Model of the <i>Turtle</i>
date: label: Date made
content: 1986
label: associated dates
content: 1986 01 01+ / 1986 01 01+, 1986 12 31+ / 1986 12 31+
notes: label: Description
content: Physical Description
label: Description
content: Wooden model in wood and glass case.
label: Description
content: General History
label: Description
content: The first American submarine was built in 1776. Fellow Yale students David Bushnell and Phineas Pratt invented an underwater bomb with a time delayed flintlock detonator. Bushnell invented the <i>Turtle</i> as a means of delivering the device. The one-man vessel submerged by letting water into the hull and surfaced by pumping out the water with a hand pump. Ezra Bushnell, the inventor’s brother, piloted the vessel during testing in the Connecticut River. On 6 September 1776, Gunnery Sergeant Ezra Lee used the <i>Turtle</i> to attack the British ship HMS <i>Eagle</i>. Unfortunately, Lee was unable to get the underwater bomb attached to the vessel. He lost contact with the <i>Eagle</i>, lost possession of the torpedo and was forced to resurface. While the system worked in theory, its first practical application failed.
place: label: Place Made
content: United States: California, Riverside
label: Associated Place
content: United States
label: associated place
content: United States: California, Riverside
topic: label: Subject
content: Naval History
label: Subject
content: Ships
label: related event
content: American Revolution
label: related event
content: Revolution and the New Nation
setName: label: See more items in
content: Military and Society: Armed Forces History, Naval
label: See more items in
content: Military
label: Exhibition
content: Price of Freedom
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1990.0302.01.01
label: catalog number
content: 1990.0302.01.01
label: accession number
content: 1990.0302
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Ship Model
label: Other Terms
content: Ship Model; Submarine
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: brown (overall color)
label: Measurements
content: average spatial: 14 1/2 in x 5 in x 16 in; 36.83 cm x 12.7 cm x 40.64 cm