(www.MaritimeCyprus.com)ย On the 7th Sept. 1776, during the Revolutionary War, the American submersible craftย Turtleย attempts to attach a time bomb to the hull of British Admiral Richard Howeโs flagshipย Eagleย inย New Yorkย Harbor. It was the first use of a submarine in warfare.
Submarines were first built by Dutch inventor Cornelius van Drebel in the early 17th century, but it was not until 150 years later that they were first used in naval combat. David Bushnell, an American inventor, began building underwater mines while a student at Yale University. Deciding that a submarine would be the best means of delivering his mines in warfare, he built an eight-foot-long wooden submersible that was christened theย Turtleย for its shape. Large enough to accommodate one operator, the submarine was entirely hand-powered. Lead ballast kept the craft balanced.
Donated to the Patriot cause after the outbreak of war with Britain in 1775, Ezra Lee piloted the craft unnoticed out to the 64-gun HMSย Eagleย in New York Harbor on September 7, 1776. As Lee worked to anchor a time bomb to the hull, he could see British seamen on the deck above, but they failed to notice the strange craft below the surface. Lee had almost secured the bomb when his boring tools failed to penetrate a layer of iron sheathing. He retreated, and the bomb exploded nearby, causing no harm to either theย Eagleย or theย Turtle.
During the next week, theย Turtleย made several more attempts to sink British ships on the Hudson River, but each time it failed, owing to the operatorโs lack of skill. Only Bushnell was really able to competently execute the submarineโs complicated functions, but because of his physical frailty he was unable to pilot theย Turtleย in any of its combat missions. During the Battle of Fort Lee, theย Turtleย was lost when the American sloop transporting it was sunk by the British.
Despite the failures of theย Turtle, Generalย George Washingtonย gave Bushnell a commission as an Army engineer, and the drifting mines he constructed destroyed the British frigateย Cereberusย and wreaked havoc against other British ships. After the war, he became commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stationed at West Point.
