A bow view of the Los Angeles class nuclear-powered attack submarine CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI (SSN-705) sliding down the ways at the completion of the launch ceremony

Beginning in ancient times, humans sought to operate under the water. The legendary origins of the submarine stretch back to 332 BC with a tale about Alexander the Great being lowered into the sea in a glass barrel to study fish. The submarine concept was thereafter consigned to the backwaters of history for some 1,800 years. This collection presents various submarines: from small and simple to nuclear-powered underwater behemoths.