The Confederate Submarine

New York Times ^ | February 17, 2014 | BY RON SOODALTER

[Brad from Tennessee]

The moonlit sea was unusually calm on the bitterly cold night of Feb. 17, 1864, when a watchman spotted a strange, partially submerged shape gliding steadily toward the side of the Union sloop-of-war Housatonic. The steam-powered warship was serving blockade duty outside Charleston Harbor, and was one of the Union’s biggest, best-armed vessels. Its men had heard reports of a new Confederate weapon, a “sub-torpedo”; still, it took a few minutes for the officer of the deck, John Crosby, to comprehend what he was seeing. By the time he did, it was too late.

The swiftly moving craft had passed under the Housatonic’s guns, and the small-arms fire now directed at it by the men on deck bounced harmlessly off its iron hull. The men onboard heard a muffled thud as the vessel planted an explosive charge in the Housatonic’s wooden side, below the waterline. Moments later, the charge detonated, lighting up the sky and sending the Yankee warship to the bottom, along with five of its sailors. The Housatonic had achieved the dubious distinction of becoming the first ship to be sunk by a submarine in combat – and the only vessel destined to be destroyed by the H.L. Hunley.

In the wake of the explosion, the Hunley’s commander signaled to the rebel lookouts on shore with a blue magnesium light, indicating that the mission had succeeded. The shore party obligingly built huge signal fires, to guide the Hunley home. But as the submarine’s crew back-powered furiously, something went terribly wrong. Perhaps the concussion from the blast compromised one or more of the seals that kept the ocean out. But shortly after the Housatonic went down, the Hunley and its eight-man crew joined her on the ocean floor. . .

[GeronL]

A couple of years after the Hunley, Spain built what could be called a much more modern sub

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peral_Submarine

[wally_bert]

I have to give credit where its due in the courage and daring department.

[wally_bert]

First I’d heard of this one. Thanks for sharing.

[GeronL]

The M1A1 vs the T-72

The Soviet designed tank looks like a little toy. lol

http://armour.ws/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/sizes.jpg

[wally_bert]

Thanks for the chart. Saved that one.

[PLMerite]

“They look like deathtraps and from what I have gathered were.”

Tankski go boom!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VdRnY-TUb4

[wally_bert]

I was talking to one TC during my summer vacation to Ft. Stewart that had been there and opposition armor was being engaged way beyond what their (Iraqi) guns could do and watching shells hit the sand. Then Abrams tanks would sit there, acquire and fire with hatches open and there would go turret and all up in the air when the 120mm connected.

[PLMerite]

There’s so much effective anti-tank stuff flying around these days, armor is the last place I’d want to be.

[wally_bert]

My dad was an armor jockey way back in the 60s before I was born and as a kid watching war movies, especially the great Kelly’s Heroes, he called tanks “armored coffins”.

If I had to be in any of them, Abrams is where I want to be but you are right about the wide world of anti-tank weapons. I’d rather be on the anti-tank side of the equation.

[LeoWindhorse]

Deo Vindice

[Peter Libra]

The post of much interest to me and I have spent some of a pleasant evening in poring over the record and the diagrams. It is with regret my travelling days long distance are likely over and I will never be able to visit the Hunley.

I thought I would mention the two submarines that I have visited in the United States. They were happy times as myself and wife from England, took full advantage of being at the border in Canada.

At Muskegon, Michigan lying at dock is the USS Silversides. The submarine was said to be 75% operative. People can go aboard. If anyone saw the film with the late Alan Hale, it told of a crew member with appendicitis. This in WW2. From a text book, the cook prepared his knives for an impromptu operation. The man survived.

Next to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. It was the U505, a German submarine that surrendered to US naval personnel, at the surrender of Germany. They were taken off and went aboard a US naval vessel. The last crewman tried to scuttle the sub, by taking out the filter device. The American sailors jumped aboard and fixed it. The whole thing is in Chicago.

So long ago, I hope my information is still pertinent.

[rockrr]

But they did teach about the Monitor and the Merrimack - which led me to explore on my own. It was part of those explorations that brought me to the story of the Hunley.

I have a movie in my collection - The Hunley. - about the creation and deployment of The Hunley. It took some big brass ones to go down in that thing!

[TweetEBird007]

Armor M.O.S. had the highest death rate by far during the
Vietnam affair. 27% of all armor mos were killed.

[Milton Miteybad]

I have to give credit where its due in the courage and daring department.

No doubt. At the Hunley exhibit in Charleston, the docent alluded to the fact that all hands on the Hunley were volunteers, which was surprising in and of itself because the mission for which the Hunley became famous was manned by its third crew.

The Hunley had actually sunk twice before, with the loss of five out of eight crew on its first voyage, and the loss of all eight crewmen on the second, including the vessel's namesake, Capt. Horace Hunley.

The men who volunteered for duty on the historic third Hunley mission were well aware of the fate of the first two missions. Why would they volunteer for a task meaning almost certain death? Because all of them understood the potential of the submarine to change the nature of naval warfare. Serving aboard the Hunley was the 19th century equivalent of being an astronaut a hundred years later. All of these guys understood the technological leap a successful submarine mission would be, and they wanted to be a part of it.

The exhibit also contained a replica of the Hunley, cut open from the rear so that visitors could enter. The first thing you notice is that the average 21st century American isn't going to fit through the hatch up top. The second thing you notice is how crowded that tin can would be with eight hands inside. You can only imagine the terror that would grip those on board as sea water came rushing in to drown them. Then you see that the only crewman who has even the most remote chance of exiting the tube in an emergency is the one standing directly under it. And that's only if he's the size of a current-day 11-year old...otherwise he has no chance at all, due to the tiny diameter of the hatch.

[GeronL]

People are just bigger now apparently

[Brad from Tennessee]

From the viewpoint of 1864 this vessel must have looked like an interplanetary vehicle.

[Nailbiter]

Silver sides is still in Michigan, now one can do sleep over for a fee.
U505 is still in Chicago at science and industry museum

[Brad from Tennessee]

[Joe Johnston went to Shermans funeral and died a few days later.]

After the war Joe Johnston worked as both an insurance and railroad executive and served a term in Congress. He became close friends with both Grant and Sherman—his main antagonists in the war. Johnston was a pallbearer at Sherman's funeral which took place in the rain. As the story goes, Johnston removed his hat at the graveside despite the rain saying Sherman would have shown him the same respect had their roles been reversed. Within a few days he contracted pneumonia and died.

[golux]

Baloney.

How enchantingly Coney Island of you, little "Yankee Reb."

[golux]

Lee said that in all history, he could not find a general like that of Grant.

Ahh yes! And he adored Lincoln, and the Union cause. Why, it was simply a matter of momentary confusion that the venerable old codger fought on the "wrong" side at all, right? Heck, I gots me twenny BONER-FEE-DAYS Confederate genny-rails on m'Mama's side, an' dey's all been wit' da twinny-sec,n Maine!