Drebbel's submarine: Radical 1620 invention the Royal Navy dismissed as a novelty

The vessel used pigskin bladders filled or emptied of water to rise or submerge (Picture: BFBS) The British Navy did not see the military value in Drebbel's invention, instead dismissing it as more of a spectacle than a weapon. In 1620, Dutch inventor Cornelis Drebbel built the world's first operational, navigable submarine while working under the patronage of King James I in London.

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