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The Modern Submarine 81 Bitterly disappointed and mortified at the unex- pected turn which affairs had taken when success appeared to be within his grasp, Holland decided to make one more bid for Fortune. He suggested to his colleagues that a submarine should be built as a speculation. If it failed, then he would abandon all further interest in the subject; while if it suc- ceeded—well, the possibilities were illimitable. This win-or-lose spirit appealed to his colleagues, who assented to his proposal, together with the second condition, which Holland laid down as absolutely indispensable. This was the construction of the boat strictly from A to Z according to his own ideas and under his own supervision. He had had enough of so-called technical experts and their incompetence when ranged beside a project about which they knew nothing. This new vessel was taken in hand in 1898. It was a small craft measuring nearly 54 feet in length by io| feet beam and displacing 70 tons when sub- merged. She was fitted with a four-cylinder petrol motor developing 50-horse-power, which was adequate to produce a maximum cruising speed upon the sur- face of 6 knots, at which speed she was capable of travelling 200 miles upon a single charge of her fuel tanks. For underwater propulsion she was fitted with a 50-horse-power electric motor with which she could travel 20 miles when submerged at a speed of 5 knots, which was equal to about four hours’ con- tinuous submergence. The armament comprised a single torpedo tube. This vessel created an intense sensation upon her appearance. At last Holland had been able to sub- G