<P> Wireless was used to provide communication to and from submarines in the First World War . The D - class submarine was the first submarine class to be fitted with wireless transmitters in 1907 . With time the type, range and bandwidth of the communications systems have increased . With the danger of intercept, transmissions by a submarine are minimised . Various periscope - mounted aerials have been developed to allow communication without surfacing . </P> <P> The standard navigation system for early submarines was by eye, with use of a compass . The gyrocompass was introduced in the early part of the 20th century and inertial navigation in the 1950s . The use of satellite navigation is of limited use to submarines, except at periscope depth or when surfaced . </P> <P> The first military submarine was Turtle in 1776 . During the American Revolutionary War, Turtle (operated by Sgt . Ezra Lee, Continental Army) tried and failed to sink a British warship, HMS Eagle (flagship of the blockaders) in New York harbor on September 7, 1776 . There is no record of any attack in the ships' logs . </P> <P> During the War of 1812, in 1814 Silas Halsey lost his life while using a submarine in an unsuccessful attack on a British warship stationed in New London harbor . </P>

When was the first submarine used in war