Why did Le Plongeur quickly run out of power during travel?

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USS Nautilus — submarine The former USS *Nautilus*, launched in 1954, being towed to Groton, Connecticut, to become a museum, May 1985.

The French submarine Le Plongeur, built in 1864, was powered by an 80-horsepower compressed-air engine. The vessel quickly exhausted its air tanks whenever it got underway, which limited its ability to maintain power during travel.1