Comments by "" (@BobSmith-dk8nw) on "Turtle - Guide 405" video.

  1. As to the "torpedo's" detonation not being in the Eagle's log ... it would depend on how far down the river it was and which way the wind was blowing. Given the speed at which a Design like the Turtle would move - I would not be surprised at a fairly lengthy fuse. Eagle Crewman #1: - "What was that?" Eagle Crewman #2: - [shrug] .
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  2. Yes. Exactly what I was thinking. It doesn't matter how thin it is - if the drill can't penetrate it. If you look at the Spar Torpedo on the Hunley it had the force of the submarine's ten man crew driving it through the water. Given the Turtle's design - it seems barely sufficient to drive it through the water - much less enough to punch a hole in anything. Any time I've had to drill through something like metal - I had to exert a good bit of force on the drill to get it to penetrate. I can't see how the sole operator of the Turtle could exert any force on anything. I'm amazed he was able to propel it through the water with a design like that. What is truly amazing about the Turtle is that it was able to actually try and attack a Warship. That was an incredible accomplishment. At least the Turtle didn't kill several of it's crews the way the Hunley did. The History of Submarines is replete with subs killing their crews. As a child - I saw the Thresher launched and knew one of the kids whose father was a Civilian Technician on it when it went down. .
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