Show First Submarines Were Small The first submarines were small sma affairs The very first built in 1620 large wooden row rowS rowboat was merely a boat decked over and made waterS water watertight tight by a covering of thick well well- greased leather King James o 0 1 j England traveled under water sew sev several eral hours in one of the strange craft propelled by 12 rowers A similar submarine built a few years yeara later was equipped with several leather bottles Water was admitted into the bottles to make the craft submerge To rise to the surface the inventor squeezed out the water with a lever and bound up the neck of each emptied bottle with a string |