A short clip about the world’s first submarine keeps resurfacing online, and this time it has sent history-minded travelers digging for the real story. It turns out to be one of London’s stranger true tales: four centuries ago, a Dutch inventor rowed a working submersible beneath the River Thames while a king reportedly looked on.
The renewed interest is a reminder that some of the best travel stories are hiding in plain sight along a river most visitors only cross on the way to somewhere else. Here is what actually happened in the 1620s, why it still counts as a first, and how you can trace the story on a trip to London today.
Here’s the Quick Version
Cornelis Drebbel, a Dutch inventor working under King James I, built the first navigable submarine and tested it on the River Thames around 1620. The craft was a wooden rowing boat sealed with greased leather, propelled by oars that passed through tight seals, with air fed from the surface through tubes held up by floats. Accounts say it traveled underwater along the Thames between Westminster and Greenwich at a depth of several meters, watched by crowds and, by some tellings, the king himself. Drebbel built more than one version. No original survives, but the story is well documented, and a modern replica was built for television and later shown at a naval museum, giving travelers a real thread to follow.
Who Was Cornelis Drebbel?
Drebbel was a Dutch inventor and engineer born in Alkmaar in 1572, who ended up in England as a favorite at the court of King James I. He was the kind of restless polymath the era produced: an engraver turned builder of thermostats, optical instruments, and stage effects for the royal court. According to his Britannica biography, his most famous achievement was the submarine, a device far ahead of anything else in its day. He spent his later years in London, where he died in 1633.
What He Actually Built
The vessel was not a metal tube like a modern sub. It was basically a reinforced wooden rowboat wrapped in greased leather to keep the water out, with an interior air space for the crew. Oars stuck out through leather seals that flexed enough to row but held back the river. To keep the rowers breathing, tubes ran up to the surface and were held aloft by floats, an early snorkel of sorts. Ballast let the craft sink below the surface and rise again, and the whole thing was powered by human muscle rather than any engine.
The Thames Test That Made History
The demonstration is the part that captures imaginations. Around 1620, Drebbel is said to have taken the craft underwater along the Thames, with several accounts describing a run between Westminster and Greenwich at a depth of a few meters below the surface. As the London history site Londonist recounts, the spectacle drew crowds along the banks, and tradition holds that King James I may even have taken a turn aboard, which would make him one of the first monarchs to travel underwater. Drebbel reportedly built more than one version, each an improvement on the last.
Why It Counts as a First
People had sketched underwater craft before, but Drebbel’s is generally credited as the first one actually built and successfully navigated with people inside. Here is how the milestone breaks down:
| Element | What made it a first |
|---|---|
| Navigation | Moved under its own power beneath the surface, rather than sitting still submerged |
| Crewed | Carried and kept alive multiple rowers underwater |
| Air supply | Used surface tubes with floats to renew breathable air |
| Repetition | Demonstrated more than once, with improved later versions |
Those features add up to a genuine working submarine roughly 150 years before the ones better known from later naval history.
Can You See It Today?
No original craft survives, which is no surprise given greased leather and 400 years. What does exist is a modern reconstruction: a working replica built for a BBC engineering series in the early 2000s to test whether Drebbel’s design could really submerge, which it did. That replica was later put on public display at Britain’s national submarine museum in Gosport, on the south coast, and has surfaced at other maritime exhibitions over the years. For travelers, it turns a legend into something you can actually stand beside.
How to Trace the Story in London
You do not need the replica to enjoy the history on the ground. A riverside walk between Westminster and Greenwich retraces the rumored route of that first dive, and it happens to be one of the finest stretches of the Thames for sightseeing. Greenwich alone rewards the trip with the National Maritime Museum, the Cutty Sark, and the Royal Observatory, all of which set Drebbel’s feat in the wider story of British seafaring. Pair a river cruise or the riverside path with a maritime museum stop, and the submarine tale becomes the spark for a full day out. For more ideas, browse Visboo’s Travel section and our Education coverage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who built the first submarine?
Cornelis Drebbel, a Dutch inventor working at the court of King James I in England, is generally credited with building the first navigable submarine and testing it on the River Thames around 1620.
How did a 1620s submarine work?
It was a wooden rowing boat sealed with greased leather, propelled by oars through flexible seals. Air was fed from the surface through tubes held up by floats, and ballast let it sink and rise. Human muscle, not an engine, moved it.
Did King James I really go underwater in it?
Tradition holds that he may have taken a trip aboard during a Thames demonstration, which would make him one of the first monarchs to travel underwater. The claim is popular and long-repeated, though hard to confirm with certainty four centuries on.
Does the original submarine still exist?
No. No original survives. A working replica was built for a BBC engineering series in the early 2000s to prove the design could submerge, and it was later displayed at Britain’s national submarine museum in Gosport.
Where can travelers connect with the story?
A riverside walk or cruise between Westminster and Greenwich retraces the rumored route, and Greenwich’s maritime attractions place the feat in context. The submarine museum in Gosport is worth a detour for anyone chasing the replica itself.
What To Do Next
The viral clip gets one thing right: the first submarine really did glide under the Thames, long before the age of steel and diesel. For a traveler, that is a gift, a genuine wonder attached to a river you can walk beside today. Follow the water from Westminster to Greenwich, add a maritime museum, and let a 400-year-old dive turn an ordinary London day into a treasure hunt. For more, keep an eye on our Travel coverage.