Science: 41 Days under Water

Ever since David Bushnell invented the first underwater warship (the Turtle, which tried, unsuccessfully, to blow up the British frigate Eagle in New York harbor in 1776), naval men have dreamed of a true submarine, i.e., one which would practically never have to come to the surface. Last week Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal revealed that the Germans came dangerously close.

At the end of the war the Nazi Model 21 could stay submerged nine-tenths of the time. More amazing still: it achieved the speed of 18 knots under water—faster than it could...

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