In 1907 , millionaire Simon Lake unveil a vessel he felt would change naval surgery forever . His submarine , The Defender , could scurry across the sea bottom on steering wheel and featured a hatch for divers . He hoped to betray the technology to the U.S. Navy .
That never come to fruition , and the vessel was finally scuttle . Now , well over a century later , The Defenderhas been found .
Accordingto The Associated Press , commercial loon Richard Simon key out the sub on Sunday in Long Island Sound . Long charm by its history — he grew up in the area — he was able-bodied to pinpoint its location using sonar , underwater map surveys , and political science data gather under the Freedom of Information Act . Divers were then capable to corroborate its locating more than 150 feet below the surface . It was “ cover in plain sight , ” harmonise to Simon .
The Defenderhas long been a source of captivation for maritime partizan . Lake build the 92 - foot - long submarine in a bid to help pioneer the modernistic submarine , but U.S. officialspreferredthe vessels of John Philip Holland . ( His USSHollandis thought to be the Navy ’s first modern - era hoagy . ) When Lake run out to gain a government contract , he attempted to reimagine it for salvage work . Still , he had no takers , and the curio was forsake — and in 1933 , it was evensoldto a Connecticut shipyard for $ 500 . It was scuttled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1946 .
Simon plans to mount diving surgical operation to search and photograph the site , though he ’s reluctant to bring out its exact location over concern gem hunting watch might strip it . He told NBC News that he has reach out to Lake ’s descendants out of respect for a man he described as “ onwards of his time . ”
[ h / tThe Associated Press ]
