Joint Research Project Yields New Details About the U.S. Navy's First Submarine
Released: 12/15/2003
Point of Contact:
Mike Flint
Office of Naval Research
Corporate Communications Office
Phone: 703-696-4574
Fax: 703-696-5940
E-mail: Michael_Flint@onr.navy.mil
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) and the U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Research (ONR) have joined
forces to uncover the secrets of a technological marvel of the Civil War era
akin to the USS Monitor and the CSS Hunley:
the USS Alligator. Launched in 1862, the Alligator was
the U.S. Navy’s first submarine. While the vessel represented a significant
leap forward in naval engineering, complete information about its design and
fate has been elusive. Today, NOAA and ONR released findings that help fill
large gaps in the history of the all-but-forgotten Union submarine, including
details about the Alligator’s inventor, innovative
features and loss in April 1863.
NOAA is excited to partner with the Office of Naval Research to bring the
largely untold story of the Alligator to the public,” said
Dr. Richard W. Spinrad, Assistant Administrator for NOAA’s National Ocean
Service. “Through the Alligator Project, we are learning not only about
revolutionary developments in maritime technology, but also the American Civil
War experience and the pioneering spirit that built our great nation.”
“The story of the USS Alligator is an exciting
one. It’s a mystery,” said Chief of Naval Research RADM Jay Cohen. “The Alligator Project
will test our ability to find an object in the sea in a reasonable amount of
time and at a reasonable cost. If we can find the Alligator,
we can find anything.”
Among the NOAA-ONR research team’s recent discoveries are the only design
drawings of the Alligator found to date. Drafted by
French inventor Brutus de Villeroi, the drawings provide new details about
the vessel’s architecture and breakthrough technologies, including the
first diver lockout chamber ever devised for a submarine as a weapons system.
NOAA discovered Villeroi’s original, hand-drawn designs in France in
May 2003 after a search for Alligator-related documents
led to the French navy’s historical archives, the Service Historique
de la Marine. Along with the design drawings, NOAA also found a number of original,
hand-written letters exchanged by Villeroi and the French government. The letters
document Villeroi’s repeated but unsuccessful attempts to persuade the
government of his native country to purchase his submarine design.
An 1863 letter provides clues about the loss of the Alligator off
the coast of North Carolina while it was being towed by the USS Sumpter from
Washington, D.C., to Charleston, S.C. Sent by the Sumpter’s
acting master, J.D. Winchester, to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Wells, the
letter explains that a fierce storm on April 2, 1863 forced the crew of the Sumpter to
cut the submarine loose off Cape Hatteras, N.C. The letter includes details
about the climatic conditions, wind direction, ocean temperature, and longitude
and latitude of the ship when the Alligator’s
towline was cut, providing clues about where the submarine may lie.
In an attempt to answer lurking questions surrounding the Alligator’s
fate, NOAA and ONR enlisted the assistance of U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) students
and faculty. Using the details provided in Winchester’s letter, along
with available information about the Alligator and
an analysis of the oceanographic and meteorological conditions that may have
existed at the time of the Alligator’s loss,
the USNA-NOAA-ONR research team developed a rough estimation of where the green,
47-foot-long submarine may have come to rest. The area identified by the team
encompasses part of the infamous “Graveyard of the Atlantic” off
Cape Hatteras.
“What makes the Alligator so compelling is that
it combines history, mystery and technology,” said Daniel J. Basta, director
of NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary Program, which houses NOAA’s
new Maritime Heritage Program and manages the Monitor National
Marine Sanctuary. “Everyone has a role to play in the hunt for the Alligator.
We encourage others to join us as we continue to uncover the secrets of the Alligator and
push the limits of ocean exploration.”
NOAA and ONR initiated the Alligator Project in 2002
in an effort to shed new light on America’s maritime heritage. In October
2003, at a special symposium, NOAA and ONR brought together experts in naval
history, maritime archaeology, oceanography, engineering and ocean exploration
to exchange information about the Alligator and discuss
the possibility of locating and recovering this historic vessel.
The information released today, including images of the Alligator design
drawings, historical documents, and a map depicting the last reported position
of the submarine, are available on the Alligator Project
Web site at: www.sanctuaries.noaa.gov/alligator.
A project timeline and brief history of the Alligator,
based on extensive research conducted by the Office of Naval Research with
assistance from historian and artist Jim Christley EMCS(SS), USN (Ret.), and
historian and author Mark K. Ragan, is also available on the Web site.
The Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through
the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing
environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources.
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) manages science and technology for the
Navy and Marine Corps. ONR sponsors basic and applied research in oceanography,
advanced materials, sensors, robotics, biomedical science and technology, electronics,
surveillance, mathematics, manufacturing technology, information science, advanced
combat systems and technologies for ships, submarines, aircraft and ground
vehicles.