Turtle (submersible)

Turtle (submersible)
source
Name	Turtle
Caption	A period drawing of the Turtle submersible.
Builder	David Bushnell
Operators	Continental Army
Laid down	1775
Launched	1775
Fate	Scuttled, 1776
Displacement	Approx. 2,000 kg
Length	Approx. 2.3 m
Beam	Approx. 0.9 m
Propulsion	Hand-cranked propellers
Armament	Explosive limpet mine

Turtle (submersible). The Turtle was the world's first documented submersible vessel designed for a military purpose, constructed in 1775 during the American Revolutionary War. Invented by the American patriot and Yale College graduate David Bushnell, it was intended to covertly attach explosive charges to the hulls of British Royal Navy warships blockading New York Harbor. Although its operational career was brief and ultimately unsuccessful in sinking an enemy vessel, the Turtle represents a pioneering milestone in naval engineering and the early history of submarine warfare.

History and development

The concept for the Turtle emerged from the inventive mind of David Bushnell of Saybrook, who was studying at Yale College when hostilities with Great Britain began. Assisted by his brother Ezra Bushnell and the skilled blacksmith Isaac Doolittle of New Haven, Bushnell constructed the vessel in secrecy throughout 1775. The project received the endorsement and financial support of Connecticut's Governor Jonathan Trumbull and the state's Council of Safety. Following successful tests in the Connecticut River and Long Island Sound, the one-man craft was transported to New York City in August 1776 for deployment against the powerful British fleet commanded by Admiral Richard Howe.

Design and operation

The Turtle was a hand-powered, egg-shaped vessel constructed from oak planks banded with iron and sealed with tar, resembling two tortoise shells joined together. Its propulsion system was entirely manual, featuring a hand-cranked propeller for forward motion, a separate vertical propeller for depth control, and a foot-operated rudder for steering. The operator, or pilot, entered through a brass conning tower fitted with small glass viewports and several inches of watertight seal. For navigation and attack, the vessel was equipped with a simple compass, a depth gauge, and a detachable limpet mine containing 150 pounds of gunpowder, which was designed to be screwed into an enemy ship's wooden hull using a drill operated from inside the submersible.

Military service and attempted attacks

The Turtle undertook its first and only combat mission on the night of September 6–7, 1776, in New York Harbor. The pilot for this historic sortie was Sergeant Ezra Lee of the Continental Army, who targeted the British flagship HMS ''Eagle'', a 64-gun ship of the line anchored off Governors Island. Lee successfully maneuvered beneath the Eagle but was unable to secure the explosive charge, reportedly due to the ship's copper-sheathed hull or an iron bar supporting the rudder. Forced to abandon the attempt, Lee released the mine, which later detonated harmlessly in the water, startling the British fleet but causing no damage. A subsequent attempted attack on another British vessel a few weeks later also failed, and the Turtle was ultimately scuttled by American forces to prevent its capture following the Battle of Fort Lee and the British capture of Fort Washington.

Legacy and replicas

Despite its lack of tactical success, the Turtle demonstrated the revolutionary potential of submarine warfare, influencing later inventors like Robert Fulton. David Bushnell was later commissioned as a captain in the Corps of Engineers for his efforts. Several full-scale, operational replicas of the Turtle have been constructed, including one by the United States Navy for the 1976 Bicentennial, one at the Connecticut River Museum in Essex, and another at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport, UK. These replicas have been tested in modern waters, confirming the basic soundness of Bushnell's 18th-century design and its remarkable maneuverability.

In popular culture

The daring story of the Turtle has captured the public imagination and been featured in various forms of media. It appears in historical novels such as those by Kenneth Roberts and William Martin, and was dramatized in the 2000 A&E television movie The Crossing about George Washington. The submersible is also a notable exhibit in the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., and its design has inspired fictional vessels in video games like Assassin's Creed III and the ''Turn'' television series, cementing its place as an icon of American ingenuity and early naval innovation.

Category:Submarines of the United States Category:American Revolutionary War submarines Category:1775 ships