Turtle (submersible)

Uncommon card · No. 152629

Turtle (also called American Turtle) was an American vessel that is regarded as the world's first submarine, or by modern standards a submersible, with a documented record of use in naval combat. The name came from its inventor David Bushnell, who believed the craft resembled 'two upper shells of a Tortoise joined together'. In 1775, Yale college students David Bushnell and Phineas Pratt invented a bomb that was able to detonate underwater and could be moved on a manual submarine. Later that year Bushnell took the idea a step further, developing a submersible that could be used to attach explosive charges to the hull of a harboured ship for use against the Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Connecticut Governor Jonathan Trumbull recommended the invention to George Washington, who provided funds and support for the development and testing of the machine. Several attempts were made using Turtle to affix explosives to the undersides of British warships in New York Harbor in...

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