HOLLAND’s HULL NO 1 submarine 1878

[aukepalmhof]

On 12 March 1981 Ireland honored four of her famous inventors, among them John. P. Holland, inventor of the submarine. The stamps were designed by Peter Wildbur and lithographed by the Irish Security Stamp Printing’

John Philip Holland was born in Liscanor, County Clare, Ireland, on 29 February 1840. As a boy, he thought of the submarine as a means of furthering the cause of Irish Independence. He came to the United States in 1873 and died on 12 August 1914 in Newark, NJ.

The upper portion of the 25p stamp shows a profile drawing by Holland of his first submarine. It was to be of 1 1/3 ton displacement, 3.81m long, and powered by a one man power foot treadle connected to a single propeller. A periscope-like tube would supply air to the operator.
As-built, HOLLAND’s HULL NO 1 was 2.25 tons, 4.45m long, powered by a Brayton Petroleum engine of 4 hp but without the periscope air supply.

HOLLAND BOAT NO. I was a prototype submarine designed and operated by John Philip Holland.

Construction
Work on the vessel began at the Albany Iron Works in New York City, moving to Paterson, New Jersey, in early 1878. The boat was launched on 22 May 1878. It was 4.3m. long, weighed 2.25 tons and was powered by a 4-horsepower Brayton petroleum engine driving a single screw. The boat was operated by Holland himself.

Testing
After several tests, on 6 June Holland conducted his first proper trial. The boat ran on the surface at approximately 3.5 knots, then submerged to a depth of 12 feet, before eventually surfacing. However, problems with the engine, meant that Holland eventually connected the engine, by a flexible hose, to a steam engine in an accompanying launch and powered the boat externally. In a second trial, Holland remained submerged for an hour. Holland eventually stripped the boat of usable equipment and scuttled it in the Passaic River.
These trials impressed Holland's backers, the Fenian Brotherhood, who on the strength of this success financed Holland Boat No. II, which became known as the FENIAN RAM.
The vessel was recovered in 1927 and is now on display at the Paterson Museum in New Jersey.

Source: Watercraft Philately 1981 page 22. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holland_I
Ireland 1981 25p sg477, scott?