In the late 1800's, a number of nations, including the United States, Great Britan, France, Italy, and Russia experimented with submersible craft. The United States commissioned the first submarine, USS Holland on 12 October, 1900. Other nations quickly followed.
As technology improved, submarines quickly grew from naval oddities into true fighting craft. By the start of World War I, submarines were true warships possessed with frightening effectiveness, able to lay mines that could damage or destroy merchant shipping and fire torpedoes that could send the largest man-o-war to the bottom in moments.
However, this growth would not come without a price. Death came quickly, and all too often, for early submariners of all nations.
The following submarines were involved in accidents during this period:
| Submarine | Nationality | Date | Type of Accident |
| A.1 | British | 18 March 1904 | Collision |
| Delfin | Russian | 29 June 1904 | Foundered |
| A.5 | British | 16 February 1905 | Explosion |
| A.8 | British | 8 May 1905 | Flooding |
| Farfadet | French | 06 July 1905 | Flooding |
| Lutin | French | 16 October 1906 | Flooding |
| C-8 | British | 13 June 1907 | Explosion |
| Grampus | American | 18 September 1908 | Explosion |
| Foca | Italian | 16 April 1909 | Explosion |
| Kambala | Russian | 12 June 1909 | Collision |
| C.11 | British | 14 July 1909 | Collision |
| Drakon | Russian | 14 August 1909 | Explosion |
| No. 6 | Japanese | 15 April 1910 | Foundering |
| Forel | Russian | 17 May 1910 | Flooding |
| Pluvoise | French | 26 May 1910 | Collision |
| A-3 (SS-4) | American | 10 December 1910 | Man Overboard |
| U-3 | German | 17 January 1911 | Foundered |
| A.3 | British | 2 February 1912 | Collision |
| Vendémiaire | French | 08 June 1912 | Collision |
| B.2 | British | 4 October 1912 | Collision |
| E.5 | British | 8 June 1913 | Explosion |
| Minoga | Russian | 06 April 1913 | Foundering |
| C.14 | British | 10 December 1913 | Collision |
| Calypso | French | 08 July 1914 | Collsion |
| E-2 | American | 15 January 1915 | Explosion |
| A.7 | British | 16 January 1914 | Grounding (Underwater) |
| F-4 (SS-23) | American | 25 March 1915 | Foundered |
| USS E-2 (SS-25) | American | 15 January 1916 | Explosion |
Note: Most European countries entered WWI in August 1914 and submarine accidents after that time for those countries are included in the next section. However, the United States did not enter WWI until 06 April, 1917.
Continue to next section, World War I (1914-1918)
Return to U.S. Peacetime Submarine Losses