The Submarine That Won a Battle - Then Took Eight Men Down

Emergencies and World Disasters · Jul 24, 2026 · 22m

The Submarine That Won a Battle - Then Took Eight Men Down

A 39.5-foot iron tube slipped through Charleston harbor on February 17, 1864, carrying eight men and 135 pounds of gunpowder - and it sank the Union sloop Housatonic in minutes. The Hunley then signaled success with a blue light and vanished for 106 years; how did a machine that achieved a historic first also bury its own crew and leave holes in its hull no one can fully explain?

In this episode, we trace the Hunley from its construction in 1863 through the 1864 attack, the century-long burial in Charleston Harbor, and the contested…