Watch Submarine Warfare (1944) : Full Movie Online Free In the late 1800's the father of submarines, Mr John Holland, hit upon the idea of powering a submarine with an internal combustion engine and an electric motor. For over a hundred years, since the first semi-successful attempts during the American Civil War, submarine warfare had been fraught with difficulties and failure. In 1901, the Holland I was launched as the first Royal Navy submarine and submarines have been an integral part of the Navy ever since.