A legendary Civil War submarine missing for more than a century may have been located in New Jersey by a drone.
Equipped with a magnetometer – essentially a huge metal detector – a drone flying over Rancocas Creek detected a magnetic anomaly that matched what would be expected from the iron-hulled ship known as The Alligator Jr.
Although it is still too early to be certain that it is the Alligator Jr. is, the location of the anomaly matches the research of local historian Alice Smith, who believes the submarine was sunk or abandoned somewhere along the creek in 1861.
If the drone hits the Alligator Jr. would find, experts say the ‘historical’ significance of the discovery would be enormous.
Built in 1859 by French-born inventor Brutus de Villeroi, the Alligator Jr. was probably 30 feet long and weighed several tons
Investigators named the missing ship the Alligator Jr. because it served as the prototype for the first U.S. Navy submarine, the Alligator, which was sunk in 1863 and never found.
Built in 1859 by French-born inventor Brutus de Villeroi, the Alligator Jr. was probably 30 feet long and weighed several tons.
Experts speculate that the crew powered the ship by operating pedals, which turned the propeller.
According to the Philadelphia researcherthe submarine, one of the first of its kind, mysteriously disappeared in 1861 while en route to the Philadelphia Naval Base for some testing.
The Alligator Jr., a legendary Civil War submarine missing for more than a century, may have just been found by a drone in New Jersey
Delaware Harbor Police were shocked by the futuristic ship and seized it, calling it an “infernal machine.”
What happened to the submarine next remained an unfathomable puzzle for historians and archaeologists.
It was rumored that the Alligator Jr. was ultimately in the care of its inventor, de Villeroi, who placed it on the South Jersey side of the Delaware, where it was either forgotten or deliberately sunk in the mud.
But soon historians like Alice Smith became interested in the ship’s final whereabouts.
For twenty years, Smith searched tirelessly for the submarine. Her research led her to a spot on Rancocas Creek.
Although several searches of the area over the years proved fruitless, Smith did not lose hope.
Equipped with a magnetometer – essentially a huge metal detector – a drone flying over Rancocas Creek discovered a magnetic anomaly that matched what was expected of the iron-hulled ship (stock image)
She raised money online to hire RETTEW, an engineering company that had an impressive magnetometer.
Smith had them fly the drone over where she suspected the submarine was, and soon the anomaly was discovered.
“It’s been a 20-year adventure, and extremely enjoyable,” Smith, president of the Riverside Historical Society, told the Philadelphia researcher.
“I would like to accept the congratulations, but I think we have reached a point where some additional steps need to be taken and I have mixed feelings.
“Still, this is probably the best report I’ve received in twenty years.”
Vince Capone, a sonar technology expert with decades of experience detecting shipwrecks, said they need to use radar technology to get a clearer picture of what’s down there.
“There is a very good indication that there is a mass of iron in the swamp, and the area roughly matches some of the evidence Alice has collected,” Capone said. “But it’s not definitive that it’s the submarine.”
For twenty years, Smith searched tirelessly for the submarine. Her research led her to a spot on Rancocas Creek
James Delgado, a noted maritime archaeologist, said that if the Alligator Jr. were actually discovered, it would be ‘not only historically significant, but also archaeologically significant’.
He noted that the Alligator Jr. was created at a time in the 19th century when numerous inventors from around the world were scrambling to patent submarine technology.
“There aren’t many of these things left,” he said.
‘So many were made, but how many survived? Very little. I mean, there’s only a handful of them.”