Construction
In the autumn of 1861, the Navy asked the firm of Neafie & Levy to construct a small submersible ship designed by the French engineer Brutus DeVilleroi, who also acted as a supervisor during the first phase of the construction.
The ship was about 30 ft (9 m) long and 6 ft (1.8 m) or 8 ft (2.4 m) in diameter. "It was made of iron, with the upper part pierced for small circular plates of glass, for light, and in it were several water tight compartments." For propulsion, she was equipped with sixteen hand-powered paddles protruding from the sides, but on 3 July 1862, the Washington Navy Yard had the paddles replaced by a hand-cranked propeller, which improved its speed up to seven knots. Air was to be supplied from the surface by two tubes with floats, connected to an air pump inside the submarine.
The Navy wanted such a vessel to counter the threat posed to its wooden-hulled blockaders by the former screw frigate Merrimack which, according to intelligence reports, the Norfolk Navy Yard was rebuilding as an ironclad ram for the Confederacy (the CSS Virginia). The Navy's agreement with the Philadelphia shipbuilder specified that the submarine was to be finished in not more than 40 days, its keel was laid down almost immediately following the signing on 1 November 1861 of the contract for her construction. Nevertheless, the work proceeded so slowly that more than 180 days had elapsed when the novel craft finally was launched on 1 May 1862. Important Facts About the "Alligator" -Named after the animal because of its shape and look. It was sleek under the water, and was very efficient when it came to navigating through murky waves. Would attack enemies when needed to. Very similar in contrast to the animal. -Used in the 1860's by the French. -The "Alligator" was used quite frequently in the Civil War for spying on their enemies. It was a very crafty boat, with motors and engines that were very silent. The man that created the boat originally intended the motors and engines to be silent so that divers could concentrate more on the wonders of the deep. It came in handy afterward for being secretive when gliding through the water. -While the "Alligator" was spying on its enemies one night in bad weather, it hit a rocky coast and sunk. The crew within the submarine were saved, but the "Alligator" could no longer be used as a weapon in the war. Scientists have left the boat there, wanting the spot to be somewhat sacred, for the "Alligator" indeed was a very crucial part of the Civil War.
Read more about this topic: American Submarine Alligator (1862)
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