Hunley Torpedo May Have Been Electrically Detonated
Jack Linthicum
Hunley has an article and pictures of newly discovered items that
suggest the Hunley's "torpedo" (more what would be called a limpet mine
now) may have been electrically detonated. A copper-zinc plate, copper
wire on a spool in the forward ballast tank suggest a primitive battery
and wire connection, perhaps to the torpedo. The zinc was not found in
an in-depth study, preliminary analysis had indicated zinc's presence.
The press release I obtain through membership in the FotH but a web
site for a different group has it in
full:http://www.floridareenactorsonline.com/JulyMag12005.htm
Hunley Torpedo May Have Been Electrically Detonated
Hunley Torpedo May Have
Been Electrically Detonated
(Charleston, SC) -- In 1864, the H. L. Hunley shocked the world when
she became the first submarine to sink a ship by an underwater attack.
Now scientists are learning the Hunley not only changed naval warfare
by the way she traveled, but possibly also by the use of electrically
detonated explosive technology.
The Hunley may have employed one of the earliest, if not the first,
electrically detonated explosives being launched by a ship. Electric
detonation of a spar torpedo was not perfected by the British until the
1870's.
Senator Glenn McConnell, Chairman of the Hunley Commission, said,
"The Hunley continues to prove that she was a high-tech machine that
was generations ahead of her time."
Over the course of the submarine's excavation, scientists have found
a number of tantalizing clues that point to a battery being aboard the
Hunley. A metal plate was recovered near Hunley commander Lt. George
Dixon's station. The plate is approximately 4 inches wide, 16 inches
long, 1/8 of an inch thick, and has a series of holes running along its
perimeter, meaning it was most likely mounted to something or one
component of a much larger device.
Preliminary surface analysis of the plate shows it has zinc and copper
elements, the two main ingredients needed for a 19th century battery.
For a battery to be used to send an electric charge to detonate the
torpedo, wire connecting the energy source to the torpedo would have
been needed, and there is no shortage of wire on the sub. Near the
plate, scientists found a copper wire with a looped end and there is a
large spool of deteriorated wire hanging from the upper bulkhead in the
forward ballast tank. If the plate proves to be part of a battery, the
wire remnants recovered may have been part of the overall construction
of an electric detonation system for the torpedo.
"All this wire was found within reach of Lt. Dixon, the man
responsible for detonating the torpedo," said James Hunter,
archaeologist with the Hunley project.
The Hunley used an innovative lanyard system to detonate the torpedo.
The idea was to ram the spar torpedo into a target and then back away,
causing the torpedo to slip off the spar. A rope from the torpedo to
the submarine would spool out. Once the submarine was at a safe
distance, the line would tighten and detonate the warhead.
There was no guarantee the torpedo would detonate. Also, a potential
danger with the rope spool may have caused Hunley's designers to turn
to an electrically detonated lanyard system. The rope attached to the
spar could get caught on ocean debris, possibly triggering a fatal
explosion for the Hunley and her crew.
"We had two pumps and deadlights re-enforcing the glass ports along
the top of the submarine. If the torpedo could also have been
electrically detonated, this would be right in-line with the Hunley
having fail-safe measures in place for all her critical functions. This
could be a cutting edge upgrade to an already state of the art firing
system," McConnell said.
Electrically detonating the torpedo would have given the Hunley crew a
key advantage by being able to control when the explosion occurred and
ensure they were a safe distance from their target.
History shows the Hunley's delivery of the torpedo evolved as testing
was done. Originally, a contact mine was towed behind the submarine,
but eventually the submarine was fitted with a bow-mounted spar
torpedo.
If the plate and wire turn out to be part of an electrically detonated
torpedo design, it would not be the first time Hunley designers
attempted to use high tech technology to maximize the sub's
effectiveness as an underwater weapon. One of the Hunley's
predecessors, the American Diver, had originally been engineered to use
an electromagnetic engine to propel the vessel. The Hunley's builders
returned to the hand-cranked design when they were unable to generate
enough horsepower to achieve speed levels that were needed for a
stealth attack.
Further research on the plate is needed and the construction of the sub
to determine whether the Hunley indeed used an electric torpedo.
Concretion on the hull is still inches thick near Dixon's station,
and scientists are hopeful more plates and wire will be discovered.
"The discovery of this plate was an intriguing find," said Paul
Mardikian, Senior Conservator to the Hunley project. "We cannot rule
out the possibility of having some sort of electrical device on the
submarine. Next week, Clemson University will be analyzing the plate
and we will have a much better understanding of what we're dealing
with here."
Additionally, concretion still masks many features of the Hunley's
bow that may help reveal how the torpedo was rigged to the vessel. Once
that concretion is removed, scientists expect more details will come to
light about how the Hunley was designed and was able to achieve her
history-making feat.
ray o'hara
"Jack Linthicum" <jackli...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:1130784243.9...@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Latest edition of the Blue Light, the publication of the Friends of the
> Hunley has an article and pictures of newly discovered items that
> suggest the Hunley's "torpedo" (more what would be called a limpet mine
> now) may have been electrically detonated. A copper-zinc plate, copper
> wire on a spool in the forward ballast tank suggest a primitive battery
> and wire connection, perhaps to the torpedo. The zinc was not found in
> an in-depth study, preliminary analysis had indicated zinc's presence.
> The press release I obtain through membership in the FotH but a web
> site for a different group has it in
> full:http://www.floridareenactorsonline.com/JulyMag12005.htm
>
> Hunley Torpedo May Have Been Electrically Detonated
>
> Hunley Torpedo May Have
> Been Electrically Detonated
>
the u.s.s.cairo was sunk in the yazoo river by an electronically detonated
mine{torpedo}