''American Diver'', also known as the ''Pioneer II'', was a prototype

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

built for the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

military. It was the first successor to the ''

Pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and dev ...

''. The ''Diver'' was invented and built by the same consortium that built the ''Pioneer'' in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. It was composed of

Horace Lawson Hunley Horace Lawson Hunley (December 29, 1823 – October 15, 1863) was a Confederate States of America, Confederate Marine engineering, marine engineer during the American Civil War. He developed early hand-powered submarines, the most famous of which ...

, James McClintock, and Baxter Watson. They were forced to move their operations to

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

, following the capture of New Orleans by

Union forces Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

in April 1862. Although ultimately unsuccessful, it served as a model in the development of the consortium's next submarine, the ''

H. L. Hunley ''H. L. Hunley'', often referred to as ''Hunley'', '' CSS H. L. Hunley'', or as ''CSS Hunley'', was a submarine of the Confederate States of America that played a small part in the American Civil War. ''Hunley'' demonstrated the advantages and ...

''. The ''Hunley'' eventually became the first combat submarine to sink an enemy warship.

History

The ''Diver'' was designed and built by the consortium in late 1862. Over the course of several months many costly attempts were made to propel the submarine with some type of

electrical motor An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a wire winding to generate force ...

and then a

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

, but both methods proved to be failures. The steam engine was finally replaced by a

hand-crank A crank is an arm attached at a right angle to a rotating shaft by which circular motion is imparted to or received from the shaft. When combined with a connecting rod, it can be used to convert circular motion into reciprocating motion, or vice ...

. The submarine was ready for trials by January 1863. It required four crew members to turn the propeller crank and one to steer and was deemed to be too slow by the team. Nonetheless, it was decided in February 1863, to tow the submarine down the bay to Fort Morgan and attempt an attack on the

Union blockade The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederacy from trading. The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required the monitoring of of Atlantic ...

of Mobile. However, the submarine foundered in the heavy chop caused by foul weather and the currents at the mouth of

Mobile Bay Mobile Bay ( ) is a shallow inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. The ...

and sank. The crew escaped, but the boat was not recovered.

References

{{1863 shipwrecks Submarines of the Confederate States Navy Alabama in the American Civil War Shipwrecks of the Alabama coast Shipwrecks of the American Civil War Archaeological sites in Alabama Ships built in Alabama 1863 ships Hand-cranked submarines Submarine accidents Maritime incidents in February 1863