Talk:H. L. Hunley (submarine)

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The earlier 2 sinkings of the Hunley were in Charleston harbor. The Hunley attacked the USS Housatonic from Breech Inlet, between Sullivans Island and the Isle of Palms. Both it and the Housatonic sank in the Atlantic Ocean off Sullivans Island, not in Charleston harbor. The entrance to Charleston harbor is south of Sullivans Island. Breech Inlet is at the north end of the island.

What are the length and diameter of the ship? Rmhermen 19:18, Jul 23, 2004 (UTC)

"About 30 feet long, 4 feet wide and 5 feet deep" ("The Hunley", Mark K. Ragan, Narwhal Press Inc.)Ypacaraí 09:48, 2004 Oct 2 (UTC)
By examining Civil War records and conducting DNA testing with possible relatives, forensic genealogist Linda Abrams was able to identify the remains of Dixon and the four other men: Frank Collins, Joseph Ridgaway, and James A. Wicks.

Is this just a mistake or is there a name missing? —Kate | Talk 00:48, 2004 Aug 5 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Citadel?

I fixed the busted link in this sentence "This cemetery was earlier part of the Citadel's Physical Education department; part of the cemetery was under their football field."

But I'm not sure it has any real relevance to the rest of the article.Thatcher131 20:45, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] CSS?

I visited the remains of the Hunley last year in Charleston and found out that since she sank before she was officially commissioned, she was never given the designation "CSS". Perhaps someone familiar with naval issues could research that for the article. Hal Jespersen 21:12, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

I believe that is correct, although my father would know for sure. I can contact him in the real world, so to speak. She was privately financed and built under terms of a law that paid inventors 50% of the value of any Union ship sunk by means of a new invention. However after the first trials and deaths of the crews, the CS Navy took her over. So the CSS designation may be appropriate in principle if not in specific. What does the Hunley excavation website have to say? Thatcher131 21:31, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

I didn't do an exhaustive search on the site, but http://www.hunley.org/ doesn't seem to call her CSS. Hal Jespersen 22:05, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "The Wreck"

The section entitled "the wreck" actually describes the discovery of it. I found one article that may have found an intentional opening of the hatch sank the sub: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=2194592&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

[edit] Found twice?

The search for Hunley ended in 1995, 132 years later, when best-selling author Clive Cussler, and his team from the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) found the submarine where E. Lee Spence had discovered it in 1970.

Um, what? It was found in 1995 after having been found in the same spot 25 years earlier? This needs clarification.--4.254.114.225 02:09, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

Well, given that there was no GPS in 1970, plus the possibilty of the wreck shifting in storms or being covered over with silt, having to find it twice would not be unusual. Agree it needs clarification. Thatcher131 03:26, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Unknown Crew?

Apart from the commander of the submarine, Lieutenant George E. Dixon, the identities of the volunteer crewmembers of the Hunley remained a mystery The article states that only Dixon is known of the crew, yet the premier Hunley restoration website lists the entire crew (and has for a long time) is there some reason this list was ignored? See here: http://www.hunley.org/main_index.asp?CONTENT=CREWB_PROFILES Zurel Darrillian 17:16, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

It definitely needs a rewrite/update. Thatcher131 (talk) 14:33, 28 July 2006 (UTC)
Ok, good. I didn't want to just stick it in there in case there was some reason it was in dispute. If nobody else does it first I will in a few days. Zurel Darrillian 15:12, 28 July 2006 (UTC)
Well, for me the problem is that I can't just add in the names to the existing section, it needs a rewrite, and I don't have the energy to do it right now. But there seems to be no reason no to do it. Thatcher131 (talk) 15:17, 28 July 2006 (UTC)
Agreed, and I too have the same issue. :) Zurel Darrillian 15:20, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

There are three references in this section to the number of crew and their roles.

a) "The Hunley was designed to be hand powered by a crew of eight: seven to turn the hand-cranked propeller and one to steer and direct the boat."

b) "Confederate Navy Lieutenant John A. Payne of CSS Chicora volunteered to be Hunley's skipper, and a volunteer crew of seven men from Chicora and CSS Palmetto State was assembled to operate the submarine."

c) "On October 15, 1863 the Hunley failed to surface during a mock attack, killing its inventor and seven other crewmen."

However, the cutaway drawing by Alexander shows 8 crewmen turning the propeller crank and no one steering or directing the boat.

Has anyone found any drawings/schematics of the actual Hunley as described (i.e. 7 crew to turn the crank and one to steer)? 216.9.243.109 19:40, 17 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Too much clutter

This talk page has more cheesy useless vanity tags than it does actual talk content. The whole vanity tag thing has gone way too far. All of these WikiProjects seem hell-bent on slapping tags on as many pages as possible, and most of these tags have very little to do with the content of the page. This needs to stop. —Joseph/N328KF (Talk) 19:58, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

  • Why remove tags from legitimate projects? Who is the arbiter of "clutter" and what projects are legitimate? If there is this much concern then maybe we need to eliminate the WikiProjects from Wikipedia altogether. If a subject falls within a project, then it should be tagged. I don't care if there's 100 tags on a page. The fact remains that the Hunley IS listed in the National Register of Historic Places; she IS a shipwreck; she IS an important part of military history; she IS a part of Carolina history. I'm sorry if this offends someone's esthetic sensibilities or hurts their feelings. Einbierbitte 18:49, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Discovery section

The section on the ship's discovery is totally biased in favor of Dr. Spence. I don't know any details, but I know that this is a complicated issue and that someone should really try to resolve it. The problem is that Dr. Spence himself contributes to Wikipedia regularly (as HunleyFinder and anonymously) and has probably written that section of the article. I thought I had to put the POV tag on, given the circumstances. TysK 19:49, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

Dr. Spence wrote most of it. I was watching but don't have the time at the moment to fix it (which would entail a lot of library work for me.) We should treat Dr. Spence with some sensitivity, but ultimately the article should state no more than what reliable, independent sources will bear. Thatcher131 20:45, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

I don't understand why it is complicated. If you go to http://www.shipwrecks.com/Hunley%20introduction%20Lee%20Spence's%20discovery%20sworn%20affidavit.htm there are copies of letters AND affidavits from the 70s showing that Spence was saying that he had found the Hunley, that he did try to get the permissions to raise it. There is even an affidavit from a guy who went to the site and went down and saw it. What more do you want? A T-Shirt saying I touched the Hunley in 1975?? Alex20850 21:11, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Depth?

Does anybody know the depth at which the Hunley was found? I vaguely remember reading it somewhere and I think it's an important thing to include in the article. Splamo 16:02, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

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