[JoeProBono]

Intelligent Whale, an experimental hand-cranked submarine, was built on the design of Scovel S. Meriam in 1863 by Augustus Price and Cornelius S. Bushnell. In 1864 the American Submarine Co., was formed, taking over the interests of Bushnell and Price and there followed years of litigation over the ownership of the craft. When title was established by a court the submarine was sold 29 October 1869 to the Navy Department, with most of the price to be paid after successful trials. Intelligent Whale submerged by filling water compartments, and expelled the water by pumps and compressed air. It was estimated that it could stay submerged for about 10 hours.

[Martin Tell]

I never heard of The Intelligent Whale. Cool. Did it ever work, or was it purely a model?

I wonder if Price/Brushnell and the makers of The Hunley would have sued each other. Looks suspiciously like some copying was going on.

[DuncanWaring]

It was estimated that it could stay submerged for about 10 hours.

10 hours?

Pikers!

The Hunley stayed submerged for over a century!