Extra News About The First Submarine Alligator

 

I received this comment today on my post about the first submarine the Alligator

C. Veit <president@navyandmarine.org> (unregistered) wrote:

See www.navyandmarine.org/alligator. The sub's first combat deployment was to the James River in 1862 as part of squadron tasked with destroying a bridge over the Appomattox.

I went to the site. To me it was a treasure chest. I learn some more history of our first submarine. The site tells about the 5 missions of USS Alligator, Civil War Submarine Chronology, Men (and Women) Who Built & Crewed Alligator , Official Records of the Navy, Newspaper Reports, etc. Best place to start is:  The Hunt For The Alligator

The First Submarine Built Was Named “Alligator”

 

USS Alligator was first launched on May 1, 1862. She was a Villeroi-designed Alligator was the first U.S. Navy submarine. It was also the first to feature compressed air for an air supply and an air filtration system. Initially propelled by sixteen hand-powered paddles protruding from the sides, it was converted after six months to a screw propeller powered by a hand crank. At 47 feet  long and about 4 feet (1.2 m) in diameter, the USS Alligator was the largest of the documented American Civil War submarines. It was lost in a storm off Cape Hatteras on April 1, 1863 while under tow to its first combat deployment at Charleston.