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A submarine is a watercraft that can operate underwater at pressures beyond the range of unaided human survivability. Submarines, first widely used in World War I, are used by all major navies today, especially the American, Russian and British navies. Civilian submarines and submersibles are used for marine and freshwater science and for work at depths too great for human divers. Submarines are typically referred to as "boats" even though most modern submarines should technically be called "ships". The term U-Boat is sometimes used for German submarines in English. This comes from the German word for submarine, 'U-Boot', itself an abbreviation for Unterseeboot ('undersea boat'). The vertical structure, usually located amidships, houses communications and sensing devices as well as periscopes. In the United States Navy it is called the "sail", not the "conning tower", a term associated with German submarines. (Actually, even US submarines until the advent of nuclear powered boats used conning towers, primarily for periscope depth torpedo attacks)