"Turtle" was the name of the first
submarine design, essentially a small round tank with assorted bits sticking out all over. It was a single person craft which was powered by a hand crank in front of the operator. "Turtle" also had a vertical
screw to assist in depth control. Depth was regulated by letting water in to a
ballast tank beneath the operator. To surface the water was pumped out with a hand pump.
The sub's only weapon was a drill. The idea was to sneak under a ship and drill a hole in the hull, letting in the sea. No attempt was sucessful and the idea was abandoned for many years. Even if "Turtle" had managed to drill a hole in the bottom of a ship, the flooding would have been so slow and the hole so small that the crew would have easily repaired the damage and pumped out the bilge.
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