submarines might just be used for shooting missiles. Those submarines would be able to be smaller, and less expensive to make, because they would be for just one specific purpose. Finally, if the leaders of the Third World ever got nuclear weapons, the submarine could possibly be used for deliveries. Anything could happen in the future!

Submarines have gone a long way since the ones used in World War II to all of the submarines that we might see in the future. Submarines have really helped the U.S. with all of the wars it has fought in because of how much easier it is to hunt down the enemy. The changes for the future will make it easier to defeat future enemies. The submarine was a great invention and continues to be a strong vessel of the U.S. Navy. I would like to see all of the changes that are planned for the future take place.

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