How did the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley attack the USS Housatonic?

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USS Nautilus — submarine The former USS *Nautilus*, launched in 1954, being towed to Groton, Connecticut, to become a museum, May 1985.

The Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley attacked the Union sloop Housatonic on February 17, 1864, using a spar torpedo.1

A spar torpedo was an explosive device mounted on a long pole extending from the bow of the vessel. By ramming this device into the hull of the Housatonic, the Hunley successfully detonated the charge, sinking the Union ship. While this marked the first time a submarine had sunk an enemy vessel, the Hunley was lost shortly after the attack with all eight crew members on board. Researchers later theorized that the resulting shock wave from the explosion caused fatal "blast lung" injuries to the crew, incapacitating them instantly.1