"The American engineer Robert Fulton built one of the earliest submersible craft in 1800 in France under a grant from Napoleon. A collapsible mast and sail provided surface propulsion, and a hand-turned propeller drove the craft when submerged. A notable feature was the copper sheets over the iron-ribbed hull. Despite some experimental successes in diving and even in sinking ships, Fulton’s Nautilus failed to attract development support from either the French or the British."
