Resurgam

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Resurgam (Latin for “I shall rise again”) was one of the first mechanically powered submarines put to sea. Resurgam II was launched at Birkenhead on 26 November 1879. It sank on 25 February 1880 near Rhyl in Wales, without loss of life, while being towed to Portsmouth. The wreck was discovered in 1995 in 18 m (60 ft) of water. It was designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act on 4 July 1996.

The submarine was designed and built by Reverend George Garrett as a weapon to penetrate the chain netting placed around ship hulls to defend against attack by torpedo vessels.

There were two Resurgam submarines. The first was a 14 ft (5 m), hand powered, one-man vessel nick-named “the curate's egg” due to its shape. The second was more easily compared with a modern submarine. It was 40 ft (12 m) long, 9 ft (3 m) in diameter and weighed 30 tons. It was powered by a steam engine with an underwater duration of 4 hours under power.

Resurgam was featured on a Discovery Channel "Wreck Detective" TV program in 2006.

Resurgam is also the motto for the city of Portland, Maine.