The world got you down? Wish you could escape to somewhere calm, beautiful and quiet? No problem! Just hop into one of these amazing one-man submersibles, take a deep breath and propel yourself down into the deep blue sea. Serenity awaits.
This is the Nordenfelt I, 1884 brainchild of Swedish inventor and industrialist Thorsten Nordenfelt 1884
Picture: Wikimedia Commons
One of the two Resurgam, an early Victorian submarine designed and built in Britain by Reverend George Garrett in 1878-79. The Resurgam I was a hand-powered, one-man submersible; the Resurgam II had a three-man crew and was steam-powered.
Picture: Garrett/Henry Guttmann/Getty Images
A submarine motor car, invented by Michel Andre in 1937.
Picture: Horace Abrahams/Fox Photos/Getty Images
The Motorised Submersible Canoe (MSC) — nicknamed ‘Sleeping Beauty’ — was a British underwater reconnaissance or attack vehicle for a single frogman during World War II.
Picture: National Archives of England, Wales and the UK Government
The Biber, a German midget submarine of the German Navy during World War II, came armed with two externally mounted torpedoes.
Picture: geni/Wikimedia Commons
The Welman submarine was a WWII one-man British midget submarine developed by the Special Operations Executive, but it was not very successful.
Picture: Minewarfare & Clearance Diving Officers’ Association
This K-250 one-person submersible was designed by retired US Navy WWII submarine captain George Kittredge in the 1960s.
Picture: Steve/Flickr
Mikhail Puchkov’s homemade personal submarine made a splash in the 1980s.
Picture: Mikhail Puchkov
This is the one-man microsubmersible Mantis, designed by Graham Hawkes, British marine engineer and submarine designer. You might remember it from For Your Eyes Only.
Picture: Osel979/Wikimedia Commons
C-Quester was one of the first mass-produced personal submersibles by the Dutch U-Boat Workx. Production was discontinued in favour of multi-passengers subs.
Picture: U-Boat Workx
Newtsub Deepworker 2000, a single-person submersible by Nuytco Research.
Picture: NASA Analog/Flickr
Deep Rover, another single-person submersible by Nuytco Research.
Picture: T. Kerby/OAR/National Undersea Research Program (NURP); University of Hawaii/NOAA
The Innespace Dolphin prototype personal watercraft, which can ride on top of, leap out of, or dive under the water’s surface.
Picture: Scott Olson/Getty Images
AquaVenture WaterCrafts prototype sub, 2010.
Picture: AquaVenture/Facebook
Virgin Oceanic Expeditions’ deep sea submarine, seen here in 2011, is currently still undergoing testing.
James Cameron’s Deepsea Challenger made it about as far underwater as you can go.
Picture: Charlie Arneson/Deepsea Challenge Facebook
Omer 8, a human-powered submarine recently built by students of the École de technologie supérieure (School of Higher Technology) in Montreal, Quebec.
Picture: Omerets
Top picture: Mikhail Puchkov