title: Did a "lucky shot" sink the submarine H.L. Hunley?
abstract: The H.L. Hunley was the first submarine to be successful in combat, sinking the Union vessel Housatonic outside Charleston Harbor in 1864 during the Civil War. However, despite marking a milestone in military history, little is known about this vessel or why it sank. One popular theory is the "lucky shot" theory: the hypothesis that small arms fire from the crew of the Housatonic may have sufficiently damaged the submarine to sink it. However, ballistic experiments with cast iron samples, analysis of historical experiments firing Civil War-era projectiles at cast iron samples, and calculation of the tidal currents and sinking trajectory of the submarine indicate that this theory is not likely. Based on our results, the "lucky shot" theory does not explain the sinking of the world's first successful combat submarine.
authors.affiliation: Duke University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, 1427 CIEMAS, 101 Science Drive, Box 90281, Durham, NC 27705, United States; Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division, Code E15 Underwater Systems Development and Acquisition, 110 Vernon Dr., Panama City, FL 32407, United States. Electronic address: Rachel.lance@duke.edu.
authors.forename: Rachel M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Lance
authors.affiliation: Duke University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, 1427 CIEMAS, 101 Science Drive, Box 90281, Durham, NC 27705, United States.
authors.forename: Henry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Warder
authors.affiliation: Duke University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, 1427 CIEMAS, 101 Science Drive, Box 90281, Durham, NC 27705, United States.
authors.forename: Cameron R Dale
authors.initials: CRD
authors.lastname: Bass
keywords: Damage; Hunley; Lucky; Shot; Sink; Submarine