The history of the submarine is a fascinating story - and like the story of many great mechanical achievement, the evolution of the submarine was driven in large part by its usefulness as a weapon of war. Let’s take a look at some interesting facts about the earliest military submarines.

The first military submarine was Turtle. It was created in 1775 and was a hand-powered egg-shaped device designed by the American David Bushnell to accommodate a single man. It was the first known submarine capable of independent underwater operation and the first to use screws for propulsion. The Turtle was used unsuccessfully during the American Revolutionary War to try to sink the British warship HMS Eagle in New York harbor on

During the War of 1812, in the year 1814, Silas Halsey lost his life while using a submarine. He attempted to attack a British warship stationed in New London harbor.

During the American Civil War, the Union was the first to use a submarine. It used the French designed Alligator - the first submarine to use compressed air and air filtration for its air supply. It was initially propelled by oars but was later retrofitted witha screw propeller powered by a hand crank. It held a crew of 20 but was lost in a storm in 1863 as it was being towed to its first combat deployment in Charleston.

The Confederates used several submarines during the Civil War. The first was the Pioneer which successfully sank a schooner using a towed mine during testing. It never made it to combat.

The most successful submarine of the Confederacy was the H.L. Hunley. For weaponry, it had a spar torpedo - basically an explosive charge on a large pole in front of the sub. The sub was extremely dangerous to its crew and sank two times, the first time killing half the crew and the second time killing the entire crew. In spite of these problems, the Hunley was the first successful wartime submarine - sinking the USS Housatonic off Charleston Harbor on February 18,1864. It sank shortly after this success.

Recently the Hunley was raised from its watery grave. This fascinating video features a documentary of the epic voyage of the Hunley as well as the technology used in the raising of the Hunley.

Since this time, submarines have become extremely capable vessels and are a fundamental part of every developed country’s military arsenal.

To learn more about the submarines of the 1950’s-1960s, created based on the successes and shortcomings of WWII submarines, check out A Historical Look At Submarines From the 1950s to the 1960s DVD