Editing Submersible (section)

==History==
{{See also|Submarine#History}}

The first recorded self-propelled underwater vessel was a small oar-powered submarine conceived by [[William Bourne (mathematician)|William Bourne]] (c. 1535 – 1582) and designed and built by Dutch inventor [[Cornelis Drebbel]] in 1620, with two more improved versions built in the following four years.<ref name= Konstam>Konstam (2013).</ref> Contemporary accounts state that the final model was demonstrated to [[James VI and I|King James I]] in person, who may even have been taken aboard for a test dive.<ref name="Royal" /><ref name=Konstam/> There do not appear to have been any further recorded submersibles until Bushnell's [[Turtle (submersible)|''Turtle'']].

The first submersible to be used in war was designed and built by American inventor [[David Bushnell (inventor)|David Bushnell]] in 1775 as a means to attach explosive charges to enemy ships during the American Revolutionary War. The device, dubbed Bushnell's ''Turtle'', was an oval-shaped vessel of wood and brass. It had tanks that were filled with water to make it dive and then emptied with the help of a hand pump to make it return to the surface. The operator used two hand-cranked propellers to move vertically or laterally under the water. The vehicle had small glass windows on top and naturally luminescent wood{{clarify|What wood, what instruments|date=January 2023}} affixed to its instruments so that they could be read in the dark.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

Bushnell's ''Turtle'' was first set into action on September 7, 1776, at New York Harbor to attack the British flagship {{HMS|Eagle|1774|6}}. Sergeant [[Ezra Lee]] operated the vehicle at that time. Lee successfully brought ''Turtle'' against the underside of ''Eagle''{{'}}s hull but failed to attach the charge because of the strong water currents.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

Manned submersibles are primarily used by [[special forces]], which can use this type of vessel for a range of specialised missions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://euro-sd.com/2024/11/articles/41449/submersible-vessel-programmes/  |title= Submersible vessel programmes |author= Sidney E. Dean |date=11 November 2024|website= European Security & Defence}}</ref>