User:Kim-hee assure/Steinhuder pike

Steinhuder Pike

The Steinhuder Pike (Steinhuder Hecht) was the first German Submarine, built in 1772. The Engineer Jakob Chrysitomus Praetorius developed a submarine  mainly built of oak-wood. The submarine was driven by sails, for steering the fluke of the fish-shaped submarine was used. The plan for this submarine was presented to count Wilhelm zu Schaumburg-Lippe, the owner of Fortress Wilhelmstein, a fortress on an island in the Lake Steinhude. He ordered a simplified version of the submarine and in 1772 a successful  12 minutes diving test was conducted. Due to the fact that the maximum depth of Lake Steinhude is about 2.9 m (9.5 ft) it seems to be unlikely that a submarine could dive there. In case of an siege this vessel should be used to stay connected with friendly forces on the shore of Lake Steinhude. Nowadays a scaled model and the drawings can be viewed at the Museum on the Fortress Wilhelmstein.