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N0KFQ > TODAY 15.10.14 16:31l 51 Lines 2130 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 38153_N0KFQ
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Oct 15
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N0KFQ
Sent: 141015/1424Z 38153@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.60
Oct 15, 1863:
Confederate submarine sinks during tests
On this day in 1863, the C.S.S. Hunley, the world's first
successful combat submarine, sinks during a test run, killing its
inventor and seven crewmembers.
Horace Lawson Hunley developed the 40-foot submarine from a
cylinder boiler. It was operated by a crew of eight_one person
steered while the other seven turned a crank that drove the
ship's propeller. The Hunley could dive, but it required calm
seas for safe operations. It was tested successfully in Alabama's
Mobile Bay in the summer of 1863, and Confederate commander
General Pierre G.T. Beauregard recognized that the vessel might
be useful to ram Union ships and break the blockade of Charleston
Harbor. The Hunley was placed on a railcar and shipped to South
Carolina.
The submarine experienced problems upon its arrival. During a
test run, a crewmember became tangled in part of the craft's
machinery and the craft dove with its hatch open; only two men
survived the accident. The ship was raised and repaired, but it
was difficult to find another crew that was willing to assume the
risk of operating the submarine. Its inventor and namesake
stepped forward to restore confidence in his creation. On October
15, he took the submarine into Charleston Harbor for another
test. In front of a crowd of spectators, the Hunley slipped below
the surface and did not reappear. Horace Hunley and his entire
crew perished.
Another willing crew was assembled and the Hunley went back into
the water. On February 17, 1864, the ship headed out of
Charleston Harbor and approached the U.S.S. Housatanic. The
Hunley stuck a torpedo into the Yankee ship and then backed away
before the explosion. The Housatanic sank in shallow water, and
the Hunley became the first submarine to sink a ship in battle.
However, its first successful mission was also its last_the
Hunley sank before it returned to Charleston, taking yet another
crew down with it. The vessel was raised in 2000, and is now on
exhibit in Charleston.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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