NOAA, NAVY TO HUNT FOR LOST CIVIL WAR SUBMARINE ALLIGATOR
Green, 47-foot-long Sub Was the Navy's First

Aug. 20, 2004 — Using high-tech underwater search and survey tools, NOAA, with support from the U.S. Navy's Office of Naval Research, will hunt next week for the Alligator, the U.S. Navy's first submarine. The NOAA- (Click NOAA image for larger view of “Hunt for the USS Alligator” poster. Click here for high resolution version, which is a large file. Click here for PDF version. Please credit “NOAA/ONR.”)ONR expedition will take place Aug. 22-31 off Cape Hatteras, N.C., where the Civil War-era vessel was lost during a fierce storm in 1863.

"NOAA is proud to join the Office of Naval Research in the hunt for the Alligator," said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. "Through this hunt for the Alligator, we are expanding what we know about our nation's undersea resources and America's rich maritime history."

"We are delighted to collaborate in this effort, which will provide us with an ideal opportunity to further our understanding of the challenges involved in locating submerged objects," Rear Adm. Jay M. Cohen, chief of naval research. "If we can find the Alligator, we can find anything, and that is always of critical importance for our great Navy."

Researchers will operate from ONR's YP-679 Afloat Lab. Based in Ocracoke, N.C., the 2004 survey is part of an ongoing effort by NOAA, ONR and partners to solve the mystery of the Alligator's fate, while promoting scientific and historical research, education, and ocean literacy. In December 2003, NOAA and ONR unveiled the only known blueprints of the sub, which was designed for the U.S. Navy by French inventor Brutus de Villeroi. (Click NOAA image for larger view of artist's rendering of the USS Alligator. Click here for high resolution version, which is a large file. Please credit Historique de la Marine/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.)

"The hunt for the Alligator is not only about unlocking the secrets of the deep and the past, but also capturing the imagination of our nation's youth, who represent our future," said Daniel J. Basta, director of the NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program, which houses the NOAA Maritime Heritage Program. "Whether or not we find the Alligator, we will move ocean science and exploration forward, and hopefully inspire more than a few budding scientists and historians along the way."

Launched in 1862, the Alligator represented a significant leap forward in naval engineering. Among the sub's most notable features was an airlock designed to allow a diver to exit the vessel while submerged and place an explosive charge on an enemy ship. The Alligator's design also included an air purification system. Both are standard components of modern submarines. In April 1863, while being towed south to participate in the Union attack on Charleston, S.C., the Alligator was lost in a storm off Cape Hatteras, N.C.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of the nation’s coastal and marine resources. NOAA is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Relevant Web Sites
Alligator Project

NOAA Ocean Service

NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program

Media Contact:
David Hall, NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program, (301) 713-3125 ext. 229