A legendary Civil War-era submarine that has been missing for more than a century may have been located by drone in New Jersey.
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 vessel known as The Alligator Jr.
While it is too early to be certain that this is the Alligator Jr., the location of the anomaly is consistent with research by local historian Alice Smith, who believes the submarine was sunk or abandoned somewhere along the creek in 1861.
If the drone found the Alligator Jr., experts say the “historical” significance of the discovery would be enormous.
Built in 1859 by French inventor Brutus de Villeroi, the Alligator Jr. was probably 9 meters long and weighed several tons
Researchers named the missing ship the Alligator Jr. because it served as the prototype for the first U.S. naval submarine, the Alligator, which was sunk in 1863 and never found.
Built in 1859 by French inventor Brutus de Villeroi, the Alligator Jr. was probably 30 feet long and weighed several tons.
Experts speculate that the crew powered the vessel by activating pedals, which turned the propeller.
According to the Philadelphia Inquisitor, the 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-era submarine that has been missing for more than a century, may have just been found by a drone in New Jersey
Delaware Harbor police were frightened by the futuristic vessel and seized it, referring to it as a “hellish machine.”
What happened to the submarine after that has remained an inscrutable enigma to historians and archaeologists.
It was rumored that the Alligator Jr. was in the care of its inventor, de Villeroi, who placed it on the south Jersey side of the Delaware, where it was forgotten or deliberately sunk into the mud.
But soon historians like Alice Smith became interested in the vessel's final whereabouts.
For two decades, Smith tirelessly searched for the submarine. Her research led her to a location on Rancocas Creek.
Although several searches in the area over the years have been fruitless, Smith has not given up hope.
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 vessel (stock image)
She gathered funds online to hire RETTEW, an engineering company that had an impressive magnetometer.
Smith had them fly the drone over where she suspected the sub was, and he soon detected the anomaly.
“It's been a 20-year adventure and an extremely enjoyable one,” Smith, who is president of the Riverside Historical Society, told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
“I would like to accept congratulations, but I think we have reached a point where there are some additional steps to take and I have some mixed emotions.
'Still, this is probably the best report I've received in 20 years.'
Vince Capone, an expert in sonar technology with decades of experience on shipwrecks, said they should employ radar technology to get a clearer idea 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 that Alice gathered,” Capone said. 'But it's not conclusive that it's the submarine.'
For two decades, Smith tirelessly searched for the submarine. Her research took her to a place in Riacho Rancocas
James Delgado, a noted maritime archaeologist, said that if the Alligator Jr. had in fact been discovered, it would be “not only historically significant, but archaeologically significant.”
He noted that the Alligator Jr. was created at a time in the 19th century when countless inventors from around the world were scrambling to patent underwater technology.
“There aren’t many of these things left around,” he said.
'There were so many being made, but how many survived? Very few. I mean, there's only a handful.
