SUBMARINE VESSELS 



those of the British commander as perfectly legitimate 

 and honorable methods. 



A SUCCESSFUL DIVING BOAT 



From the time of Fulton to the outbreak of the 

 American Ci\dl War there were few attempts at sub- 

 marine navigation. On the opening of this war, how- 

 ever, efforts were made to perfect diving boats; and 

 these efforts were so well directed that eventually one 

 of these boats succeeded in destroying the Federal 

 boat Housatonic in Charieston Harbor on the night of 

 February 17, 1864. 



The submarine that accomplished this was one of 

 the most remarkable boats ever constructed. It was 

 cigar shaped, about sixty feet long, and carried a crew 

 of nine men. It was submerged partly by means of 

 ballast tanks and partly by lateral fins. As a weapon 

 it carried a spar torpedo fastened to its blunt nose. 

 It was propelled by hand-power, eight of the nine mem- 

 bers of the crew working on a crank which actuated 

 the propeller. The ninth man, crouching in the bow, 

 steered the boat. No reserve air was carried, and con- 

 sequently the length of time the boat could remain 

 submerged was limited to a very few minutes. On 

 account of this, and because of its unfortunate career, 

 it was aptly called the "peripatetic coffin"; and it jus- 

 tified this name by sinking five different times, drown- 

 ing thirty-five out of forty of the members of its differ- 

 ent crews. Nevertheless it succeeded in destroying an 

 American war vessel, thus demonstrating that this feat 

 is possible under condition of actual warfare. 



[103] 



