CHEMICALLY-POWERED SUBMARINES
The principles of chemically-powered submarines were explained in the introduction. The plural is purposefully used, as several types of products are used to power those items: bathing salts, CO2 tablets, baking powder... It is best to illustrate the principle, already described in the 1890s in a book entitled “Tom Thumb’s experiments” which explained among other basic experiments how to build an automatic diver. The author built dozens of them, to the detriment of his parents’ water bills!
Here for instance is a “submersible” dating from 1904. Made by White/Christie, the thing is built of wood and brass, with a lead underside serving as ballast.
Said underside opens at the rear, where a compartment contains bathing salts. The whole “cruises” on the surface of the water, the gases being ejected at the back, whence the derogatory remark by a female friend of mine: “It’s a fartmobile” ! Length: 13”.
USA ****
Here is an example of the small chemically-powered submarines sold on the internet (see the appropriate website); they are mainly bathtub or even kitchen sink toys! From 2 to 3 inches.
USA
I mentioned two Pif Gadget items, and am still looking for others! There remains the most beautiful and most efficient of that type of submarines, the plastic “Airfix” from the 70s. You can visit also this website to learn more informations about submarines "The Torgo Homepage".
This was sold ready-to-use, and was therefore not a real “model,” with a flask of CO2 tablets; the well-designed shape of its hull, through hydrodynamic effect, allowed it to really cruise, and not only to go up and down until the “fuel” was exhausted. Length: 13”.
UK ****
Another English chemically-powered sub, this very nice “Mobo Snort” from the Mobo Water Toys brand (50s).
This brand was mainly specialized in bathtub toys and mostly made rubber-pump subs (see appropriate chapter). Aluminium. Length: 9”.
UK ****
Finally here is the “Prizes” section to conclude this chapter dedicated to chemically-powered submarines. The American website “Torgo baking powder soda submarines” is dedicated to those small machines; finally, there are hundreds of pages in a whole lot of websites or home-pages about chemical prize subs, you just have to look!
Total: 4 photographs on this page.
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