A montage of seven views showing parts of the launching of a Trident I C-4 missile from the submerged nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine USS FRANCIS SCOTT KEY (SSBN-657) and the Trident's re-entry bodies as they plunge into the earth's atmosphere and then into the Atlantic Ocean

Beginning in ancient times, humans sought to operate under the water. The legendary origins of the submarine stretch back to 332 BC with a tale about Alexander the Great being lowered into the sea in a glass barrel to study fish. The submarine concept was thereafter consigned to the backwaters of history for some 1,800 years. This collection presents various submarines: from small and simple to nuclear-powered underwater behemoths.