Man's desire was to be able to travel underwater for a long, long time. The first craft to travel in this way was actually designed in 1578. William Bourne a British mathematician published a book with the design of a completely enclosed boat which could be submerged and rowed under the surface, in the same year. It was designed of a wooden framework covered with waterproof leather. A boat was launched in 1605 using this method. A Dutch named Cornelius Van Drebbel was given the credit for building the first submarine. In the river Thames he tried this fewer than 3 to 4 meters under the surface. It was made of wooden frame and leather with tight-fitting leather flaps. It happened in 1620. The interest to build a submarine was too high that by 1727 more than 14 different types had been patented in England. During the American Revolution submarine was used first as a weapon. David Bushnell had invented a hand-operated one man submarine which was called "The Turtle".
