Re: Submarine Movie? or TV?

[VBra676539@aol.com]

In a message dated 7/2/99 1:52:30 AM, michaelbholt@juno.com writes:

<<It's the "Hunley," named after Mr. Hunley (I can't recall his first name)
who
conceived and built it.   In South Carolina, in 1864.   In short order it
drowned 
three crews (the first of which was led by Hunley himself, who escaped 
twice from the sinking boat).
>>

The Hunley was built in Alabama, according to Mr. Cussler's account, and 
transported to Charleston by train on a double flatcar. The sub was iron, 
fabricated from a railroad engine boiler split port and starboard lengthwise 
with side plates riveted in to give it sitting headroom. Ballast tanks were 
open topped bulkheads fore and aft, inside the hull--if you lost trim, one 
tank would spill water into the hull which would overweight the other 
end--that's what did it in once or twice during testing. They surmise she was 
flooded by the wash of ships rushing to take crew off the Housitanic on the 
night the Hunley raided the fleet, or possibly run down, although the latter 
is supposed to be a distant possibility. She was found exactly on course and 
where she was supposed to be. Only no one knew where that was until Cussler 
researched it. His divers found it, too, although the Navy has since claimed 
it as their own, and claimed credit for its discovery to boot. There is a 
movie coming out, and it was probably the preview that was spotted. I've seen 
it myself. There's an interesting section in Mr. Cussler's non-fiction book 
"The Sea Searchers' about this.
Vance