Stepan Dzhevetskii

Born 1843 in Podol’e Province; died 1938 in Paris. Russian researcher and inventor, designer of a number of submarines.

Two submarines of his design (for a crew of one and a crew of four) were launched in 1879, armed with mine devices and propelled by muscle power through a foot drive. A periscope was first used on the second boat. In 1880, Dzhevetskii worked out the design for the first submarine with an electric engine. Together with A. N. Krylov, he proposed a design for a submarine with a water displacement of 120 tons, a steam engine, and room for a 12-man crew (the design won first prize at the International Competition in Paris in 1898). In 1907 the submarine Pochtovyi was built according to Dzhevetskii’s design, with a single engine for underwater and surface propulsion. Dzhevetskii is also known as a designer of aircraft propellers. In 1882 he was elected vice-chairman of the aeronautics section of the Russian Technical Society. In 1892 he emigrated to Paris and became an entrepreneur.