The innovative H.L. Hunley, a tiny (nearly…

The innovative H.L. Hunley, a tiny (nearly forty feet (twelve meters) long), hand-propelled, Confederate submarine, plays a small part in the American Civil War, but a large role in the history of naval warfare, demonstrating both the advantages and the dangers of undersea warfare.

In her first and only attack against a live target, the Hunley torpedoes the USS Housatonic in Charleston Harbor on February 17, becoming the first combat submarine to sink an enemy ship, although the Hunley had not been not completely submerged.

After the attack, the Hunley fails to return to her base, and her crew of eight is lost to the sea.