What Hunley Researchers Say
According to Hunley researchers, the surge from the torpedo would not have the same effect on the Confederate ship as it did the Housatonic even with both being so near each other. The blast typically lasts for a long time, but its physical force is not significant. The most damage the crew would have to have sustained would be bumps. Black powder from the torpedo however, is strong enough to cause water to come out from steel. The Housatonic’s hull was made of wood, which made things worse, and the combined forces of the torpedo and of the water coming in sank the ship in record time, and though the Hunley was said to have sunk quickly as well, it did so for different reasons.
