The first torpedo-firing submarine was built by British engineer Garrett in Liverpool in 1879. The first attempt at this primitive submarine, which was technically unlike today's submarines, failed.
The second submarine, which was slightly larger than the first, could not come out from where it dived on its second attempt. Garrett could not find the money necessary for his work in England. Ultimately, the famous Swedish arms manufacturer Thorsten Nordenfelt came to Garrett's rescue.
With his support, Garrett launched his third submarine in Stockholm in 1885. This successful submarine was purchased by Greece. Hearing that such a strange vehicle had been experienced by Greece, the Ottoman sultan immediately gave the order to the Minister of Naval Affairs, Hasan Pasha, and ordered Garrett to be brought from England to Istanbul.
George William Littler Garrett (4 July 1852 – 26 February 1902) was a British clergyman and inventor who pioneered submarine design.
By the sultan's will, Garrett agreed to build two submarines. Two 30 meters long, 3 meters 66 centimeters wide, and 160 tons submarines were built. In 1887, the submarines were brought to Istanbul in pieces and assembled by Turkish workers in the Golden Horn. Two submarines cost 36 thousand gold coins. One of the boats was named Abdulmecid and the other was named Abdulhamid. The boat named Abdulhamid was experienced first.
An old mail ferry was turned into a target and anchored in the middle of the Bosphorus. The submarine named "Abdülhamid" dived when it reached a certain distance and fired two torpedoes one after the other. Two columns of water rose on the target ship's side, one minute apart, and after a while, the ship sank into the water. The submarine then surfaced and the maneuver was completed successfully.
This maneuver was the first time in history that a submarine attempted to sink a ship on the water by launching a torpedo. But then these two submarines set out for the Istanbul Taşkızak Shipyard, where they would be left to rot...