Who was David Bushnell?

David Bushnell (1742 - 1824) of Saybrook, Connecticut, was an American inventor during the Revolutionary War. He is credited with creating in 1775, while studying at Yale University, the first submarine ever used in combat, known as the Turtle. His idea of using water as ballast for submerging and raising his submarine is still in use today, as is the screw propeller, which was first used in the Turtle.

While at Yale, he proved that gunpowder exploded under water. With this, he also came up with mine barrage in 1777. He also invented the first time bomb. He combined his ideas in an attempt to attack British ships which were blockading New York Harbor in the summer of 1776 by boring through their hulls and implanting time bombs, but failed every time due to a metal lining in the ships hull to protect against parasites in their previous station, the Caribbean. The Turtle eventually sank.

David Bushnell's Submarine Model is on display in Groton, Connecticut.