First submersible used in combat

First submersible used in combat

Last updated: November 29, 2017 at 5:31 am

The Turtle - American David Bushnell built the first submersible ever used in combat in 1775. The Turtle, which was made of wood and operated by a single crewman, was used unsuccessfully against British ships blockading New York Harbor during the American Revolutionary War in 1776.

SOURCE:

Burns, William E., Science and Technology in Colonial America. Greenwood Publishing Group. 2005

The Turtle. Image by NOAA (Public Domain)

This 19th-century diagram shows the side views of Turtle. It incorrectly depicts the propeller as a screw blade instead of a paddle blade. Image by William Oliver Stevens (Public Domain)

Portrait of Ezra Lee, Turtle's operator (Public Domain)

Comments are moderated: (1) Stay on topic (2) Be respectful (3) Refrain from vulgarity and abusive language (4) Do not publish materials that violate copyright. OFFENDING COMMENTS WILL BE DELETED.

Longest stay in an underwater habitat [Europe]

By Jeffrey Gallant | Apr 23, 2017

36 days | Lacustris Programme (Romania) — Aquanauts Liviu Miron & Constantin Mihai set the European record of 36 days [...]

Slowest fish

By Jeffrey Gallant | May 22, 2017

Dwarf seahorse (Hippocampus zosterae) — 152 cm per hour (0.001 km/h) or 60 in. per hour (0.0009 mph). Size: 4.2 cm (1.7 in). The dwarf seahorse swims in an upright position using its [...]

Most valuable fish

By Jeffrey Gallant | May 20, 2017

The bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) can measure up to 3 m (10 ft) in length weigh more than 635 kg (1,400 lbs). On January 4, 2019, a single 222-kg (489 lbs) bluefin was sold for [...]

Oldest drinkable champagne… and beer?

By Jeffrey Gallant | May 29, 2017

In 2010, Swedish divers recovered 145 bottles of champagne and five bottles of beer from the 170-year-old Föglö wreck south of the Åland [...]

First saturation dive under polar ice

By Jeffrey Gallant | Apr 7, 2017

Jim English (Memorial University, Canada) and Bob Wicklund (Manager Hydrolab, USA) — Arctic IV Expedition led by Dr. Joe MacInnis in Resolute Bay [...]

First mixed gas dives under polar ice

By Jeffrey Gallant | Apr 7, 2017

Doug Elsey (Canada) — Arctic IV Expedition led by Dr. Joe MacInnis in Resolute Bay, Nunavut (Canada), May 1974. Elsey descended to 67 m [...]

Coldest salt water

By Jeffrey Gallant | May 23, 2017

-10°C (14°F) — Lake Vida, Antarctica (1996). The hypersaline water of Lake Vida has seven times the salt concentration of seawater and remains liquid at much colder [...]

Coldest seawater

By Jeffrey Gallant | May 23, 2017

Seawater with an average salinity of 35 ppt (parts per thousand) freezes at -1.94°C (28.5°F). The coldest seawater ever recorded at −2.6 °C (27.3 °F) was found in a stream under [...]

Oldest shipwreck ever found

By Jeffrey Gallant | Apr 23, 2017

14th or 13th century B.C. — Uluburun, Turkey. The wreck was discovered by a Turkish sponge diver Mehmet Cakir at a depth of 46 m (150 ft) in 1982. It is [...]