What Happened to the Crew of the H.L. Hunley?
Вставка
- Опубліковано 16 лип 2024
- See more photos and behind-the-scenes at storiessecretsandsagas.com/the....
The H.L Hunley became the first combat submarine to sink a warship on the fateful night of February 17, 1864. That night, it sank the USS Housatonic, a steam-powered Union sloop of war in Charleston Harbor. While it was victorious, the Hunley never resurfaced, taking her crew of eight men to an early grave. What happened to the H.L. Hunley and her crew is an ongoing maritime mystery. Join us as The Friends of the Hunley (www.hunley.org/) gives us a private tour and helps us tell this bittersweet story.
Episode Transcript
On the night of February 17, 1864, eight men crammed into a small submarine called the H.L. Hunley in Charleston Harbor. Their mission was to sink the USS Housatonic, a Union, steam-powered sloop of war. Did they succeed and live to tell the story?
The crew of the Hunley had to have known the danger they were facing on that fateful night in February of 1864. It was probably a cold night, the air damp and the men shoulder to shoulder inside the narrow vessel.
The odds were against them coming back alive. Fourteen men had drowned in this vessel on two occasions prior to this dive, and it almost seemed as though a dreaded curse would befall them, too. But, for this period in history, the Hunley was pretty amazing, even if it had had a really bad track record. The entire vessel was just about 40 feet long and as legend has tells it, was made from a cast off steam boiler. It was designed for a crew of eight, seven to turn the hand-cranked propeller and one to steer and direct the submarine. Unlike modern torpedoes, which use propulsion to hit their target, the Hunley used a long shaft attached to the bow. At the end of the shaft was an explosive armament containing 135 pounds of black powder.
Michael Scafuri, Archaeologist, Clemson University Restoration Institute:
By the mid-19th century, people understood the concept. They understood that it was possible to make something like this, but they were trying different ways to make them work, different ways to use them in a war situation. And, of course, during the Civil War when you had the war going on, there was a lot of necessity to try and come up with things. And so, people were experimenting with different designs, and the Hunley was one of these. The Hunley’s significance, as has been said before, is that it was the first submarine to sink a ship, so you have to look at how they did that and why they were successful. A lot of it was determination. They didn’t have the technology to put an engine that would allow them to go underwater, so they made it hand-powered. So, if you’re willing or you’re able to get a crew that could go on board and turn a hand-crank for a number of hours, then you could make it work. The determination to do that and maybe desperation a little bit. So, the design was unique. There was no other submarine like it, but there were lots of similar vessels of the period. The Hunley sort of struck upon, we don’t know if this was intentional or not, but their final design was very similar to - and almost could be viewed as - a precursor to more modern submarines of the World War I and World War II period. They went away from a sort of bell shape and went to more - they called it fish boat - more of a fish design. It wasn’t cigar shaped. It had a higher profile, so it’s more resistant to turning or being turned or rocking. It could stay upright a little bit easier. This is sort of a general design that was copied or used later, and the Hunley kind of foreshadowed that.
Jamie Turner
It would be a long trip to meet up with their target…about five miles total. But at a little past 8pm, a large explosion rocked the Housatonic. Within five minutes it would be on the bottom of the harbor along with five of its crewmen. The Hunley was victorious and was the first combat submarine to sink a warship.
But, the Hunley never resurfaced. Many claimed to see signal lights coming from the sub after it had rammed the Housatonic, but where were the victorious heroes?
For many years after the Civil War ended, the Hunley and her crew sat quietly in their saltwater grave. Then, on May 3rd, 1995 they were found 100 yards away from and on the seaward side of the Housatonic in 27 feet of water.
The crew took the mystery of their demise with them, but investigations are still underway today to discover what happened to the Hunley and her crew. - Розваги
The crew at Hunley basically killed them selves. The charge of 135 lbs of Black powder was set off under water ,the concussion underneath the water basically exploded their brains ,they died where they sat. The crew made no effort to get out of there. In fact there was even evidence that there was still air in the sub. No evidence that there was any panic to get out. That close to that much Black Powder under water will kill you instantly.
The gunpowder charge exploded sinking the Housatonic and killing the crew of the Hunley at the same time. The shockwave went through the Hull of the Hunley killing it's crew. The hull was too thin to withstand that explosion. Inside that hull the shockwave would have hit the men like a hammer, killing them instantly. and causing leaks in the hull. The Hunley just started sinking slowly with it's crew already dead.
The main evidence is the fact that the crew was found in their places, as if they had died suddenly, with no attempt to escape. And the Hunley was found very close to the place where the Housatonic sank. All that points to a sudden death at the moment of the explosion.
I sincerely hope so.
Evidently, you saw the 1999 movie "The Hunley" and it shows exactly what you have just mentioned, Shock waves..The filmmakers made an excellent choice in forming the theory that this happened and it is more than likely the fate the crew endured.
Better than drowning.
They should have used longer boom.
What was the blue light reported by multiple witnesses?
What a dedicated crew of Brave Men...
To Volonter for such a Grave Mission...
I am proud just to be from the same town that Sub was built in.
I know of a legal attempt to find the first Sub that preceded the HUNLEY that sunk on a trial run. It has still never been found.
As a Diver from this area I ofcorse always wanted to find anything of this Historic Value
Volunteer
@John Rogan
I'm sorry I can't pick up a dive tank any longer. Can you !
What a great piece of History most definitely needs to be preserved, I tip my hat to all those involved with its restoration and preservation, let's hope the lefties don't try to get this thing melted down and removed from public View, I'm sorry I had to bring it up
You're right though.
Don't apologize it could happen as you say
very brave men, total respect R.I.P
It's sad Clive Cussler never got the recognition on it's discovery.
Good narration
They don't say...which is what the title baits. But still an ok summary and learned a few new things so a worthwhile report.
Great
Let's take into account that during WWII, submariners have witnessed their fellow crew members leaning against the hull/walls of their sub while being depth charged. They were knocked out or killed. With this kind of evidence, it's definitive that the crew of the Hunley died under the same circumstances. A shockwave from both their own mine and that of the Housatonic's explosion incapacitated the crew.
"and maybe desperation, a little bit" ??? Desperation, a lot!
3:05 That's a ww2 submarine. The SS-168 Nautilus was launched in 1930. Served to the end of the war in 1945.
Here's a theory that fits every single bit of physical evidence found so far, including the various layers of sediment inside the boat, but has never been acknowledged as a possibility by the Friends of the Hunley or the Lasch Center because it's not glamorous. The Hunley lost propulsion while backing away from the Housatonic. The drive system was not designed for backing up* and a number of things could have gone wrong. The flywheel and reduction gear could have jammed. The propeller shaft could have twisted and bound up. The propeller could have become fouled on seaweed or other detritus. The broken propeller cowl found next to the boat speaks to the possibility of fouling.
Dixon would have known that other Union vessels were coming to the Housatonic's aid at full speed. Allowing the Hunley to fall into Union hands was not an option. He was almost certainly under strict orders not to allow that to happen. He also knew that the crew, should they be captured, would probably be treated brutally. Union officers would have seen the attack as underhanded, dishonorable, and worthy of extreme punishment.
The water was much too cold to make swimming to shore possible. There was no heater in the boat and the conditions inside would have been miserable. The only option was to scuttle the boat. So Dixon used the whale oil lamp found on board to signal the success of the attack to those watching for it on shore, then submerged just enough so that the front hatch opening was slightly above water level. By the time enough water sloshed in to sink the boat, the crew would have been suffering hypothermia and either unconscious or close to it.
* The Hunley was originally designed to submerge and tow a "torpedo" on a lanyard into a ship. It was never intended to go backward. That design proved unworkable in the ocean and almost sank the David when it was used to tow the Hunley into Charleston Harbor. The towed torpedo was immediately replaced by a torpedo mounted on a spar similar to one used by the David.
Evidence suggests the torpedo was bolted to the end of the spar and the submarine was still attached to it when the explosion occurred. The concussion could have killed the crew as well as rupture one of the ballast pipes causing her to sink.
@@FishHatcheryGuy That theory has been disproved. Keep reading.
My opinion as to what happened is really quite simple. The blast caused a fracture in the Hunleys hull and the sub and crew sank to the bottom!
Seems likely. The spar extending the charge away from the Hunley perhaps did not create sufficient space between the submarine and its 150-pound charge. Not sure the designers or crew tested this ramming device. An alternative possibility was the Husatanec's exceptionally powerful explosion of her munitions, causing a blast shock wave too much for the Hunley's hull integrity to withstand. Hopefully, something definitive will be understood in the near future. The question is further complicated by reports of the submarine's signal light following the attack. Such observations may have been mistaken, involving another vessel in the area. Could be the most credible theory has the Hunley staying submerged too long, using up her crews' oxygen, because there was a large number of Union vessels in the immediate vicinity, searching for the submarine. This may explain the apparent calm suggested by the boat's human remains.
Most likely
Another theory is the shock wave from the explosion went through the sub and killed them.
So what happened? No answer.
claudermiller Disappointing they didn’t even have a theory. Just a guess: The concussion from the blast killed them and the Hunley drifted. But I suspect we’ll never know for sure.
I was thinking same thing !
I'm guessing the explosion ruptured the Hunley's hull. Even if the charge was on a shaft, explosions are greatly amplified underwater. Then it flooded either almost immediately or sank and flooded slowly. Either way the crew all drowned.
Yeee yeee
I Know They Where The Enemy, But I Have Nothing But Such Great Respect and Awe For Them They Are Truly Hero's And Pioneers.
Good men
They all drowned.....
successful would be sinking the ship and coming back to sink a second ship