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The Confederate States
of America used submarines in combat. They built small,
steam-powered submarines, called Davids, named for the
Bible's legendary giant-slayer. On Oct. 5, 1863, one of
these attacked the USS New Ironsides off the coast of
Charleston, South Carolina, disabling but not sinking
the ship with a 65-pound spar torpedo.
 The
Civil War also saw the first submarine to
successfully sink its target, the 40-foot-long Hunley ,
which was operated by eight men turning a hand crank
attached to her propeller shaft. The
Hunley
sank and was recovered three times during trial runs
before it was successful. On Feb. 16, 1864, under the
cover of darkness, the Hunley sank the USS Housatonic
off Charleston. Accounts differ as to the reason, but
the Hunley sank soon after sinking the Housatonic . It
was discovered in May 1995 off the coast of Charleston
and was recovered in August 2000. |
