Turtle (submersible)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Turtle" submersible – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

A cutaway full-sized replica of the Turtle on display at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Gosport, UK
History
United States
Name	Turtle
Namesake	Turtle
Builder	David Bushnell
Laid down	1775 249 years ago
Launched	1775
Commissioned	1775
In service	1775–1776
Fate	Unknown
General characteristics
Class and type	Submersible
Displacement	91 kg (201 lb)
Length	3.0 m (9 ft 10 in)
Beam	0.9 m (2 ft 11 in)
Propulsion	Hand-cranked propellers
Speed	2.6 kn (4.8 km/h; 3.0 mph)
Endurance	30 min
Notes	First submersible vessel with a documented record of use in combat

Turtle (also called American Turtle) was the world's first submersible vessel with a documented record of use in combat. It was built in 1775 by American David Bushnell as a means of attaching explosive charges to ships in a harbor, for use against the Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Connecticut Governor Jonathan Trumbull recommended the invention to George Washington, who provided funds and support for the development and testing of the machine.

Several attempts were made using Turtle to affix explosives to the undersides of British warships in New York Harbor in 1776. All failed, and her transport ship was sunk later that year by the British with the submarine aboard. Bushnell claimed eventually to have recovered the machine, but its final fate is unknown. Modern replicas of Turtle have been constructed and are on display in the Connecticut River Museum, the U.S. Navy's Submarine Force Library and Museum, the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, and the Oceanographic Museum (Monaco).