“Mobilis in Mobile” - Voyage to the Deep

Voyage to the Deep is a new exhibit at the Reading Public Museum by Flying Fish Exhibits. The Voyage to the Deep exhibit is a take on Jules Vern's Twenty Thousand Legues Under the Sea and the Nautilus submarine.

“With its untold depths, couldn't the sea keep alive such huge specimens of life from another age, this sea that never changes while the land masses undergo almost continuous alteration? Couldn't the heart of the ocean hide the last–remaining varieties of these titanic species, for whom years are centuries and centuries millennia?”

Jules Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

The Making and Miniature Effects of the Hunt of the Red October

The Hunt of the Red October with Sean Connery, was a 1990 American submarine spy thriller.

It should not surprise us that the movie made extensive use of special effects. The video takes the viewer behind the scenes and explains the use of special effects that were used throughout the movie.

The Secret of the Silent Submarine

The following information was collected by Leon Karff, a German spy, and was luckily intercepted by Raymond and Jacox who were working together to isolate and disrupt the workings of the German spy agencies.

"Report by Leon Karff, late foreman-fitter at Kiel Dockyard, on Submarine 'F 2,' now building in Shed No. 4, Portsmouth Dockyard.

"This boat would appear to me to be of about 700 tons displacement when complete, possibly rather over. She is, as far as I am able to measure, about 180 feet long with an extreme beam a little forward of amidships of 20 feet. She is fitted with three propeller shafts with three small four-bladed propellers on each. As she is provided with what appear to me to be some kind of turbine engines, I imagine that the centre shaft is for going astern only. The propellers on this shaft seem to be attached in such a way that they could be 'feathered' by suitable gearing on board so as not to retard the vessel's way when going ahead. The engines of this boat are of a type which I have never before seen. I imagine that they are a combination of the new 'gas-producer' engine and the turbine system, the explosion of[55] the combined gas and air being split up and passing into the turbine through a number of different channels simultaneously. This would be a very economical system if the necessary power can be obtained, and would be much safer for use below than petrol engines.

"The boat is evidently intended to operate a good deal in an 'awash' position, for there is fairly thick armour-plating over the greater part of the upper side of the bow, while the fore end of the superstructure is made of two 6-inch Krupp steel plates meeting at an acute angle, and so forming a kind of stem when the boat is moving in this way. The space enclosed between these two plates is evidently intended to be used as the conning-tower. Here there are a periscope, steering-wheel, voice-tubes, and everything necessary for the control of the vessel. There are two horizontal propellers or fans, which seem to be driven by electricity derived from an installation of accumulators, and which are certainly intended to secure horizontal immersion, so the vessel will not plunge or dive, but immerse herself horizontally by means of these propellers, which, by the way, work in vertical shafts running completely through the boat, one forward and the other aft, as was the case in the Nordenfeldt, Waddington, and other early submarines.

"Forward there is an air-lock and diving-chamber, as in the 'Lake' boats, so that divers can get in and out of the vessel whilst under water. It would also afford a means of escape for the crew in the case of accident. This is further provided for by a detachable boat or caisson at the after end of the superstructure capable of holding ten men, I should say, or[56] possibly a dozen. There are also appliances which I suppose are telephone buoys for communicating with the surface. There are six torpedo tubes fitted, one forward, one aft, and the others two on either broadside. And there seems to be provision for six other torpedoes of the 18-inch type.

"There is a long rudder for ordinary steering, and four horizontal ones or planes which are placed abreast the horizontal screws and which, I imagine, act automatically in conjunction with them, as they seem to gear up with the shafts for these propellers. There is a big safety detachable weight which fits loosely into a recess amidships, and four broad wheels with ball bearings which do not fold up as in the 'Lake' boats, but always protrude nearly half their diameter. After all they would not obstruct her way when water-borne more than a keel—or very little more. They are quite independent and unconnected with the interior of the vessel, which while resting on them would receive forward impetus from her propellers. In the 'awash' position she would offer a very small and almost invulnerable target."

Chapter 2 The Secret of the Silent Submarine, Spies of the Kaiser-Plotting the Downfall of England, William Le Queux

Giant Conger Eels

“The four adventurers had just quite the Flying Fish and were walking toward an ancient grass-grown wreck when they became startled by the appearance of a snake like head and a pair of fierce gleaming eyes that had, quite suddenly protruded from a gap in the ships side.

Within moments the conger eel, with truly gigantic proportions, emerged from its hiding place and was slithering, boldly toward the four adventures. This wasn't the only conger eel to do so, thus attracted by the strong light from the Flying Fish forty or so eels, some up to 18 feet long came fiercely towards the four almost over whelming the four.”

The Log of the Flying Fish, Harry Collingwood

Harry Collingwood and his Airships

Collingwood like Verne is an author that written about airships. Like Jules Vern’s airships Collingwood’s airships could also take to the water as a submersible.

Two of the three titles by Collingwood about airships are available as epubs:

• With Airship and Submarine
• The Log of the Flying Fish: A Story of Aerial and Submarine Peril and Adventure

I have read the first of these titles by Collingwood and I did make a post on this his text and also other works of Collingwood’s.

The Flying Fish

The Flying Fish is a vessel mentioned in "With Airship and Submarine" by Harry Collingwood. The Flying Fish reminds me of another vessel that is similar to the Flying Fish, one written about in Jules Verne’s “The Master of the World”. Verne’s vessel is named the Terror, which might give you some idea as to the plot of this story, is similar in the Flying Fish in capabilities. Both of these vessels are convertibles and can be propelled either in the water as submarines or in the air as airships.
The Flying Fish as described in “With Airship and Submarine” is cylinder in shape, pointed at both ends and is reported as being 600 feet long and 60 feet in diameter. The Flying Fish is powered by some type of crystals and to this point in my reading these crystals have not been identified.
There aren’t any images of this vessel included within the text, so its exact likeness is unknown, but could this depiction come close to what one could imagine? I will leave that up to your imagination.

Frank Reade Jr. a Life of Adventure

Frank Jr. and Barney O’Shea being attacked by a Giant Cephalopod (Image from Frank Reade: The Age of Inventions)

Like I had previously mentioned, the Reade’s were prolific inventors. Frank Reade Junior, more so than his father, craved adventure. It was Frank Juniors inventions and his wealth that facilitated his high adventures. Whether over the jungles of South America or Africa, Haiti, or the depths of the seven seas you could find Frank Junior in one of his airships or submersibles.

A Reade Submarine

All three generations of the Reade family were prolific inventors. Their inventions like Airships, Land ships, submarines, and robots were first powered by steam and later by electric. These inventions were crafted at their Reade Works plant in Reade Pennsylvania.
This submarine used a combustion engine for propulsion.

Cut-a-way view of a speculative submarine created at the Reade works in 1880.(image found in Frank Reade: Adventures in the Age of Invention)

14 Super Submarines That Took Science Fiction under the Sea

Although Jules Verne wasn't the only one to write about the fabulous submarine, he does get the credit for writing two novels that featured submarines. As the title implies, here are fourteen submarines that took us under the sea. The fourteen submarines from popular culture are mentioned in comic books, novels, movies, and sitcoms.

Here is a list of the fourteen submarines that are mentioned in the article:

1. The HMS Sword from Facing the Flag by Jules Verne
2. The Nautilus from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
3. The Iron Fish from the British comic The Beano
4. The USOS Seaview and the Flying Sub from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
5. The Hydronaut from Around the World Under the Sea
6. Proteus and Voyager from Fantastic Voyage
7. Supercar from Supercar
8. Stingray from Stingray
9. Thunderbird 4 from Thunderbirds
10. Skydiver from UFO
11. P-1 from Marine Boy
12. The Leif Erikson from The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson
13. The Red October from The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy
14. The seaQuest DSV 4600 from seaQuest

The list will give me fodder for future research and reading.

Can you add to this list?