Submarines are the silent hunters of the deep. From the large nuclear-powered boats of today’s navies, to the German U-Boats of the First and Second World Wars, these machines hidden beneath the waves can change the course of history. In the United States, the first submersible was the Turtle with an egg-shaped hull designed by David Bushnell. This hand-powered submarine was used in a failed attempt to sink the British ship HMS Eagle in New York Harbor in 1776. Nearly one hundred years later the HL Hunley, a submarine built by the Confederate States of America, would become the first to sink an enemy vessel during the American Civil War.

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