Page 62: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2000)

Maritime History face and doing what she had to do. "You get used to it (the poor visibili- ty)," Peachey said. "At first I was a little disoriented, but I knew that I had to just concentrate on the task at hand."

Sometimes performing dives that last- ed three hours at 35 ft. (10.6 m) below,

Peachey was able to talk with Neyland and the rest of the crew via a helmet that provided full time communication ser- vices.

She mentioned that this was especially helpful when she would locate artifacts or pieces of the vessel and could then describe to her team above exactly what she was viewing.

On A Dark Winter's Night

What historians know about the Hun- ley is that it set out on that February evening in 1864 from its mooring on

Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, setting the stage to meet up with the USS

Housatonic, which was anchored approximately three miles outside of

Contractors • Manufacturers • Engineers • Quality Interiors • Turnkey Deck Houses & Crew Modules • Steel Fabrication and Erection • H VAC • Electrical • Mechanical/Piping • Joiner Materials

Quality • Integrity • Reliability

Providing Marine Interiors Since 1962

J AM ESTO VTN

EJ=A r*

Contractors • Manufacturers • Engineers

Jamestown Metal Marine Sales, Inc. 4710 N.W. 2nd Avenue, Suite 400, Boca Raton, Florida 33431

Ph: (561) 994-3900 • Fax: (561) 994-3969 www.jamestownmetaI.com

O ' Dining Room Furnishings • Lounge & Bar Furnishings • Work Spaces • Laundry Equipment • Storeroom Shelving & Equipment • Laboratory Outfitting • Workshop Equipment

Circle 273 on Reader Service Card

Governor Control Systems (GCS) is now the authorized Woodward distributor for the entire Gulf Coast and a majority of the

East coast. Recognized for their outstanding customer service, GCS specializes in all types of governor repairs ranging from digital to mechanical.

GCS also has an extensive inventory of genuine parts and offers an exchange program. For more information, call GCS at (954) 462-7404 or toll free 1-877-659-6328 or visit our web site a service @ govconsys.com.

GOVERNOR CONTROL SYSTEMS, INC.

WOODWARD

Industrial Controls authorized distributors & service center 3190 S.W. 4th Avenue • Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33315

Almost home free: Hunley being lifted clear of the water's surface by Titan's Karlissa-B. 4

J Ifc.

P § ~ *

I » V H

An aerial view of Karlissa-B preparing to lift suction piles and lifting truss from the deck of a material barge.

Charleston Harbor. Supervising the 40 ft. (12.1 m) Hunley, was a young army lieutenant, Geroge E. Dixon, who apparently took over the helm subse- quent to the drowning of two previous crews on the vessel.

Coming up to the surface of the Har- bor, Hunley sidled itself nearby

Housatonic's hull, where it was discov- ered by a union sailor, who had been on watch that night. Feeling threatened by the Hunley's presence, and thinking that it was lining up to detonate its torpe- does, Housatonic let its guard down, and what followed were mass explosions, which alerted Dixon and his crew that trouble was imminent. Attaching its 135-lb. torpedo beneath Housatonic's water line, this allowed Hunley to coun- terattack with an explosion that would plummet Housatonic beneath the sur- face.

According to reports that were filed at

Confederate military headquarters fol- lowing the explosion, Hunley had received a signal from a beacon that would guide the sub back to shore.

Despite this assurance, the vessel never returned to its homeport — and was never to be seen again until its raising this past summer.

The vessel, which will forever be known as the first submarine to sink an enemy warship in combat, was con- structed in July 1863, by James

McClintock, Baxter Wilson and its namesake — Horace Hunley.

The sub was shuttled to South Caroli- na one month later, where it was eventu- ally taken over by Lieutenant Dixon. 60 Circle 258 on Reader Service Card Maritime Reporter/Engineering News