The Russian Sub Museum Portrait of Simon Lake

Simon Lake

Simon Lake, an 19th century inventor-engineer is considered the" Father of the Modern Submarine" by authorities of naval history. Lake created the world's first practical submarine. He experimented with a crudely built 14-foot wooden vessel in 1894, the "Argonaut Jr." The boat was only designed to submerge in shallow water, travel around the bottom, and to test the opening of a hatch in a pressurized compartment. A success, Simon formed the Lake Submarine Company in 1895. He produced the Argonaut, a 36-foot submarine that could operate in the open seas on the surface, at any desired depth, navigate on the ocean floor as an automobile drives on land, and would allow a diver to exit and enter through an open hatch. The phenomenal success of the 1898 two thousand mile journey from Norfolk to New York brought a congratulatory telegram from Lake's inspiration, Jules Verne, author of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

Simon Lake formed the Lake Torpedo Boat Company at Bridgeport, Ct. in 1901 and produced the Protector, a military submarine built for the United States and other foreign governments, including Russia, Austria, and Germany. Simon provided consultation services to Italy, Germany, England, Norway, and Sweden and maintained offices in Russia, Germany, Poland, Austria, and England.

Despite the economic success of Simon's European ventures, with the unfolding of World War I, Simon Lake returned to the United States to provide his proven submarine expertise to his country. He built submarines for the US Navy and Shipping Board, giving up 40 million dollars in foreign contracts. Many Lake-type submarines were produced by the Lake Torpedo Boat Company in Bridgeport, CT; Norfolk, Virginia; and at Long Beach, California.

Governments of the world chose submarines for military use; however, Simon Lake promoted the peaceful uses of his submarine technologies for the benefit of mankind. He supported "farming" the natural resources of the sea; such as, harvesting edible foodstuffs, pearls, sponges, gold, and other minerals. He designed cargo submarines for safe and efficient transport of oil and other cargoes.

In 1930, Simon Lake joined forces with Sir Hubert Wilkens (polar explorer), Lincoln Ellsworth (polar aviator), and Sloan Dannenhower (commander of the first airship that crossed the arctic), in the first Trans-Arctic Submarine Expedition. Simon's purpose was to explore under-ice passageways for the use of commercial submarines through northern routes. They acquired the decommissioned O-12 Defender from the Navy, a military submarine originally built in 1918 by The Lake Torpedo Boat Company at a cost of $1,000,000.. The vessel was re outfitted for the arctic expedition and christened the Nautilus on March 24, 1931 by Jean Jules Verne and Lady Wilkens. The brave crew of the Nautilus set sail for the North Pole on June 4, 1931 and successfully toured an area of the arctic region.

Simon Lake was called the "Gentle Genius," a man ahead of his times. Lake was an unsung hero worthy of praise and appreciation from the modem scientific community.

Photo and biographical information taken from www.simonlake.com by Jeffrey B. Lake, 1992

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Last Updated:
3/13/03