The H. L. Hunley Submarine Background Summary
The engineers that drew the plans and constructed the Civil War submarine H. L. Hunley were far ahead of their time. Several men were a part of the evolution that led up to the first successful submarine. James McClintock, Baxter Watson and Horace L. Hunley were the three main innovators behind the Confederate secret weapon concept that would eventually lead to the H. L. Hunley. McClintock, Horace Hunley and Watson first built the submarine Pioneer in New Orleans in 1861 to defend the city against Federal forces. The three men later constructed two submarines at Mobile, Alabama: the American Diver and the H. L. Hunley. The Hunley was taken to Charleston, South Carolina, in August 1863.
From cylindrical iron plates bound together by iron strips and rivets, the H. L. Hunley began to take shape. Its hull dimensions measured 40 feet long, 4 feet high with a beam of 3.5 feet. At each of the sub’s tapered ends were water ballast tanks with a seacock open to the outside water. The H. L. Hunley crew could submerge their vessel by opening the seacocks and filling the ballast tanks. With a hand pump they could eject water from the ballast tanks and raise the sub. By the light of a single candle, a mercury gauge was used by the crew to verify their depth. Her heavy iron keel ensured they would travel through the water upright.
Once all eight crewmembers were inside the submarine and in their stations, there was barely enough room to move within the sub. Even getting in and out was a tight squeeze. The two hatchways, one fore and one aft, were cylindrical “manholes” whose openings measured just 16 inches by 20 inches. Entering the submarine was like trying to fit through the center of a tire. These hatches sat atop two conning towers and were positioned approximately 20 feet apart. Several small viewing ports were located on each conning tower.
On top of the sub sat an air box, also referred to as a snorkel box. This snorkel box was fitted with four-foot snorkel tubes that were attached with stopcocks that could be closed when the sub dived below four feet. Without rising to the surface to take on fresh air, the sub could still remain underwater for over two hours.
The H. L. Hunley was fitted with a bow-mounted spar torpedo. The spar torpedo was designed to be rammed into the hull of an enemy ship. An explosive device was fastened to the end of the 17 foot spar and fitted with a barb on its end. When Dixon detonated the torpedo, recent findings show the H. L. Hunley was about 20 feet away from the explosion.
The navigational tools were far more advanced than most experts thought. Archaeologists uncovered a vertical steering rod that appears to be part of an involved system of rods used to connect the submarine rudder. Two lateral fins, or “dive planes,” were connected by a horizontal rod. By moving a lever inside the sub, the dive planes could be adjusted, changing the sub’s underwater position and depth.
The sub was powered manually by turning a crankshaft which in turn powered the propeller. Imagine the thoughts running through the crew’s minds as the rhythm of iron cranks turned taking them miles out to sea.
Besieged Charleston remained hopeful that the curious torpedo boat would be able to break the blockade of Union ships that were choking the city.
On February 17, 1864, after many trials and difficulties, including two fatal accidents, the second one killing Horace L. Hunley, the refurbished H. L. Hunley lead by Lt. Dixon and a crew of seven, became the first submarine to successfully sink an enemy warship when she engaged the Union blockading steamer USS Housatonic off the coast of Charleston harbor.
The explosion caused the USS Housatonic to sink to the bottom, killing five sailors. After her historic achievement, the Hunley and all hands onboard vanished into the sea without a trace.
In 1995, a team of archaeologists funded by author and adventurer Clive Cussler found the Hunley resting on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. Intact and remarkably well preserved, the Hunley was found buried deep within the sand and silt just outside Charleston harbor. The recovery of the Hunley has turned out to be one of the most important single events in the history of South Carolina. After being lost at sea for 136 years, the Hunley was revealed on August 8, 2000, seen for the first time in her entirety, from bow to stern and top to bottom.
Today, Clemson University, the South Carolina Hunley Commission and a private, non-profit group called the Friends of the Hunley, through the Clemson Conservation Center are solving the mystery of the Hunley like a puzzle that reveals new information one piece at a time. Scientists at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center are working to put these pieces together and answer the many questions surrounding this historic event. They are engaged in the single most important archaeological investigation of the century and everyday are coming closer to solving the mystery of why the Hunley never came home.
Work Cited & Consulted
Friends of the Hunley. Friends of the Hunley, 2005. Web. 11 Nov. 09. www.hunley.org.