![]() In fact, Nautilus had already been deep underwater for three days before it reached the Pole and did not come back to the surface, near the coast of Greenland, until 7 August 1958 – spending a week beneath the waves and ice. But running off a nuclear reactor meant that Nautilus needed to do none of these things. The epic voyage that peered into the voidīefore Nautilus, submarines had to surface, or at least extend a snorkel above the waves, to take in air needed to run their diesel engines and charge their batteries for electric propulsion.The dive to find the world's deepest shipwreck.The shipwrecks rewriting ancient history.The transit took place with the 97-metre-long (319ft) submarine and its 116 crew (it's not clear in the logbook if that includes Santa) entirely submerged under the ice, a feat impossible before the invention of compact nuclear-powered propulsion.Īs Anderson announced to his crew: "For the world, our country, and the navy – the North Pole." It was the final sentence of a celebratory record of the first crossing of the North Pole by any ship under its own power, a top-secret mission codenamed 'Operation Sunshine'. On 3 August 1958, the commander of the world's first nuclear submarine made an extraordinary, if somewhat tongue in cheek, entry in his logbook: "Embarked following personage at North Pole…" wrote USS Nautilus commander William Anderson, "…Santa Claus, affiliation: Christmas." Covington History Video at the Trailhead Visitors.Wooden Boat Festival Aerial Photographs.Mandeville's Lakefront Seawall - The Early Days.The Story of the Chinchuba Deaf-Mute Institute.Tammany's Ties To The World's First Submarine.Aerial Photographs of Mandeville - 1975.History of the Waldheim United Methodist Church.Aerial Photo of Covington East Entrance - 1975.Aerial View of Slidell Northshore - 1975.They installed a hand crank and, by mid-January 1863, the American Diver was ready for harbor trials. This “trial and error” process took place over a period of several months until they decided to stick with a more conventional means of propulsion. Unfortunately, they were unable to produce enough power to safely and efficiently propel the submarine. "The group of engineers made several attempts at propelling the new sub with an electric-magnetic engine or a small steam engine. Lieutenant William Alexander, CSA, of the Twenty-First Alabama Volunteer Regiment, was assigned to duty at Park & Lyons. "During this time frame, the group began to receive local military support. Twelve feet of each end was built tapering or molded, to make it easy to pass through the water.” McClintock, in a post-war letter wrote, “We built a second boat at Mobile, and to obtain room for machinery and persons, she was made 36 feet long, three feet wide and four feet high. Within months after Hunley, McClintock, and Watson arrived to the besieged and blockaded Alabama coast, a second submarine was already under construction at the Park and Lyons shop near the harbor. "Soon after arriving in Mobile, McClintock, Watson, and Hunley teamed up with Confederate patriots Thomas Park and Thomas Lyons, owners of the Park & Lyons machine shop. ![]() "Union occupation forces were entering New Orleans when the three inventors, carrying blueprints, diagrams and drawings, fled to Mobile, Alabama, with the intent of designing an even more formidable submersible attack boat. After only a short month of tests, the Pioneer was destroyed by the Confederates to avoid capture by the Union army that was quickly closing in on the city. The small submarine would sometimes become caught at the bottom of Lake Pontchartrain with the crew cranking the propeller, unaware they were stuck. "The Pioneer was built in New Orleans in early 1862 and performed moderately well. ![]() Improving the concept each time, they finally had success with the creation of the Hunley, a weapon that would forever change naval warfare. ![]() "Working with Hunley and Watson, McClintock developed two prototype submarines, the Pioneer and the American Diver. This quest became a process of innovation and evolution," the website goes on to relate. The small band of Confederates began work on a new approach to naval warfare, one that took the fight below the water’s surface. "Hunley recognized the importance of breaking the Union blockade and keeping supply lines open to the South. Hunley was a lawyer, merchant, and a successful Southern planter, but his main interest was in designing and building a submarine. "By late fall of 1861, these two inventors began the construction of a three-man underwater boat." According to information from the website, the builders of the Hunley submarines were James McClintock and Baxter Watson, partners in a steam gauge manufacturing business in New Orleans. ![]()
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