Submarines for South-east Asia

Submarines have always attracted a great deal of attention and criticism. Much of the attention has derived from the unique quality of submarines; the capacity to operate independently for relatively long periods in seas dominated by an enemy, ¹ which results from their ability to remain submerged and undetected for lengths of time determined by their mode of propulsion. Initially criticism of submarines centred on their limited utility, with early operational examples being ‘primitive, thoroughly unreliable craft,’ ² and the sense that they were somehow illegitimate weapons. Admiral of the Fleet Sir Arthur Wilson had in 1902 described the submarine as ‘underhand, unfair and damned unEnglish.’ ³