Why Amateur Submarines are so Dangerous - New York's Forgotten Submarine Wreck

Perhaps it goes without saying by now, but homemade submarines are a terrible idea. Look no further than the swamp-like body of water that is Coney Island Creek, and you'll find the remains of a homemade, sunken submarine that ended up here as the result of a crazy, eccentric man who thought he knew better than the experts. But how was this even allowed, and what will come of this bizarre, abandoned wreck? Stay tuned to find out, because today we discover the truth behind Coney Island's forgotten submarine. I'm your host Ryan Socash, and you're watching It's History. Submarines are serious, complicated machines that are miserable to be inside and outright dangerous, even under the best of circumstances. However, those negative notions are a fair trade for explorers and adventurers wishing to discover Earth's most mysterious places. The images we see can be deceptive. American submariners baking pizza, or Russians visiting their onboard swimming pool, sauna, and smoking lounge, might suggest that submarines are an entirely modern invention. The truth, however, is to the contrary. This technology goes back much further in time. What we see now is just the newest part of a much longer evolution. The concept of diving bells emerged in ancient Greece, China, and other civilizations. These were the first primitive structures that allowed people to stay submerged while exploring underwater. One notable example is Aristotle's mention of a submerged diving bell-like device in the 4th century BCE. During the 16th and 17th centuries, inventors began designing early submarine prototypes. In 1578, an English mathematician, William Bourne, proposed a submarine using a wood and leather structure. In the early 17th century, Dutch inventor Cornelius Drebbel built several working submarines using oars for propulsion and a system of bladder-based buoyancy for submerging and surfacing. Then, in 1776, American inventor David Bushnell built a one-person submarine called the Turtle during the American Revolutionary War. It was used in an attempt to attach explosives to British ships, but the mission was not a success. During the American Civil War, the Confederate submarine H.L. Hongley made history as the first combat submarine to sink an enemy warship. However, it also suffered accidents, including two sinkings, that resulted in the loss of crew. And then finally, in the late 19th century, several inventors made significant contributions to submarine technology. Notable figures from several countries put forth their designs and laid the foundation for the development of modern submarines. The World Wars brought significant advancements in submarine technology when submarines became important naval assets, capable of launching torpedoes and conducting underwater warfare. The introduction of diesel-electric engines, periscopes, and improved hull designs greatly enhanced their capabilities. But the game changed entirely with the onset of nuclear-powered submarines. The USS Nautilus launched in 1954 and became the world's first nuclear-powered submarine. Nuclear submarines offered extended range, endurance, and the ability to stay submerged for long periods. But on the sidelines of these official advancements were also everyday people who had chased dreams of submarining on their own terms. They had a sense of appreciation for the technology, and they had ambition, but critically, they lacked the know-how and the humility to know when to back down. The driving force of these amateur engineers ranged, but in the case of the sunken submarine in Coney Island Creek, it was all about salvaging six German U-boats. Jerry Bianco, a ship fitter who worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, had been consumed by an urban legend circulating that six sunken U-boats were hidden in the waters of Long Island. Bianco, perhaps wishing to cash in, wanted to conduct salvage operations to find them. But the dream didn't stop there. After finding the U-boats, he wanted to search for and rise the Andre Doria, an Italian ocean liner that had sunk near Nantucket when it collided with the Stockholm. He valued the scrap metal that the ship would provide at around six million dollars, but he needed a submarine to find it. So Jerry attracted a few investors, and in 1966, the building process began. Given that the vessel was constructed by an individual with salvaged materials, the design and construction methods may have been unique and improvised and are wholly undocumented. What we do know is that Questor 1 was 45 feet long and made out of random salvaged metals, and that the submarine's launch was a complete disaster. Jerry recalled this incident in a Brooklyn local article from 1994. At the time, he was already 74 years old. He recalled, what happened was the crane operators said that they couldn't pick up anything heavier than 75 tons. I got four hydraulic jacks with scales on them and weighed the sub, which was 83 tons. The ship fitter needed to improvise, so he removed approximately eight tons of ballast from one side of the sub. His daughter broke a bottle of champagne across the bow, and the sub was hoisted into the air, then lowered into the water. And here is where things really went wrong. Jerry recalled, quote, I told the guy, don't put the sub all the way in. We want to put the ballast back. But the crane operator didn't listen, and she just turned right over in the water. Jerry would later find out that the crane could have held a hundred tons. And I should point out, perhaps adding insult to injury, he had invited the entire New York media to witness the launch of his so-called yellow submarine. And the headlines that followed made Jerry a laughingstock to the world. Throughout the years, Jerry tried to recover his vessel, but was unable to rise sufficient funds for the effort. However, one source does claim that the sub was eventually unstuck and sailed up and down the bay before sinking at its mooring. Either way, it was a lost cause, and with time, the sub's most valuable parts were stolen. As a result, Quester 1 sits abandoned on the muddy banks of Coney Island Creek from now until eternity. In fairness to the designer, images of the sub from the 1960s do it far more justice than the rusted hull we see peering out from the water during low tide. Time has taken its toll. Corrosion has set in. For comparison, let's turn no further than the adjacent shipwrecks that had much more to them when you turn back the satellite images to just 2004. Fast forward to modern day, and they look like abandoned pilings from a pier or something. They say hindsight is 20-20, so it's safe to consider that knowing what we know now about homemade submarines with all the recent headlines, it might very well be a miracle that the crane operator caused the Quester 1 to sink without a soul on board.