Friday, September 7 The American Turtle, the first known submersible water vehicle (isn't it cute?), carried out its first attempt at an underwater attack on the British ship HMS Eagle in the early hours of September 7, 1976. David Bushnell, the inventor and pilot of the Turtle was unsuccessful in implanting explosives in the hull of the Eagle, due in part to the fact that the first place he chose to drill into was an iron sheet, and ...