Turtle (also called American Turtle) was the world’s first submersible vessel with a documented record of use in combat. It was built in 1775 by American David Bushnell as a means of attaching explosive charges to ships in a harbor, for use against the Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War.
That’s pretty ingenious. How long could it stay submerged? I’m guessing only a matter of minutes until the available air gave out? Or is that as deep as it could go? I’m guessing it could totally submerge because of the screw prop at the top.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle_(submersible)
Wiki suggest thirty minutes of air
Cool! Seems like a total death trap, but still cool.
Better than the confederate sub Hunley in the civil war, that fucker took out three of it’s own crews. Twenty-one crewmen died in the three sinkings of Hunley during her short career.
The sub was a secret Union patriot
Here’s a short video of the turtle https://youtu.be/hZTqDjMwejo