The 1863-1864 Sinkings of the Submarine "H. L. Hunley" (Episode 39)
11/30/21 • 56 min
This week, we're off to Charleston, South Carolina, where at the height of the American Civil War a secret weapon was launched into Charleston Harbor. It wasn't a very good weapon - in fact, it killed three times as many of its own crew members than enemy sailors - but it was an example of cutting-edge wartime technology that wouldn't be attempted again until World War 1. In sinking the Union ship 'Housatonic', the Confedarate ship 'H.L. Hunley' became the world's first successful combat submarine; however, when it failed to surface after this victory, it became a long, weird footnote in naval history, one that's still posing questions today. Join us for a wartime story of privateering, blockades, torpedo boats, cast iron, and some extremely bad luck as we pick apart the story of the builders, crew, and victims of the 'H. L. Hunley'.
Love the show? Support us on Patreon, at www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast.
Sources for this episode include:
“The H L Hunley: The Secret Hope of the Confederacy”, by Tom Chaffin, 2010
“Air blast injuries killed the crew of the submarine H.L. Hunley”, by R. Lance et al, Plos One, 2017
“The Old South Lives as It Buries a Part of the Past”, by E Barry for the Los Angeles Times, 2004
“In the Waves: My Quest to Solve the Mystery of a Civil War Submarine”, by R. Lance, 2020
Hunley.org
This week, we're off to Charleston, South Carolina, where at the height of the American Civil War a secret weapon was launched into Charleston Harbor. It wasn't a very good weapon - in fact, it killed three times as many of its own crew members than enemy sailors - but it was an example of cutting-edge wartime technology that wouldn't be attempted again until World War 1. In sinking the Union ship 'Housatonic', the Confedarate ship 'H.L. Hunley' became the world's first successful combat submarine; however, when it failed to surface after this victory, it became a long, weird footnote in naval history, one that's still posing questions today. Join us for a wartime story of privateering, blockades, torpedo boats, cast iron, and some extremely bad luck as we pick apart the story of the builders, crew, and victims of the 'H. L. Hunley'.
Love the show? Support us on Patreon, at www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast.
Sources for this episode include:
“The H L Hunley: The Secret Hope of the Confederacy”, by Tom Chaffin, 2010
“Air blast injuries killed the crew of the submarine H.L. Hunley”, by R. Lance et al, Plos One, 2017
“The Old South Lives as It Buries a Part of the Past”, by E Barry for the Los Angeles Times, 2004
“In the Waves: My Quest to Solve the Mystery of a Civil War Submarine”, by R. Lance, 2020
Hunley.org
Previous Episode
The 1919 Black Sox Scandal (Episode 38)
Hear the crack of the bat, the munching of cracker-jack, and the calls of the (possibly corrupt) umpire as we take you back to the scandalous 1919 World Series of Major League Baseball! On this episode, we invite our dear listeners to meet a cast of excellently-named conspirators, their gambling buddies, their dreams of unimaginable wealth, and what led to their ultimate downfall; and spoiler alert, it's not just unbridled greed. Grab your glove, toss a few pitches, and settle in for the tale of the so-called Black Sox - what actually happened, plus the myths and legends of a truly wild season of America's pasttime.
Enjoy the show? Support us on Patreon, at www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast.
Sources:
Black Sox in the Courtroom: The Grand Jury, Criminal Trial, and Civil Litigation by Bill Lamb
Notes From The Shadows of Cooperstown by Gene Carney
The Black Sox Scandal by Bill Lamb
Misc. court documents
Next Episode
The 1979 Fall of the Skylab Space Station (Episode 40)
Get a glass of Tang and join us for a lofty episode on America's first space station: Skylab! When NASA launched the project in 1973, it heralded a new era of space exploration and scientific progression - one that was still, unfortunately, subject to the law of gravity. When Skylab's orbit began to fail in 1978, NASA engineers found that they couldn't quite aim it for the ocean the way they'd hoped - and they also couldn't quite predict where the flaming tons of wreckage might crash down. Cue the bookies, Chicken Little parties, 'Skylab Repellant Spray', and a slew of other weirdness ranging from the Miss Universe 1979 Pageant to a littering bill from rural Western Australia that went unpaid for thirty years. Along the way we'll cover the Skylab missions, solar activity, spiders in space, and why Ella worries about space junk falling on her head.
Bonus: dear listeners, it's our fortieth (!) episode and the end of Season One! We'd love to hear your thoughts on the past season and ideas for Season Two - you can email us at [email protected] or drop us a DM on Instagram @relative.disasters
Love the show? Support us on Patreon, at www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast.
Sources for this episode include:
Spacelab: A Chronology/ A Classroom in Space
Chicago Tribune. January 11, 1975 - "Skylab Rocket Debris Falls in Indian Ocean"
Karimnagar: Revisiting the Day Skylab Fell by Puli Sharat Kumar
The Strange Tale of the Skylab's Fall From Orbit by Rebecca J. Rosen
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