1st submarine to sink an enemy warship, the Confederacy's "Hundley" sank 150 years ago (2/17/1864)
No one knows exactly why, but scientists studying the vessel have some interesting ideas.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/17/confederate-sub-hunley-civil-war-150th-anniversary-1864/5551101/
Monday marks the 150th anniversary of the Feb. 17, 1864, mission in which the Hunley sank the Union ship Housatonic as the Confederates desperately tried to break the Civil War blockade that was strangling Charleston. While the Housatonic sank, so did the Hunley.
An examination of the spar found it was deformed as if in an explosion. Scientists now believe the Hunley was less than 20 feet from the Housatonic when it sank. That means it may have been close enough for the sub's crew to have been knocked unconscious by the explosion — long enough that they may have died before awakening.
For years, historians thought the Hunley was farther away and had speculated the crew ran out of air before they were able to return to shore.
Those who went down on the Hunley comprised the third crew of the submarine. Two previous crews died in accidents before the sub could even attempt its mission.
