The history of submarine warfare did not start with the German U-Boats of WWI sinking the Lusitania and other vessels, but rather with the American Revolution and the first successful use of a submersible boat in the form of David Bushnell’s Turtle. The Turtle was a roughly egg-shaped wooden vessel, propelled by hand and foot cranks, and with the capability of drilling a hole in an enemy hull and attaching a time-detonated powder charge. The Newtown Historical Society will examine the Myths and Misconceptions of David Bushnell and the American Turtle in a presentation by Joe Leary, on Monday, April 9, at 7:30PM, in the Meeting House, Main Street (rte 25), in Newtown center; please note a change in the usual program venue.

The Turtle was originally designed to help break the naval blockade of Boston in the early days of the Revolution, but British evacuated the city before the vessel was fully tested. Thus, the contraption was hauled down to New York harbor to receive its battle stars. The first attempt was against the Eagle, and it almost worked: the Turtle made contact with the ship, but couldn’t get the drill to penetrate the hull. When blindly maneuvering for a better drilling spot, the one-man crew lost contact with the Eagle, and with his 30-minute supply of air running out he was forced to surface. While escaping from the British pursuit, the explosive charge was jettisoned, and the timer detonated soon after. The charge exploded harmlessly, but with a great show, and the British fleet thought discretion the better part of valor and withdrew farther down the harbor. Two more attempts were made, but no sunken ships can be credited to Bushnell’s invention.

David Bushnell wasn’t done with his naval effort, however. Following the eventual loss of the Turtle, he developed an effective underwater mine. Ironically, he eventually gave up the nautical service to join the army, and served at the climactic Battle of Yorktown. After the war, he traveled to France and resumed his experiments on submersibles, working with Robert Fulton to develop the submarine Nautilus. Returning to America, Bushnell took up other occupational activities, but remained interested in naval weaponry, and in the later years of his life he invented the self-propelled sailing torpedo.

Joe Leary is a writer and photographer living in Fairfield, and specializing in high-end media production for businesses. He has covered many scientific developments as a photojournalist, and served as the producer of the Isaac Asimov Seminars for three years. Long interested in Bushnell and the Turtle, in 1977 Leary and a partner constructed the first full-scale operating replica of the submarine, and successfully made six dives in the vessel before its retirement. The replica Turtle now resides at the Connecticut River Museum in Essex. Leary continued his interest in Bushnell, and is now completing a biography of the unique Yankee engineering genius.

All Newtown Historical Society programs are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served following the presentation. For further information, please call the Society
at 203-426-5937.