The Holland displaced on the surface at 63 tons and 74 tons when submerged. Dimensions included a running length of 53 feet with a beam of 10 feet and draught of 11.5 feet. While armed, her fitting was nominal and consisted of a single 457mm (18") torpedo tube and 1 x Zalinski pneumatic cannon ("dynamite gun") for close-range surface contacts and self-defense. The cannon was later removed.
Despite the seemingly impressive showing, the Holland showcased internal conditions that were heavily cramped for the crew of six with plenty of exposed inner workings apparent. Overall performance was never more than adequate for the age and its infant technology presented as much a danger to her crew due to asphyxiation or explosion that any one enemy warship might. There were few (if any) safety measures in place concerning undersea travel at the time.
Once in service, the Holland was primarily utilized as a training platform for future American submariners and proved hugely popular with the American press riding national fervor for their new development. Additionally, her activities allowed for the submarine to be closely studied and her data collected to be used in future US submarine classes. Her service life was limited on the whole for she was never pressed into combat and decommissioned as soon as July 17th, 1905. Her name was struck from the Naval Register on November 21st, 1910 to which the craft was then sold on June 18th, 1913 and, for a time, was placed on display in Paterson, New Jersey. In 1932, her hull was sold for scrapping bringing an end to her physical history - her influence, however, endured.
At any rate, the USS Holland served its purpose for her time, providing the growing USN with its inevitable stepping stone into the future of naval undersea warfare. The craft was a real world classroom of sorts and provided initial early successes into a new realm of warfare. Though not involved in any type of operational combat throughout her service life, the Holland nonetheless proved useful in her training endeavors. She was also influential in the design of other early submarines of the era - namely those of the British Royal Navy (as the HMS Holland 1) and those appearing in Japan.
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