British midget sub design details

Description:Something that he saw whilst strolling along the River Thames gave him an idea which led to a diving machine that could be submerged at will and propelled along under water. The fleet of the rebellious American colonies was bottled up in harbour by the British and a former Yale student, David Bushnell, was working on the design of a device to clear the British ships from American waters. He undertook several unsuccessful experiments with floating mines which led him to look at a controlled method of delivering his gunpowder charges underneath the British ships. His Turtle, piloted by a volunteer, Sergeant Ezra Lee, made the first submarine attack in the early hours of 6 September on Admiral Howe's gun flagship the Eagle. The Turtle was a small egg-shaped wooden vessel armed with an outside charge of gunpowder in a wooden case fitted with a time fuse driven by clockwork. The vessel itself was powered by a propeller turned by the operator with another propeller fitted vertically for up and down movement.

Views: 9263 Date: 2018-11-11 Favorited: 35