1/11 Bushnell's Turtle submarine (scratchbuilt)
|
by Maksym Bazhal |
1/11 Bushnell's Turtle submarine (scratchbuilt)
Here is my self-made replica of the first American submarine. Moreover, she was the first submarine in the World launched the first real underwater attack.
Cutaway allows to see and drive both propellers, rudder and screw. I
suppose this is one replica only having a detachable screw equipped with
ratchet. You can see how it works on some pictures and watching a movie
from YouTube:
Different references provide the following information about the Turtle:
This submarine is as old as the United States itself. David Bushnell,
a Yale graduate, designed and built the submarine in 1776 and named it
Turtle. Turtle was the first American submarine. Her
purpose was to break the British naval blockade of New York harbor during
the American Revolution.
The one-man vessel submerged by admitting water into the hull and surfaced by pumping it out with a hand pump. Turtle was powered by a hand-driven propeller. The operator would submerge under the target. Using a screw projecting from the top, he would attach a clock-detonated explosive charge.
On the night of September 7, 1776, Turtle conducted an attack on the British ship HMS Eagle. However, the boring device failed to penetrate the target vessel's hull. It is likely that the wooden hull was too hard to penetrate or the boring device hit a bolt or iron brace. When Turtle was shifted to another position beneath the hull, it lost contact with the target vessel and ultimately was forced to abandon the torpedo. Although the torpedo was never attached to the target, the clockwork timer detonated it about an hour after it was released. The result was a powerful explosion that forced the British to move their ships further out in the harbor.
Turtle gave Revolutionary Americans high hopes for a secret weapon -
a weapon that could destroy the British warships anchored in New York Harbor.
