REAL United States History

  An Aquatic Invention & Mission On this day in 1776, the first American submarine called  Turtle  attempted a military maneuver in an effort to help George Washington turn the tide of battle. Invented by David Bushnell, the submersible  Turtle  had a maximum speed of 3 knots (a little less than 3.5 miles per hour). It consisted of a wooden barrel-like body, a brass & glass cap, navigation instruments, oars, and a treadle-powered screw propeller. The three bombs on board were planned to sink the British ship HMS  Eagle  in New York Harbor. Not having a lot of experience operating the submarine, Ezra Lee launched aboard the  Turtle  around 11 pm on September 6, 1776. Reaching his target about two-and-a-half hours later, he attempted to bore through the  Eagle  and deposit the bombs. The hull, however, had a copper layer and Lee was unsuccessful. Forced to retreat with malfunctioning navigation equipment, L...