What was the first US Naval submarine?

sequoianoir

USS Alligator On April 2, 1863, while under tow to South Carolina for use in the Civil War attack on Charleston, the U.S. Navy's first submarine sank in a storm off Cape Hatteras, N.C. Now, armed with a long-lost set of drawings of the boat and computer models of the storm, two government agencies are organizing a search for the lost submarine, the USS Alligator. http://washingtontimes.com/national/20031216-102459-8998r.htm Jan 15 04, 10:36 AM

Senior Moments

The Turtle according to http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ships/submarines/centennial/subhistory.html Jan 15 04, 10:59 AM

sequoianoir

I also found a similar reference SM but as your link points out: "With slight positive buoyancy, Turtle normally floated with approximately six inches of exposed surface." Not exactly a submarine. And, "The Alligator was the first submarine purchased by the U.S. Navy." Jan 15 04, 11:33 AM