The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1907-10-05
BUSHNELL TURTLE,
Career of the First American
Submarine Vessel.
1T WAS A MOST UNIQUE CRAFT
Launched In 1775, It Made Several
Frantic Efforts to Blow Up British
Warships and Nearly Succeeded-Its
Untimely Fate.

L ne uTSI SuDuldTluS craft WHICH real
~ navigated under serious conditions
was the invention of an American,
Daniel Bushnell of Saybrook. Conn.
Bushnell was graduated from Yale
in 1910 and in that same year COM
pleted the submarine vessel on which
he had been at work since III. He
does not seem to have named the boat
himself, but it has come TO be known
as the Turtle because Of its shape.
The entrance to the vessel CORE
sponded to the opening made by the
swells of a turtle shell at its head.
The boat was about seven and a half
feet long and six feet deep, large
enough to contain the operator and
sufficient air to last him half an hour.
1t was ballasted chiefly with perma-
nent lead ballast. In addition to this,
a mass Of lead 200 pounds in weight
could be let down forty or fifty feet
below the vessel, enabling the operator
to anchor or to rise quickly to the sur
face in case of accident.
4 water gauge Illuminated by means
of cork with phosphorus on it, which
floated on the water within the gauge,
registered the depth of the Turtle. By
means of a compass, also Illuminated
with phosphorus, the operator was able
TO direct the course of his vessel.
An oar formed on the principle of
an old fashioned screw was fixed in
the forward part Of the Turtle. The
operator by turning it in one direction
could propel the vessel forward or in
the other could propel it backward.
Another oar, placed near the top Of
The Turtle, worked on the same prin-
.iple. By means of the latter the
operator, after having established the
equilibrium of the vessel, could move
1t either upward or downward. A rud-
der In the after part of the Turtle could
be used for sculling.
The entrance to the boat was elliptic
al and so small as to barely admit one
person. It was surrounded by broad
elliptical iron band, the lower edge Of
which was let into the wood. Above
the upper edge of this iron band
was a crown resembling a hat 1t
shut water tight upon the iron band.
to which it was hung with hinges.
turning over sideways when opened.
In the crown were three round doors,
one directly in front and one on each
side, and large enough to put the hand
through. These, when opened, admit
ted fresh air. Their shutters were
ground perfectly tight and were hung
with hinges. There were several glass
windows in the crown for the admis-
sion of light and two air pipes.
A ventiator drew fresh air through
one Of the pipes and discharged it at
the bottom of the vessel. The impure
air escaped through the other pipe.
These, of course. We're used only when
the Turtle was floating on the surface
of the water. The valves opened au-
tomatically when they came out Of the
water and closed as soon as they en-
tered it.
When the operator wished to de-
scend he placed his foot on the lever
of the valve, by which means he open
ed a large aperture in the bottom of
the vessel, thereby allowing the water
to enter the tank. When a sufficient
quantity had been obtained to cause
the vessel to descend very gradually
he closed the valve. The aperture I'M
der this valve was covered by a per-
forated plate.
The water could be discharged from
the tank by the brass force pump.
When the vesse! leaked the bilge
could be pumped out by a similar
pump. Everything in the Turtle was
brought so near the operator that he
could find in the dark what he wished
and without turning either to the right
or to the left. A firm piece of wood
was fra1ueA parallel to the short diam
eter OF the vessel to prevent the sides
from yielding. This also served as a
seat for the operator
In ike fore part Of the brim of the
brass crown was q socket with an iron
tube passing through it. At the top of
the tube was wood screw fixed
by means of rod which passed
! through the tube. When the wood
screw had been made fast to some OBJ.
| jeCt it could be cast off by unscrewing
| the rod Innhind the vessel and above
| the ruddcr vas attached magazine
! composed of two blocks of oak wood
! followed out so as to hold $50 pounds
| of powder. This was fired by percus
sion device. timed by means of clock
work. \ rope extended from the mag
| azine to the wood screw.
To destroy q ship the operator was
to submerge the Turtle. navigate it I'M
til it was underneath the ship that was
to be destroyed, screw the wood screw
into her bottom, cast off the magazine
and move away. The magazine, being
buoyant, would Immediately rise
against the bottom of the ship. The
clockwork which fired it was started
by the casting off of the magazine ant
gave the operator time to retire to 6
safe distance.
Bushnell made many trials of The
Turtle before sending it against Brit
| ish vessel. He found it very difficult
to obtain Il skillful operator. In re
spect to this part Of his work he wrote
| as follows:
I'm the first essay with the subma
rine vessel I took care to prove it:
strength to sustain the great pressure
| of the incumbent water when sum-
deep before I trusted any person t.
descend much below the surface, and
never suffered any person to go unde