Missing view port muddies long-held theory of Hunley's disappearance

Island Packet ^ | December 28, 2005 | JOHN C. DRAKE,

[robowombat]

Missing view port muddies long-held theory of Hunley's disappearance

By JOHN C. DRAKE,

Published Wednesday, December 28, 2005

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Scientists chipping away the hard layer of mud that covers the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley have discovered that a view port on the front of the vessel is missing.

If no pieces of the view port are found in the ship, then it is possible the tower was knocked off when the sub sank. That would conflict with the prevailing theory that the tower was blown in by an enemy warship, causing the Hunley to fill with water.

As scientists break away the concretion covering the Hunley, they are finding clues that they hope will explain why the historic vessel disappeared right after it became the first submarine ever to sink an enemy warship in 1864.

"Any damage to those viewports could have been fatal to the Hunley," said state Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston and chairman of the South Carolina Hunley Commission. "What is significant therefore about the find is that we don't find a damaged viewport, we find one completely missing."

Other evidence uncovered in the restoration process indicates that the crew of the Union's Housatonic may have spotted the Hunley because the glow of lights likely seeped through the view port on the front conning tower.

Unlike other deadlights running along the top of the submarine, the lights on the conning tower did not have covers to block the glow of candles.

Records indicate that the Hunley was spotted and fired on moments before its crew shot a torpedo at the Housatonic.

The new clues are heightening interest in what is hidden behind a century of packed mud in other parts of the ship.

"It makes now more important than ever to examine the front tower and hatch and determine if the hatch was in fact completely fastened or was injured by potentially the damage from the front eyepiece," McConnell said.

He said with the removal of the concretion, the Hunley Commission could begin to see "a discovery a month."

The slow process of removing the material is just about 5 percent complete, he said. Given the pace, he said scientists are probably 10 to 12 months away from uncovering the mystery of why the Hunley failed to return after its mission.

Archaeologists hope to finish the restoration by 2009.

The sub was discovered off the South Carolina coast a decade ago and raised in 2000. The remains of the Hunley's eight-man crew were buried last year in a Charleston ceremony.

[SAMWolf]

Thanks PE. I see the media still doesn't do research when reporting. The Hunley didn't "fire a torpedo" it had a spar torpedo.

A spar torpedo is a weapon consisting of a bomb placed at the end of a long pole, or spar, and attached to a boat. The weapon is used by running the end of the spar into the enemy ship. Spar torpedoes were often equipped with a barbed spear at the end, so it would stick to wooden hulls. A fuze could then be used to detonate it.

The extremely close range required to use spar torpedoes was a major limitation. The perfection of the self propelled torpedo rendered the spar torpedo obsolete. It was used in the second half of the 19th century.

The most famous use of a spar torpedo was on the Confederate submarine Hunley, which managed to sink the Union screw sloop USS Housatonic in 1864, although the Hunley was lost.

On October 27, 1864, Lieutenant Cushing employed a spar torpedo to sink the Confederate armor-clad ram Albemarle. Because the Confederate navy was tiny, the sinking of the Albemarle was the Union navy's only successful sinking of a Confederate vessel by torpedo. Lieutenant Cushing employed a spar torpedo designed by John Lay.

Spar torpedoes were also used on small wooden launches in the late 19th century, although they were not very useful weapons. The locomotive torpedo (what we think of today as a torpedo) replaced the spar torpedo as a weapon for submarines and small boats in the 1870s.

[U S Army EOD]

Good point.

[Professional Engineer]

This brings a whole new persective to "Ramming Speed!".

[PhilDragoo]

Alright, reporters, this is a spar torpedo--it is not fired; it is affixed with the barb and detonated by lanyard.

[BenLurkin]

Interesting.

[brazzaville]

Good morning.
"Fired a torpedo?"

LOL. You have to love reporters.

Michael Frazier

[brazzaville]

Good morning.

Neither the the Housatonic nor the Hunley would necessarily have gone straight down after being holed, and this could account for the locations of the hulks. I do think you are right, though.

Those were brave men in the Hunley, knowing as they did the fate of everyone else who sailed the boat.

Michael Frazier

[Stonewall Jackson]

Don't forget that during the Civil War, naval mines were called torpedoes. So logically, another name for a spar torpedo would be a limpet mine.

Farragut's famous line "D*** the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!" deals with the minefield that blocked the entrance to Mobile Bay, not a torpedo attack like most people envision.

[U S Army EOD]

The neatest one I ever saw was a river mine. It had a floater above it with graphels that would grab anchor chains or whatever as it floated down stream.

Once it became attached, there was an impeller on it that would turn with the current. This would inturn start winding a striker back that would then release and fire the mine. Pretty good imagination for whoever dreamed that one up.

The limpet mine was attached to a ship's hull by magnets by a UDT man. It usually had a chemical time device but would explode if someone tried to remove it. I think the British came up with that one. The Germans and Italians had something simular.