Hello Historians! I am currently reading A Sailor of Austria: In Which, Without Really Intending to, Otto Prohaska Becomes Official War Hero No. 27 of the Habsburg Empire (The Otto Prohaska Novels) (yes that's the title) by John Biggins. It is a historical fiction novel that centers around the memoirs of a submarine captain of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in WW1. Though it is a fiction, I have found that many of the common hardships, daily routines, etc in naval fictions have been fairly accurate (an example being Horatio Hornblower. Though the story itself is fiction, a lot of the descriptions of sea life is spot on and a good source for context).
Anyways, one of the aspects of submarine life that Briggins often refers to in this novel is the effects of petrol fumes on the crew of Prohaska's boat. There are numerous exposure cases he describes, such as crew members having to be strung to masts to "air out." When Prohaska initially takes command, his predecessor had committed suicide because he couldn't take the petrol fumes any more.
Was this a common threat for early submarines? How often were the crews exposed to these elements? From the descriptions in the books, it had a symptom of driving the individual mad, are there any other or more specific symptoms of petro exposure? I imagine the main source of these fumes were from the engine compartments, what specifically was releasing them and how were they eventually fixed?
The first generation of modern submarines did have gasoline or kerosene engines. Diesel engines quickly became standard, however, because of better efficiency and less flammable/volatile/dangerous fuel. Gasoline readily evaporates and the fumes are dangerous to your lungs and respiratory system over prolonged periods, but I don't know anything about any effects on mental health other than those from simple discomfort. Of course, there was supposed to be adequate ventilation whenever these engines were running, which was only while surfaced, so if the ventilation system had flaws or problems I could imagine places like the engine compartments could quickly become nasty.
Another big toxic danger to early, and even today's submariners, is what happens when the batteries are exposed to sea water. The batteries short through the conductive water and drive a reaction that produces large amounts of very toxic chlorine gas. Any sort of chlorine gas would force the submarine to immediately surface to vent and air out.