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This is not an unbuilt project, but it is an enigmatic mystery that perhaps members here might be able to add more to.
The Volta was a 19-ton electric-powered submarine armed with two 12in torpedo tubes, built by Rennie Forrestt Shipbuilding, Engineering & Drydock Co. Ltd at Wivenhoe, Essex, for the British Submarine Co. in 1905. It was a 3-man submarine (commander, helmsman, torpedo man), 34ft long and 6ft 9in diameter. Power was provided by two electric motors geared to single propeller.
Apparently the British government tried to block its export but then seemed to disappear. It has been suggested the Volta was ordered by Japan. No subsequent trace of the submarine seems to remain in the historical record.
www.wivenhoehistory.org.uk
The British Submarine Co. referred to above is probably The British Submarine Boat Company Ltd., formed in 1902 to acquire the patents and submarines of French inventor M. Claude Goubet who died in 1903. Goubet had built the electric-powered 2-man mini-submarine Goubet I in 1886 but despite trials it was not acquired by the French Navy. There was some controversy when the Goubet I was completed as the Russian engineer Stefan Drzewiecki, who had worked with Goubet, claimed some of his inventions had been stolen. The Volta would seem to be about twice the length of the Goubet I, presumably due to the torpedo armament.
The Volta was a 19-ton electric-powered submarine armed with two 12in torpedo tubes, built by Rennie Forrestt Shipbuilding, Engineering & Drydock Co. Ltd at Wivenhoe, Essex, for the British Submarine Co. in 1905. It was a 3-man submarine (commander, helmsman, torpedo man), 34ft long and 6ft 9in diameter. Power was provided by two electric motors geared to single propeller.
Apparently the British government tried to block its export but then seemed to disappear. It has been suggested the Volta was ordered by Japan. No subsequent trace of the submarine seems to remain in the historical record.
The Wivenhoe Submarine
The Volta was a 19tons displacement submarine. 34′ long and 6’9″ diameter. Power was provided by two electric motors from batteries geared to single screw. She was launched on 5/6/1905, and completed in 1905 for the British Submarine Co. The only real submarine ever built on the river and a...
The British Submarine Co. referred to above is probably The British Submarine Boat Company Ltd., formed in 1902 to acquire the patents and submarines of French inventor M. Claude Goubet who died in 1903. Goubet had built the electric-powered 2-man mini-submarine Goubet I in 1886 but despite trials it was not acquired by the French Navy. There was some controversy when the Goubet I was completed as the Russian engineer Stefan Drzewiecki, who had worked with Goubet, claimed some of his inventions had been stolen. The Volta would seem to be about twice the length of the Goubet I, presumably due to the torpedo armament.
