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Civil War Sub Had Advanced Technology

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From Times Wire Reports

Scientists excavating the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley, which sank off Charleston in 1864, say the sub had a brake on its propeller--more evidence of technology that was advanced for its time.

The excavation of the silt inside the Hunley has revealed a flywheel near the rear of the hand-cranked submarine. The flywheel was located behind the gears of the sub’s crank and connected to the propeller.

Scientists say it acted as a brake on the propeller.

“Again, this shows us that the Hunley was ahead of her time when it came to design and engineering,” said Bob Neyland, Hunley project director.

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The Hunley was the first sub in history to sink an enemy warship, a distinction that was short-lived. It sank off Charleston in 1864 soon after disabling the Union blockade ship Housatonic. The sub was raised in the summer of 2000 and brought to a conservation lab at the old Charleston Navy Base.

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