Main article: History of submarines
This list of pre-20th century submarines includes those pioneering submarines constructed prior to the turn of the 20th century, which marks the point when the submarine became a viable weapon of war. This saw the advent of such vessels as the American USS Holland and the French Narval, which set the pattern for submarine design for much of the 20th century.
List
| Name | Builder | Launched | lost or disposed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drebbel | Cornelis Drebbel | 1620 | ? | Propelled by oars. |
| Papin | Denis Papin | 1690 | ? | |
| Nikonov | Yefim Nikonov (ru) | 1720 | ? | Build for Peter the Great in Russia. |
| Turtle | David Bushnell | 1775 | 1777 | First submarine vessel used in attempted combat. |
| Nautilus | Robert Fulton | 1797 | 1802 | Built for the French Navy. |
| Villeroi | Brutus de Villeroi | August 1832 | ? | Demonstrated at Noirmoutier in France. |
| Schilder (ru) | Karl Schilder (ru) | 1834 | ? | Demonstrated to Tsar Nicholas I in Russia. |
| Hipopótamo (es) | Jose Rodriguez Lavandera (es) | 18 Sep 1837 | ? | Tested in Ecuador. |
| Brandtaucher | Wilhelm Bauer | 1850 | 1 Feb 1851 | Sank during trials, model displayed in the Bundeswehr Military History Museum in Dresden. |
| Gern | Ottomar Gern | 1854 | ? | Fate unknown. |
| Ictineo I | Narcís Monturiol | 1859 | January 1862 | Destroyed in an accident, completed 50 dives before loss. Replica in Maritime Museum in Barcelona. |
| Salvage | Brutus de Villeroi | 1859 | 1862 | Built at Philadelphia, it was the basis for the USS Alligator. Seized by police in 1862. |
| Garcibuzo (es) | Cosme García Sáez | 1860 | ? | Test dived at Alicante. Garcia was unable to find a buyer and the boat was scuttled. |
| Bayou St. John submarine | Unknown | 1861 | 1863 | First submarine built for the Confederate States Navy of America. On display at the Capitol Park Museum - Baton Rouge. |
| Pioneer | Horace Lawson Hunley | Feb 1862 | 25 Apr 1862 | Built for the Confederate States Navy. A replica is at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center. |
| USS Alligator | Neafie & Levy | 1 May 1862 | 2 Apr 1863 | First United States Navy of America submarine. |
| American Diver | Horace Lawson Hunley | Jan 1863 | Feb 1863 | Built for the Confederate States Navy, also known as Pioneer II. It sank in Mobile Bay. |
| Plongeur | Siméon Bourgois | 16 Apr 1863 | 2 Feb 1872 | Built for the French Navy, converted to water tanker in 1873 and sold for scrap in 1937. |
| H. L. Hunley | Horace Lawson Hunley | Jul 1863 | 17 Feb 1864 | Built for the Confederate States Navy, first combat submarine to sink a warship and then sank. Located at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in Charleston, South Carolina. |
| Intelligent Whale | Price and Bushnell | 1863 | Sep 1872 | On exhibit at the National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey. |
| Ictíneo II | Narcís Monturiol | 20 May 1864 | Dec 1867 | Intended for the Spanish Navy, sold for scrap, replica on display at harbor of Barcelona. |
| Alexandrovski | Ivan Alexandrovski (ru) | 1865 | ? | Demonstrated to Tsar Alexander II in Russia. |
| Sub Marine Explorer | Patterson and Kroehl | 1865 | 1869 | Abandoned on shore of the island of San Telmo in the Pearl Islands. |
| Flach | Karl Flach (es) | 1866 | 3 May 1866 | Built for Chile, lost in the bay of Valparaiso. |
| Heyermann | Gustavo Heyermann | 1866 | ? | Built for Chile, sank on its maiden voyage. |
| Gryparis | Gryparis | 1875 | 1886 | Possibly available to the Hellenic Navy. |
| Drzewiecki | Stefan Drzewiecki | 1877 | ? | Human powered, model in the National Maritime Museum in Gdansk. |
| Holland I | John Philip Holland | 22 May 1878 | 1878 | Scuttled and raised in 1927, it is on display at the Paterson Museum in New Jersey. |
| Resurgam I | George Garrett | 1878 | ? | Fate unknown. |
| Drzewiecki | Stefan Drzewiecki | 1879 | ? | Converted from human powered to electric propulsion by Drzewiecki in 1884, it is on display in the Central Naval Museum in Saint Petersburg. |
| Resurgam II | George Garrett | 26 Nov 1879 | 25 Feb 1880 | Sank in Liverpool Bay, replica on display near Woodside terminal of Mersey Ferry. |
| Toro Submarino | Blume and Peruvian Navy | 1879 | 16 Jan 1881 | Scuttled to avoid capture. |
| Drzewiecki submarine series (ru) | Stefan Drzewiecki | 1881 | 1891 | A class of 50 boats built for harbour defence and withdrawn from service in 1891. |
| Fenian Ram (Holland II) | John Philip Holland | 1881 | 1883 | On display at the Paterson Museum in New Jersey. |
| Holland III | John Philip Holland | 1881 | Nov 1883 | Stolen and sunk in Hudson river. |
| Nordenfelt I | Thorsten Nordenfelt | 1885 | 1901 | Sold to the Hellenic Navy and named Pireas, proved a failure and was scrapped in 1901. |
| Zalinski Boat (Holland IV) | John Philip Holland | Sep 1885 | 1886 | Funded by Edmund Zalinski and sold in 1886. |
| Nautilus | Ash and Campbell | 1886 | ? | Became stuck in the mud during trials and was discontinued. |
| Porpoise | James Franklin Waddington | 1886 | ? | Never sold and broken up for scrap. |
| Abdül Hamid (Nordenfelt II) | Barrow shipyard | 6 Sep 1886 | 1910 | Nordenfelt class, first submarine attempt to launch a live torpedo underwater and then sank, proved a failure and was scrapped. |
| Abdül Mecit (Nordenfelt III) | Barrow shipyard | 1886 | 1910 | Nordenfelt class, proved a failure and was scrapped. |
| Vuteas | Vuteas | 1886 | ? | Possibly available to the Hellenic Navy. |
| Nordenfelt IV | Thorsten Nordenfelt | 1887 | 1887 | Sold to the Russian government, proved a failure and was scrapped. |
| Gymnote | Zédé & Krebs | 24 Sep 1888 | 1908 | A research submarine that completed over 2,000 dives and then was scrapped. |
| Peral | Isaac Peral | 1888 | 1890 | Build for the Spanish Navy, On display at Cartagena Naval Museum. |
| Delfino | Giacinto Pullino (it) | 1890 | 1919 | Built for the Italian Regia Marina, it was stricken in 1919. |
| Gustave Zédé | Zédé & Romazzotti | 1893 | 1911 | One of the world's earliest effective naval submarines. |
| Vodobronnogo | Stefan Drzewiecki | 1893 | ? | |
| Argonaut Junior | Simon Lake | 1894 | 1895 | |
| Argonaut 1 & Argonaut 2 | Simon Lake | 1897 | 1901 | The Argonaut 2 was an enlarged reconstruction of the Argonaut 1. |
| Plunger (Holland V) | John Philip Holland | 7 Aug 1897 | 1899 | Scrapped in 1917. |
| USS Holland (SS-1) (Holland VI) | John Philip Holland | 1897 | 1910 | Commissioned in 1900 and decommissioned in 1905. |
| Versuchs-U-Boot (de) | Karl Leps | 1897 | 1898 | Scrapped in 1902 |
| Morse | Gaston Romazzotti | 1899 | 1909 | Stricken following an accident at sea. |
| Narval | Maxime Laubeuf | 1899 | 1920 | First double hulled dual propulsion boat, archetype for most European submarine designs in 20th century. |
| Fulton | Crescent shipyard | 1901 | 1905 | A prototype of the Plunger-class, also known as A-class. It was sold to Russia in 1905. |
| Protector | Simon Lake | 1901 | 1904 | Sold to Russia in 1904. |