Medal Commemorates the First Submarine Used in Combat

Jim Licaretz, one of the winners of the American Medallic Sculpture Association MEDALS250 competition, has created an art medal that departs from the usual themes of people, places, protests, and battles. Instead, it honors the semiquincentennial of the innovative Revolutionary War submarine Turtle.

On the night of September 7, 1776, American Sergeant Ezra Lee piloted the Turtle into New York Harbor in an attempt to attack the British flagship, HMS Eagle, and break the British naval blockade. The pilot’s plan was to drill a mine into the wooden hull of the enemy ship, set a time-delay fuse, and paddle away before the detonation. Unfortunately, the mission failed. The operator struggled with the intense water currents. Upon reaching the flagship, the submarine’s hand-operated drill could not penetrate the ship’s metal-reinforced hull. Lee was forced to abort the mission, and the Turtle was eventually lost at sea. 

Designed in 1775 by American inventor David Bushnell, the Turtle is the world’s first submarine ever used in combat. Shaped like a sea turtle, the craft was constructed from hollowed-out oak bound by iron hoops and sealed with tar. The Turtle was ahead of its time. It featured innovations such as a treadle-driven propeller used for forward and backward movement, alongside a manual crank for vertical positioning; intake valves and a pump to take on and release water ballast for submerging and surfacing; an early ventilation device intended to provide fresh air while submerged; and a screw meant to attach a barrel full of explosives.  All of these innovations appear on Licaretz’s medal. 

No more than 76 of the large 3½-inch cold-cast bronze Turtle art medals will be made. They are priced at for $117.76, plus $10 for shipping. Send orders to the distributor: Mel Wacks, 5189 Jeffdale Ave., Woodland Hills, CA 91364, or call 818-225-1348.