![]() So, the U-1206 was equipped with a special high-pressure toilet that could be flushed farther under.īut in solving one problem, the Germans accidentally created another. But being on or near the surface was risky business for WWII subs because of enemy aircraft, which were often flying in wait for the chance to drop you a bomb. Otherwise, water pressure would be greater than flushing pressure, and all that crap would come rushing right back at you. This meant that in order to, ahem, evacuate, German subs had to be on or near the surface. Unlike Allied sub toilets, German sub toilets flushed right into the sea. ![]() That’s right, a toilet malfunction was the reason Germany’s U-1206 went down on her very first tour of duty. In 1945, with only weeks remaining in World War II, a toilet sank a U-boat just off the coast of Scotland. U-1206 and the Case of the Malfunctioning Toilet Petit was found dead inside, apparently the victim of suffocation after his rig took on water and pinned him to the ocean floor. The enterprising doctor didn’t reappear until the next morning, when low tide exposed the sub lying in the mud. Then Petit and his boat disappeared below the surface. So, he puttered over to the wharf to fetch some ballast for diving. After spending some time puttering about the Baie de la Somme, he was satisfied with his sub’s performance. The doctor tested his contraption at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme on August 15, 1834. Burgoyne adds that Petit’s pet project measured about 12 feet and was driven by two oars. Most writers just tell us that Petit built a submarine and then died in it. According to Burgoyne, Petit was a doctor from northern France with a hobby of building experimental submarines. Jean-Baptiste Petit to tell a decent story. In many cases, all we have is the fact that Inventor X was drowned when Submarine Y sank due to Design Flaw and/or Stupid Mistake Z.īut Alan Burgoyne’s Submarine Navigation Past and Present, Volume 1 (1903) gives us enough information about Dr. ![]() ![]() Unfortunately, a lot of those stories aren’t much more than notes in passing. Petit’s Little Sub That Couldn’tĭo a bit of digging, and you’ll find dozens of stories of experimental submarines that tried to kill their inventors. Who knows, maybe it would’ve ended up on this list of 10 experimental submarines that didn’t work out – because they sank. The English mathematician imagined a glorified underwater boat sometime around 1578.īourne’s sub was never actually built, which might be a good thing given the track record of early submarines. The first modern submarine designed, however, was probably the one dreamed up by William Bourne. Historians usually agree that the first modern submarine was the one constructed and successfully tested by a Dutchman named Cornelius Drebbel. ![]()
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