HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Intelligent Whale
OR:
Intelligent Whale on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

''Intelligent Whale'' is an experimental hand-cranked
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 ...
developed for potential use by the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
in the 1860s.


History

''Intelligent Whale'' was built on the design of Scovel Sturgis Merriam in 1863 by Augustus Price and Cornelius Scranton Bushnell. In 1864 the American Submarine Company was formed, taking over the interests of Bushnell and Price and there followed years of litigation over the ownership of the craft. ''Intelligent Whale'' was completed and launched in 1866. When title was established by a court the submarine was sold on 29 October 1869 through a contract made by owner Oliver Halstead and Secretary of the Navy
George M. Robeson George Maxwell Robeson (March 16, 1829 – September 27, 1897) was an American politician and lawyer from New Jersey. A brigadier general in the New Jersey Militia during the American Civil War, he served as Secretary of the Navy, appointed by Pr ...
to the
United States Navy Department The United States Department of the Navy (DoN) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. It was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, at the urging of Secretary of ...
, with most of the price to be paid after successful trials. In September 1872 the first trial was held and was unsuccessful, whereupon the Department refused further payments and abandoned the project. ''Intelligent Whale'' submerged by filling water compartments, and expelled the water by pumps and compressed air. It was estimated that it could stay submerged for about ten hours. Thirteen crewmen could be accommodated, but only six were needed to make her operational. The only known trial, reported by submarine pioneer
John Philip Holland John Philip Holland ( ga, Seán Pilib Ó hUallacháin/Ó Maolchalann) (24 February 184112 August 1914) was an Irish engineer who developed the first submarine to be formally commissioned by the US Navy, and the first Royal Navy submarine, ''Hol ...
, was made by a certain General Sweeney and two others. They submerged the boat in 16 feet of water and Sweeney, clad in a diver's suit, emerged through a hole in the bottom, placed a charge under a scow, and reentered the submarine. The charge was exploded by a lanyard and a
friction primer A friction primer is a device to initiate the firing of muzzle-loading cannon. Each friction primer consists of a copper tube filled with gunpowder. The tube fits into the cannon touch hole burying its lower end in the gunpowder chamber. The top end ...
attached to the charge, sinking the scow. Following the failed trial in 1872, ''Intelligent Whale'' was put on display at the
Brooklyn Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex located in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a semicircular bend ...
and remained there until 1968 when she was moved to the
Washington Navy Yard The Washington Navy Yard (WNY) is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy. The Yard currently serves as a ceremonial and administrativ ...
where she remained until being relocated to the
National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey The National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey is headquartered in Sea Girt, with a second museum located in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, and operates under the auspices of the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. The not-for ...
in
Sea Girt, New Jersey Sea Girt is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 1,828,USS ''Holland'' was commissioned in 1900.


See also

*
Turtle (submersible) ''Turtle'' (also called ''American Turtle'') was the world's first submersible vessel with a documented record of use in combat. It was built in 1775 by American David Bushnell as a means of attaching Naval mine, explosive charges to ships i ...
*
Nautilus (1800 submarine) ''Nautilus'' was a submarine first tested in 1800. Though preceded by Cornelis Drebbel's vessel and the ''Turtle'' of 1620, ''Nautilus'' is often considered to be the first practical submarine. Background ''Nautilus'' was designed between 17 ...
* CSS H.L. Hunley *
CSS David CSS ''David'' was an American Civil War-era torpedo boat. On October 5, 1863, she undertook a partially successful attack on which was participating in the blockade of Charleston, South Carolina. Construction Based upon a design by St. Julien ...
*
USS Alligator (1862) USS ''Alligator'', the fourth United States Navy ship of that name, is the first known U.S. Navy submarine, and was active during the American Civil War (the first American submarine was during the Revolutionary War, and was operated by th ...
*
Plunger (1897) USS ''Plunger'' was an experimental submarine built for the United States Navy. She was ordered in 1895 and launched in 1897, but was never commissioned for active service. She is not to be confused with the later , a.k.a. ''A-1'', which serv ...
*
USS Holland (SS-1) USS ''Holland'' (SS-1) was the United States Navy's first modern commissioned submarine, although not the first military submarine of the United States, which was the 1775 submersible ''Turtle''. The boat was originally laid down as ''Holland ...
*
Fenian Ram ''Fenian Ram'' is a submarine designed by John Philip Holland for use by the Fenian Brotherhood, the American counterpart to the Irish Republican Brotherhood, against the British. The Fenian Ram was the world’s first practical submarine, in ...


Sources


HNSA Web Page: USS Intelligent Whale


External links



Photos of the Intelligent Whale at the Militia Museum of New Jersey in Sea Girt, NJ {{Use dmy dates, date=March 2017 19th-century submarines of the United States Abandoned military projects of the United States Museum ships in New Jersey Museums in Monmouth County, New Jersey Hand-cranked submarines 1863 ships