DATELINE :- 11th October 2000
HUNLEY RAISED
US Civil War sub to be conserved and exhibited
US divers have raised the wreck of the Hunley, the American Civil War Confederate mini-submarine which was the first sub in history to sink an enemy vessel. In 1864 the Hunley torpedoed the 63m Union blockader USS Housatonic off Sullivan Island in South Carolina.
Mystery has surrounded why the Hunley, after reportedly sending a blue light signal to indicate carrying out a successful night attack, disappeared on her way back to land.
The riveted iron Hunley was just 11.5m long and powered by a propeller which was turned by hand from within the sub. Carrying a crew of eight, she had two ballast tanks that allowed her to be lowered in the water so that she could cruise almost submerged.
The sub had no conning tower, only two cylindrical manhole hatches fore and
aft. It is possible that, on returning from action, she was swamped by an unexpected wave. None of her crew escaped.
The sub was found intact, buried under silt, in 1995. The dive team, funded by best-selling author Clive Cussler, found her in just 8m of water, 4 miles off Sullivan Island.
The non-profitmaking Friends of Hunley organ-isation was formed and, still driven by Cussler plus donations from other sources, arranged for numerous surveys and seafloor excavations to be carried out in preparation for the sub's retrieval.
She was finally raised using 32 slings to support her estimated sand-filled weight of 29 tonnes, and attached to a steel frame which was craned to the surface.
The submarine now lies in chilled water in a lab at the Warren Lasch Conservation Centre in Old Charlestown Naval Shipyard, specially designed with atmospheric controls to slow the rate of deterioration.
Conservationists have up to 10 years of work ahead of them, removing encrustation covering the exterior, bar the glass portholes, and internal silt, debris and artefacts.
The identities of the crew are known, and any human remains found will be buried at a Charlestown cemetery with full military honours.