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The Sinking of USS ''Housatonic'' on 17 February 1864 during the American Civil War was an important turning point in naval warfare. The Confederate States Navy submarine, ''H.L. Hunley'' made her first and only attack on a Union Navy warship when she staged a clandestine night attack on the in Charleston harbor. The ''Hunley'' approached just under the surface, avoiding detection until the last moments, then embedded and remotely detonated a spar torpedo that rapidly sank the sloop-of-war with the loss of five Union sailors. The ''Hunley'' became renowned as the first submarine to successfully sink an enemy vessel in combat, and was the direct progenitor of what would eventually become international submarine warfare, although the victory was Pyrrhic and short-lived, since the submarine did not survive the attack and was lost with all eight Confederate crewmen. ==Sinking== On the evening of 17 February 1864, the ''Hunley'' made her first mission against an enemy vessel during the American Civil War. Armed with a spar torpedo, mounted to a rod extending out from her bow, the ''Hunley''s mission was to lift the blockade of Charleston, South Carolina by destroying the sloop-of-war USS ''Housatonic'' in Charleston Harbor. ''Housatonic'' was a vessel with an armament of twelve large cannons, stationed at the entrance of Charleston Harbor roughly five miles off the coast. ''Housatonic'' was commanded by Captain Charles W. Pickering and had a crew of 150 men. The ''Hunley'' began her approach at about 8:45 pm, commanded by First Lieutenant George E. Dixon and crewed by seven volunteers. Accounts differ about the initial approach; what is known is that the ''Hunley'' was spotted just before embedding her torpedo into ''Housatonic''s hull. Official accounts say ''Housatonic'' was unable to fire a broadside at ''Hunley'', and hit her with only small arms fire. The ''Hunley'' attached her explosive to ''Housatonic''s side before reversing and setting a course for home. A few moments later the torpedo detonated and sank the sloop-of-war. First-hand reports say no explosion was heard by the crew of ''Housatonic'', who immediately began climbing the rigging or entering life boats as the sloop began to sink. Within five minutes, ''Housatonic'' was partially underwater. ''Hunley'' thus achieved the first sinking of a warship in combat via submarine. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sinking of USS Housatonic」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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