Corrosion of Civil War Era Sub Marine Explorer—Part 1

Authors

Donald L. Johnson, Submerged Resources Center, National Park ServiceFollow
James D. Carr, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Brent M. Wilson, Amsted RailFollow
Larry E. Murphy, Submerged Cultural Resource ConsultantsFollow
James P. Delgado, Texas A&M UniversityFollow

Date of this Version

2010

Citation

NACE International, Vol. 49, No. 9

Abstract

The Sub Marine Explorer is one of five submersibles (submarines) constructed prior to 1870 that have survived either in museums or as in situ archaeological sites around the world. Since 1869, the wreck of Explorer has emerged at low tide on the beach of Isla San Telmo, Archipiélago de las Perlas, Panama, located ~75 km southwest of Panama City in the Bay of Panama. In 2001, James Delgado visited the site. Locals described the wreck as a World War II-era Japanese midget submarine. Delgado consulted with Richard Wills, an expert on American Civil War submarines, and confirmed that the well-preserved wreck was the Sub Marine Explorer from the Civil War period.