CSS Hunley The CSS Hunley was the first submarine to sink an enemy ship. Before she was actually recovered outside Charleston Harbor, authors and historians derided her as a crude deathtrap that killed more of her crews than enemy sailors. Although the casualty figures are true, she was FAR from being a crude machine. She was a third generation craft with flush riveting, a sophisticated flywheel system to augment her hand-cranked propulsion system, and a snorkel system with its own bellows-type air pump. Her spar torpedo system had a detonator that allowed her to back off from her target before detonating the torpedo’s explosive charge. Why she sunk after sinking her prey and signaling her success to the shore is still a mystery. It is hoped that further analysis will eventually yield more information to solve the puzzle. Specifications: Length-30’, Beam-48”, Height-60”, Tonnage- unk, Crew-8, Armament- 135lb black powder explosive charge spar torpedo. Built- Mobile, AL. Final mission-17 Feb 1864. The Model: 1/35 Scale, 14” Long (Less spar), The model is from a Mikr-Mir (Ukrane) kit replicating her configuration the night of her final mission. She shows traces of rust from her numerous forays and being moored dockside for several weeks during operational and training missions. Her streamlined shape (Described to be as “sleek as a Barracuda” by archaeologists analyzing her.) and dark color give her a menacing appearance