{{Short description|Name of two Victorian submarines}} {{Other uses}} {{Use British English|date=February 2016}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} {{Italic title}} [[File:Resurgam replica, Woodside, Birkenhead (geograph 4545804).jpg|thumb|A replica of the ''Resurgam'', built in 1878–79. The replica was built in 1997 and is on display close to the Woodside terminal of the Mersey Ferry in Birkenhead, Wirral]] '''''Resurgam''''' (Latin: "I shall rise again") is an early submarine from the Victorian era and its prototype, designed and built in Britain by Reverend George Garrett. She was intended as a weapon to penetrate the chain netting placed around ship hulls to defend against attack by torpedo vessels.

==''Resurgam'' I== The first ''Resurgam'', built in 1878-79, was a 14&nbsp;ft (5 m), hand-powered, one-man vessel nicknamed "the curate's egg" because of her shape.<ref>{{cite book|first1=James P. |last1=Delgado|authorlink1=James P. Delgado|first2=Clive|last2=Cussler|authorlink2=Clive Cussler|title=Silent Killers: Submarines and Underwater Warfare|publisher=Bloomsbury|year=2010|page=78}}</ref> She was a one-third size prototype for Garrett's design.

==''Resurgam'' II== ===Construction=== thumb|right|Sketch of the design of ''Resurgam II'' by George Garrett The second ''Resurgam'' was built by Cochran & Co. at Birkenhead<ref name="OldMerseytimes2017">{{cite web|title=Cochran and Co, Birkenhead, 1878 – 1898|url=http://www.old-merseytimes.co.uk/cochran.html|website=Old Merseytimes|accessdate=13 August 2017}}</ref> and launched on 26 November 1879. Her construction was of iron plates fastened to iron frames, with the central section of the vessel clad with wood secured by iron straps. As built, she was {{convert|45|ft|m}} long by {{convert|10|ft|m}} in diameter, weighed {{convert|30|LT|MT}}, and had a crew of three. She was powered by a closed-cycle steam engine originally patented in 1872 by the American engineer Emile Lamm, which provided enough steam to turn the single propeller for up to four hours. She was designed to have positive buoyancy, and diving was controlled by a pair of hydroplanes amidships. At the time she cost £1,538.<ref name="Gateway">{{cite web|url=http://www.mersey-gateway.org/server.php?show=ConNarrative.27&chapterId=119|title=Construction and launch of the Resurgam|work=E. Chambré Hardman Archive|accessdate=2009-10-17|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222055529/http://www.mersey-gateway.org/server.php?show=ConNarrative.27&chapterId=119|archivedate=22 February 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

After successful trials in the East Float at Wallasey, it was planned that ''Resurgam'' should make her way under her own power from Birkenhead to Portsmouth for a demonstration to the Royal Navy.

===Loss=== On 10 December 1879 ''Resurgam'', crewed by Garrett, Jackson (as skipper) and Price (engineer) set out for Portsmouth. However, during the voyage mechanical problems caused the crew to dock at Foryd Harbour, Rhyl, for repairs. Once completed, and after trials, the crew set sail on the night of 24 February 1880 in a high wind, towed by the steam yacht ''Elphin'', which Garrett had bought to act as a tender. The ''Elphin'' developed engine problems and the ''Resurgam's'' crew transferred to her to assist. Because the entry hatch on the ''Resurgam'' could not be fastened from outside, the submarine began to ship water and the tow-rope broke under the added weight, the ''Resurgam'' sank in Liverpool Bay off Rhyl on 25 February 1880.<ref>Jones p127</ref>

===Discovery of wreck=== For many years the exact location of ''Resurgam'' was a mystery. In 1995, she was found by a wreck diver, Keith Hurley, while he was attempting to clear snagged fishing nets in {{convert|60|ft|m}} of water. On 4 July 1996 ''Resurgam'' was designated protected wreck No. 42 under the Protection of Wrecks Act. The site of the wreck covers an area {{convert|900|ft|m}} in radius at {{coord|53|23.78|N|03|33.18|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=title,inline}}.

The ''Resurgam'''s hull is intact although partially damaged and remains at risk from illegal diving and trawling. Since her discovery, the conning tower steering wheel has been broken and portable items have gone missing.<ref>Jones p139</ref>

In 1997, a project called SUBMAP was undertaken by the Archaeological Diving Unit to study the wreck site. Over 100 volunteer divers, coordinated by the Nautical Archaeology Society, surveyed the structure of the hull and the colonising marine life around it, using remote sensing equipment to search for debris in the surrounding area. The results of the SUBMAP project have been published as a comprehensive digital archive using Site Recorder.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.3hconsulting.com/SitesResurgam.htm |title=''Resurgam'' Archive |accessdate=2009-09-04 |publisher=3H Consulting|url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091205040431/http://www.3hconsulting.com/SitesResurgam.htm |archivedate=5 December 2009 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The wreck is currently protected against further corrosion by sacrificial anodes that had been attached to the hull. Plans to raise her have so far not been fruitful.

''Resurgam'' was featured in the TV programme ''Wreck Detectives'' in 2004. In 2007, divers from the British Sub-Aqua Club in Trafford undertook conservation work, placing zinc sacrificial anodes on the wreck.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/divers-take-the-plunge-1007027|title=Divers take the plunge|author=Dean Kirby|date=15 October 2007|work=men|accessdate=16 February 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.divernet.com/home-diving-news/p294779-resurgam-revisited.html|title=Resurgam revisited|work=Divernet|accessdate=16 February 2016|archive-date=26 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151126081203/http://www.divernet.com/home-diving-news/p294779-resurgam-revisited.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2012 divers from the British Sub-Aqua Club in Chester replaced sacrificial anodes on the wreck.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19146040|title=Chester divers attempt to save Resurgam II submarine|work=BBC News|accessdate=16 February 2016}}</ref>

==Replica== A replica of the vessel was built by trainees at the AMARC Training College attached to the Cammell Laird shipyard, Birkenhead, in 1996–97. She was put on display at Woodside Ferry Terminal, Birkenhead, in March 1997.

Students of the North West Maritime and Engineering College refurbished the replica in 2009, after it had fallen into disrepair.

==See also== * ''Plongeur'' * ''Ictineo II''

== Notes == {{Reflist}}

==References== * ''The Father of the Submarine'', Scanlan Murphy W., 1987, William Kimber & Co Ltd, {{ISBN|0-7183-0654-6}} * [http://www.divernet.com/cgi-bin/articles.pl?id=3971&section=&action=display&show=resurgam Divernet article about discovering the submarine]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Retrieved 20 November 2006 * Fenwick, Valerie and Gale, Alison (1998), pp 143–144, ''Historic Shipwrecks, Discovered, Protected and Investigated'', Tempus Publishing Limited, {{ISBN|0-7524-1473-9}}. * [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1996/Uksi_19961741_en_1.htm Statutory Instrument 1996 No. 1741] Office of Public Sector Information. Retrieved 19 October 2006 * [http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/upload/pdf/ACHWS_annual_report_2005.pdf Advisory Committee on Historic Wreck Annual Report 2005]. Retrieved 6 October 2006 * [http://www.channel4.com/science/microsites/W/wreck_detectives/prog_resurgam.html Wreck Detectives 2004] * [http://www.irishseashipping.co.uk/archives/news/1997/MS0397.html Mersey Shipping News (16 March 1997)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231005194445/http://www.irishseashipping.co.uk/archives/news/1997/MS0397.html |date=5 October 2023 }} Retrieved 12 October 2007 * [https://web.archive.org/web/20091205032628/http://www.3hconsulting.com/images/Siteimages/Webresurgam/index.html SUBMAP Photographs] Retrieved 4 September 2009 * Compton-Hall R. (1999), pp 81–94, ''The Submarine Pioneers'', Sutton Publishing Ltd, {{ISBN|0-7509-2154-4}} * {{cite journal|first=Julie|last=Richards-Williams|title=Resurgam – "I will rise again..."|journal=Old Glory|issue=159|date=May 2003|pages=16–18}} * Scanlan Murphy W. (1987), pp 62–83, ''The Father of the Submarine'', William Kimber & Co Ltd, {{ISBN|0-7183-0654-6}} * Bowers P. (1999), pp89–129, ''The Garrett Enigma'', Airlife Publishing Ltd., {{ISBN|1-84037-066-1}} * Ivor Wynne Jones, ''Shipwrecks of North Wales'' 5th Ed (2007) {{ISBN|978-1-84306-338-4}} * {{Cite web |date=6 August 2012 |title=Chester divers attempt to save Resurgam II submarine |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19146040 |website=BBC News}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Resurgam submarines}}

{{1880 shipwrecks}}

Category:English inventions Category:Shipwrecks in the Irish Sea Category:Ships built on the River Mersey Category:Protected wrecks of Wales Category:19th-century submarines Category:Maritime incidents in February 1880 Category:1880 in Wales Category:Abandoned military projects of the United Kingdom Category:Archaeology of shipwrecks Category:1878 ships Category:1879 ships