American Diver

Last updated

American Diver.jpg
Cross-section of the American Diver. From a sketch drawn by Jame R. McClintock in 1872.
History
Naval ensign of the Confederate States of America (1863-1865).svg C.S.A.
NameAmerican Diver
BuilderHorace L. Hunley
Laid down1862
LaunchedJanuary 1863
Out of serviceFebruary 1863
FateLost
General characteristics
Length36 ft (11 m)
Beam3 ft (0.91 m)
PropulsionHand-cranked propeller
Complement5 crew

American Diver, also known as the Pioneer II, was a prototype submarine built for the Confederate States of America military. It was the first successor to the Pioneer . The Diver was invented and built by the same consortium that built the Pioneer in New Orleans. It was composed of Horace Lawson Hunley, James McClintock, and Baxter Watson. They were forced to move their operations to Mobile, Alabama, following the capture of New Orleans by Union forces in April 1862. [1] Although ultimately unsuccessful, it served as a model in the development of the consortium's next submarine, the H. L. Hunley . The Hunley eventually became the first combat submarine to sink an enemy warship. [2]

History

The Diver was designed and built by the consortium in late 1862. Over the course of several months many costly attempts were made to propel the submarine with some type of electrical motor and then a steam engine, but both methods proved to be failures. The steam engine was finally replaced by a hand-crank. The submarine was ready for trials by January 1863. It required four crew members to turn the propeller crank and one to steer and was deemed to be too slow by the team. Nonetheless, it was decided in February 1863, to tow the submarine down the bay to Fort Morgan and attempt an attack on the Union blockade of Mobile. However, the submarine foundered in the heavy chop caused by foul weather and the currents at the mouth of Mobile Bay and sank. [3] The crew escaped, but the boat was not recovered. [4]

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Housatonic</i> (1861) Sloop-of-war of the United States Navy

USS Housatonic was a screw sloop-of-war of the United States Navy, taking its name from the Housatonic River of New England.

<i>H. L. Hunley</i> Submarine of the Confederate States of America

H. L. Hunley, also known as the Hunley, CSS H. L. Hunley, or CSS Hunley, was a submarine of the Confederate States of America that played a small part in the American Civil War. Hunley demonstrated the advantages and dangers of undersea warfare. She was the first combat submarine to sink a warship (USS Housatonic), although Hunley was not completely submerged and, following her attack, was lost along with her crew before she could return to base. Twenty-one crewmen died in the three sinkings of Hunley during her short career. She was named for her inventor, Horace Lawson Hunley, shortly after she was taken into government service under the control of the Confederate States Army at Charleston, South Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Confederate States Navy</span> Military unit

The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the American Civil War against the United States's Union Navy.

Intelligent Whale 1860s American experimental submarine

Intelligent Whale is an experimental hand-cranked submarine developed for potential use by the United States Navy in the 1860s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horace Lawson Hunley</span> American engineer (1823–1863)

Horace Lawson Hunley was a Confederate marine engineer during the American Civil War. He developed early hand-powered submarines, the most famous of which was posthumously named for him, H. L. Hunley.

CSS <i>Baltic</i> Ironclad of the Confederate States Navy

CSS Baltic was an ironclad warship that served in the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War. A towboat before the war, she was purchased by the state of Alabama in December 1861 for conversion into an ironclad. After being transferred to the Confederate Navy in May 1862 as an ironclad, she served on Mobile Bay off the Gulf of Mexico. Baltic's condition in Confederate service was such that naval historian William N. Still Jr. has described her as "a nondescript vessel in many ways". Over the next two years, parts of the ship's wooden structure were affected by wood rot. Her armor was removed to be put onto the ironclad CSS Nashville in 1864. By that August, Baltic had been decommissioned. Near the end of the war, she was taken up the Tombigbee River, where she was captured by Union forces on May 10, 1865. An inspection of Baltic the next month found that her upper hull and deck were rotten and that her boilers were unsafe. She was sold on December 31, and was likely broken up in 1866.

USS <i>Richmond</i> (1860) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Richmond was a wooden steam-powered sloop-of-war in the United States Navy during the American Civil War (1861–1865).

USS <i>Alligator</i> (1862) Submarine of the United States

USS Alligator, the fourth United States Navy ship of that name, is the first known U.S. Navy submarine, and was active during the American Civil War. During the Civil War the Confederate States Navy would also build its own submarine, H. L. Hunley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lower seaboard theater of the American Civil War</span> Military operations near the coastal areas of the Southeastern United States

The lower seaboard theater of the American Civil War encompassed major military and naval operations that occurred near the coastal areas of the Southeastern United States: in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Port Hudson, Louisiana, and points south of it.

The history of the submarine goes back to antiquity. Humanity has employed a variety of methods to travel underwater for exploration, recreation, research and significantly, warfare. While early attempts, such as those by Alexander the Great, were rudimentary, the advent of new propulsion systems, fuels, and sonar, propelled an increase in submarine technology. The introduction of the diesel engine, then the nuclear submarine, saw great expansion in submarine use — and specifically military use — during World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. The Second World War use of the U-Boat by the Kriegsmarine against the Royal Navy and commercial shipping, and the Cold War's use of submarines by the United States and Russia, helped solidify the submarine's place in popular culture. The latter conflicts also saw an increasing role for the military submarine as a tool of subterfuge, hidden warfare, and nuclear deterrent. The military use of submarines continues to this day, predominantly by North Korea, China, the United States and Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George E. Dixon</span> Commander of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley

George Erasmus Dixon was a first lieutenant in the Confederate Army in the American Civil War. He is best known as the commander of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley during her successful mission to sink the Union blockading ship USS Housatonic off Charleston, South Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobile in the American Civil War</span>

Mobile, Alabama, was an important port city on the Gulf of Mexico for the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. Mobile fell to the Union Army late in the war following successful attacks on the defenses of Mobile Bay by the Union Navy.

<i>Pioneer</i> (submarine) Confederate submarine from the American Civil War

Pioneer was the first of three submarines privately developed and paid for by Horace Lawson Hunley, James McClintock, and Baxter Watson.

USS Hoyt was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy for various tasks, including those of a torpedo boat.

USS Stockdale was a steamer commissioned by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.

CSS <i>Tuscaloosa</i> (ironclad)

CSS Tuscaloosa was an ironclad warship that served in the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War. Construction began in May 1862, under a contract with Henry D. Bassett. Her engines were taken from the steamboat Chewala, and she was armored with 4 inches (10 cm) of iron and armed with four cannons. In January 1863, she was launched, and traveled down to Mobile, Alabama for service on Mobile Bay. Both Tuscaloosa and her sister ship CSS Huntsville were found to be too slow for practical use, and were relegated to service as floating batteries. Union forces captured Mobile in April 1865, and Tuscaloosa was scuttled on April 12, as she was unable to escape due to an inability to steam against the current on the Spanish River. Her wreck was discovered in the 1980s.

Hand-cranked submarine may refer to:

<i>Huntsville</i>-class ironclad

The Huntsville-class ironclads consisted of two casemate ironclads ordered by the Confederate States Navy in 1862 to defend Mobile, Alabama, during the American Civil War. Completed the following year, they used propulsion machinery taken from steamboats, and were intended to be armored with 4 inches (102 mm) of wrought iron and armed with four cannons. Both CSS Tuscaloosa and her sister ship CSS Huntsville were found to be too slow for practical use, and were relegated to service as floating batteries. Union forces captured Mobile in April 1865, and the sisters were scuttled on April 12, as they were unable to escape due to an inability to steam against the current on the Spanish River.

References

  1. Keegan, John (2009). The American Civil War: A Military History. Random House. p. 287.
  2. "American Diver: A New Diver of Destruction". Friends of the Hunley. September 17, 2011. Archived from the original on December 11, 2002. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
  3. John S. Sledge (29 May 2015). The Mobile River. University of South Carolina Press. pp. 188–189. ISBN   978-1-61117-486-1.
  4. "The Birth of Undersea Warfare – H.L. Hunley". Undersea Warfare: The Official Magazine of the U.S. Submarine Force. United States Navy. 17 September 2011. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012.