Posted on 01/13/2012 6:49:45 AM PST by C19fan
The world got an unobstructed view of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley for the first time since the Civil War on Thursday as a massive steel truss that had surrounded the first sub in history to sink an enemy warship was finally removed. The truss weighing more than 8 tons had shrouded the sub since it was raised off the coast of South Carolina almost a dozen years ago.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
{{shudder}}
Now way, no how, not me.
Give me a nice airplane to fall out of, I am OK.
YEARS ago there was a series of EC comics about the Civil War. The one on the Monitor/Merrimac had a great quote by an old salt who had seen the Virginia ram and sink the wooden USS Cumberland: “Physiks is unphysicked. Wood sinks and iron floats.” “Physiks is unphysicked” stuck in my mind ever since, for some reason.
A couple of anecdotes I read a while back. The Monitor had a small steel pilot house just forward of the turret. Capt. Worden was there looking through a slit directing fire when a blast from the Virginia partially blinded him. He kept telling the turret officer to “pivot left (or right)”. The officer reported “Pivot left? Hell, I can’t tell up from down in all this smoke”. He was told to “pivot the turret until you don’t see daylight, then fire”. (Evidently when the cannon were retracted for reloading he could see through the port.)
The other was on the Virginia when the skipper noticed that their fire had slackened. “Mr. Eggleston, why aren’t you firing?” Eggleston: “Sir, I find I can do as much damage to the Yankee by snapping my fingers every 2 1/2 seconds.”
Mebbe Urban Legends, but great stories to tell the grandkids.
The Monitor in that one fight, obsoleted all the worlds navies with not only its armor and screw propeller, but with the innovative revolving turret that did away with the need of broadside guns.
Naturally, after the war, we let the Navy go to rot.
If it took steel balls for the first crew to climb inside that iron coffin, it took casehardened balls for the second crew to climb in after the first drowned in the initial sea trial, and then it took dropforged manganese balls for the third crew to squeeze through the hatch and take their chances (they were lost in the attack) and even THEN volunteers were lined up to crew the Hunley’s successor.
Those who fought the Civil War were a different breed.
Actually, you are slightly misinformed. The original reports inadvertently left out the word “brain.”
Actually, you are slightly misinformed. The original reports inadvertently left out the word “brain.”
They were raised different.
They loved their country, they were patriots.
Todays youth is spoiled and believes the country owes them.
Same breed, just neitered by liberals, spoiled parents, and school teachers who won’t let them play volleyball or say a prayer.
Interesting, thanks for posting.
NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wrong!
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Right!
That’s what I like about you Laz.
You explore both sides of an issue, and then you believe both of them.
There was a quote from a London newspaper after the battle at Hampton Roads I saw once. I don't recall it exactly, but the gist of it was "Last week we had 150 world class warships. Now we have none."
They got revenge in 1906 with the HMS Dreadnought sporting new "all big gun" (12" main guns and 5" secondaries instead of a mixed 12", 8", 6" that many battleships of the day had). All other navies were immediately second-rated and became stigmatized as "pre-dreadnaughts". She set off a big arms race, which made her obsolete by 1921 and was scrapped.
"Dreadnaught" came from "Dread naught but fear in God". A U.S. Congressman opined that we ought to build a similar battleship and call her "The USS Skeered 'O Nuthin". Gotta love those early politicians.
You invite abuse when you say crap like that.
Just to be ‘’central va’’ is abuse enough.
What was the Cairo?
An ironclad of some sort
I saw it again in November at Vicksburg
Nice sized boat
I wish it were possible for all of our mis-guided youth to spend a night and a day in the shoes of the men that fought for freedom during the Civil War, just to remind them what it was all about back then instead of living their lives like a bunch of snide internet forum commentators.
I had a book or two several years ago about the history of the Confederate Submarine service.
Perhaps we really do need the UK to bring the reality of the past to our attention seeing fit most everyone only wants to forget it or sugar coat and cut,copy and paste a more pastel coloring.
No apology to our real warriors, at least they know how to piss downwind.
I hosted a private forum for scientists, archaeologists and historians working on planning the raising. There, (based on scale CAD drawings of the Hunley and the Housatonic at the moment of closest approach and the fact that the blast severed the Housatonic's prop shaft) I predicted that the torpedo was deployed via an 18--20-foot 2" or so iron pipe, pivoted via a Y-yoke off the lower bow and deployed at a downward angle of 30 degrees.
Shortly afterward, historian and author, Mark Ragan, posted a drawing from the US Archives of "Singer's Torpedo -- used for sinking the Housatonic" with triple, lanyard-triggered percussion fuses -- and a socket on the back for a 2' pipe -- mounted at a thirty degree angle!
When they excavated the lower bow before placing the caisson in front of the Hunley, there was the Y-yoke -- just as predicted...
~~~~~~~~
Just found a couple of old images from the forum:
"Blast Point" shows the probable location of the blast on the Housatonic -- and
Is one of the sketches Mark Ragan found depicting the torpedo...
Not sure if the hard drive with the CAD drawings is still operable; I'll check...
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lucked out! Take a look at
IIRC, that is the first time that sketch has been seen by the public...
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