Baleine intelligente – Photos et vidéos

Baleine intelligente, un sous-marin expérimental à manivelle, a été construit sur les plans de Scovel Sturgis Merriam en 1863 par Augustus Price et Cornelius Scranton Bushnell. En 1864, l’American Submarine Company a été formée, reprenant les intérêts de Bushnell et Price et il s’ensuivit des années de litige sur la propriété de l’engin. Lorsque le titre a été établi par un tribunal, le sous-marin a été vendu le 29 octobre 1869 par un contrat passé par le propriétaire Oliver Halstead et le secrétaire à la Marine George M. Robeson au département de la marine des États-Unis, la plupart du prix devant être payé après des essais réussis. En septembre 1872, le premier procès eut lieu, mais il échoua, après quoi le ministère refusa d’autres paiements et abandonna le projet.

Source: Intelligent Whale sur Wikipedia

Intelligent Whale was a submarine designed by Oliver Halstead in the 1860s. It was intended to be used by the Union Navy during the American Civil War, but it was never completed or tested. The submarine had a wooden hull covered with iron plates, and was powered by a steam engine that drove a propeller. It had a conning tower with portholes and a hatch, and a ballast tank that could be filled or emptied by pumps. The submarine also had a torpedo tube that could launch a spar torpedo, a weapon that consisted of an explosive charge attached to a long pole. The submarine was 28 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 12 feet high, and could carry a crew of four.
The submarine was built in Newark, New Jersey, by Augustus Price and Cornelius Scranton Bushnell. However, the project faced many delays and difficulties, such as the lack of funds, the interference of the government, and the skepticism of the public. The submarine was launched in 1866, but it never left the dock. It was sold to P.T. Barnum, who exhibited it as a curiosity in his museum. In 1869, the submarine sank in the East River during a storm, and was later salvaged and scrapped.