David Bushnell David Bushnell ( 1740 – 1824 ) , of Westbrook , Connecticut , was an American inventor and a veteran of the Revolutionary War . He is credited with creating the first submarine ever used in combat , while studying at Yale College in 1775 . He called it the " Turtle " because of its look in the water . His idea of using water as ballast for submerging and raising his submarine is still in use today , as is the screw propeller , which was used in the " Turtle " . While at Yale , Bushnell proved that gunpowder could be exploded under water . He also made the first time bomb . He combined these ideas by building the " Turtle " which was designed to attack ships by attaching a time bomb to their hulls , while using a hand powered drill and ship auger bit to penetrate the hulls . He used the " Turtle " in attempts to attack British ships which were blockading New York Harbor in the summer of 1776 . His efforts failed every time because the " Turtle " ' s boring device was unable to penetrate the copper sheeting lining in the ships ' hulls which was designed to protect against parasites in their previous station , the Caribbean . The " Turtle " eventually sank when it was trying to retreat from British observation , yet a Bushnell family member as sole commander , bailed out and survived . In 1777 Bushnell attempted to use a floating mine to blow up the " HMS Cerberus ( 1758 ) " in Niantic Bay ; the mine struck a small boat near the " Cerberus " and detonated killing four sailors and destroying the vessel , but not the intended target . In 1778 he launched what became lauded as the Battle of the Kegs , in which a series of mines was floated down the Delaware River to attack British ships anchored there , killing two curious young boys and alerting the British . The attack was ineffectual . In 1778 , General Washington proposed the formation of a new military unit to be known as the " Corps of Sappers and Miners " and in the summer of the next year it was organized . Bushnell was given command of the Corps with the rank of captain - lieutenant on August 2 , 1779 . On 6 May 1779 , he was taken prisoner in Middlesex Parish , now Darien , Connecticut . On 8 June 1781 , David Bushnell was commissioned as a captain in the Continental Army and was at the Siege of Yorktown in the following September and October . This was the only time the unit had had the opportunity to serve in combat . Bushnell served in the Army until he was discharged on June 3 , 1783 . He then became an original member of the Connecticut Society of the Cincinnati , an organization formed by officers who were veterans of the Continental Army and Navy . At some point after the Revolution , Bushnell was presented a medal by George Washington . After peace was declared he returned to Connecticut then later traveled to France and then settled in Warrenton , Georgia where he taught at the Warrenton Academy and practiced medicine . He died in Georgia in 1824 . Legacy . A full sized model of David Bushnell ' s " Turtle " is on display at the U . S . Navy Submarine Force Library and Museum in Groton , Connecticut . In 1915 , the U . S . Navy named the submarine tender after him and it was launched in Bremerton , Washington . On 14 September 1942 , another submarine tender of the same name USS " Bushnell " ( AS - 15 ) was launched .