Intelligent Whale – Foto e Video

Balena intelligente, un sottomarino sperimentale a manovella, fu costruito su progetto di Scovel Sturgis Merriam nel 1863 da Augustus Price e Cornelius Scranton Bushnell. Nel 1864 fu costituita l'American Submarine Company, che rilevò gli interessi di Bushnell e Price e seguirono anni di contenzioso sulla proprietà dell'imbarcazione. Quando il titolo fu stabilito da un tribunale, il sottomarino fu venduto il 29 ottobre 1869 attraverso un contratto stipulato dal proprietario Oliver Halstead e dal Segretario della Marina George M. Robeson al Dipartimento della Marina degli Stati Uniti, con la maggior parte del prezzo da pagare dopo prove di successo. Nel settembre 1872 si tenne il primo processo e non ebbe successo, dopodiché il Dipartimento rifiutò ulteriori pagamenti e abbandonò il progetto.

fonte: Balena intelligente su 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.