by Antony J Waller

Created on: February 21, 2011   Last Updated: February 22, 2011

The Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley carries the distinction of being credited as the world’s first submarine to sink an enemy warship in a wartime naval engagement. This occurred on February 17th 1864 during the American Civil War with an attack by the H.L. Hunley on the USS Housatonic, an action which unfortunately also led to the sinking and final demise of the submarine herself.

The submarine had a very brief but ill fated career. Built and launched in July 1863 in Mobile Alabama and originally called the “Fish Boat” or “Fishing Boat” it was 40 feet long, cylindrical in shape with a diameter of 5 feet, and essentially made from an iron boiler with an added tapered bow and stern. It was crewed by 8 men and could be fully submerged and steered underwater for short periods. Its armament was a floating charge, a torpedo with a barbed point mounted on a long pole and attached to the bow. In trials the submarine sank in August 1863 during training claiming the lives of 5 crew members and again in October whilst under tow, this time drowning all 8 men onboard including the inventor HL Hunley. Despite this the wreckage was raised, salvaged and repaired with the vessel subsequently being renamed the H.L. Hunley in his memory.

By February 1864 the entrance to Charleston harbour was being blockaded by the Union USS Housatonic sitting several miles out to sea. In an attempt to break the stranglehold of the blockade on Charleston and the southern states the H.L. Hunley under the command of Lieutenant Dixon with a crew of 7 set out to sea to attack and sink the Housatonic using their ‘harpoon’ torpedo. By this time, in view of her previous sinkings, the submarine was actually operating as a surface vessel and not as a true submersible. The submarine approached the USS Housatonic, successfully managed to embed her torpedo into the hull of the ship and then backed away to detonate the charge. The subsequent explosion ripped through the Housatonic and sent her to the bottom in less than 3 minutes along with 5 of her crew. However, the subsequent fate of the H.L. Hunley is slightly less clear.

Certainly the submarine never returned to shore and sank with the loss of all the crew. Whether she sank as a result of the explosion at the time of the engagement or a little while afterwards remains the subject for some debate and conjecture. In August 1990 the wreck of the H.L. Hunley was in fact located and raised from the seabed and the answers sought may now come to light. However, what is not in any doubt is that the H.L. Hunley was indeed the first submarine to sink an enemy ship in action.

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