Submarine aids in Revolution in 1776

The Turtle was the first successful military submersible, and was used during the Revolutionary War. Built by American Patriot David Bushnell in 1775, the Turtle was the first submarine to attack a ship, attempting to sink the HMS Eagle. It also attacked British Royal Navy vessels blockading the New York Harbor in 1776.

This craft could have water pumped into and out of it to make it rise and fall. While a student at Yale, Bushnell proved that gunpowder could explode underwater and created the first time bomb. He then used these ideas to create a vessel that would affix explosives to the undersides of British warships.

The Turtle was an egg-shaped, one-man vessel, torpedo boat that resembled a turtle when in the water. The vessel was made of two wooden shells covered with tar and reinforced with steel bands. The Turtle was the first submarine capable of independent underwater movement and operation. It was also the first underwater vessel to use propellers for propulsion.

Bushnell offered the submarine to General George Washington to help defend New York City. Though the Turtle tried and failed to sink a British warship, George Washington wrote that Bushnell’s attempt was “an effort of genius” but that “a combination of too many things was requisite” for such an attempt to succeed. It wasn’t the first submarine invented. Attempts date back as far as 332 B.C.E., when it is said that Alexander the Great had a glass barrel constructed that he could use to go underwater and study fish.

In 1578, William Bourne, an English mathematician, published a book about inventions where he explained how an enclosed vessel could be made to sink in the water and then rise again by expanding and contracting its volume. He designed a completely enclosed wooden boat bound in waterproof leather, which could be submerged and rowed beneath the surface.

Cornelius Drebbel built a submerged craft that could be propelled under the water in 1620. The Drebbel I was an enclosed rowboat equipped with pigskin bladders that could be filled with water to submerge the craft and emptied to raise it. Others followed improving submersibles, but most were human-powered. The Plongeur became the first engine-powered submarine launched in 1864. Developed by the French Navy and using compressed air to power its engine, it was reported to be hard to steer and very slow.

With the onset of the Civil War, attempts began again to develop a military submarine. The Union’s Alligator was the first Navy sub, but was lost in a storm while being towed to Charleston, South Carolina for deployment. The Confederacy had a famous sub known as the Hunley in 1864. It became the first submarine to sink a ship, taking down he USS Housatonic, but then sank itself.

The United States Navy purchased a modern military submarine from Irish engineer John Philip Holland. This submarine had an internal combustion engine, electric motor and battery. The Holland VI was put into service in 1900 and renamed the USS Holland. The Navy ordered seven more and soon other nations were building and deploying military submarines.

Germans brought submarines known as U-boats to the forefront during World War II. U-boats carried fuel tanks that allowed them to run for up to two months before needing to refuel. They could dive up to 650 feet and cruised Atlantic shipping lanes, targeting and sinking allied supply ships. At the end of World War II, a new era of military submarine use began with radar technology, sonar and nuclear power. Submarines could stay underwater longer, travel faster and were equipped with missiles.

Submarines continue to help keep nations safe, carrying out surveillance operations and acting as nuclear deterrents. They also deploy special forces and remove troops from hostile environments. They are important in scientific research and underwater tourism.