USS Alligator
did not become
Submarine Explorer

My attention was recently drawn to your article of 29 December in The Columbia Star , entitled "Adventure on Saltspring Island." A number of errors in it which, for the sake of historical accuracy, ought to be corrected.

The name of the designer of the submarine Explorer was Kroehl, not Crowell. While I am not privy to Dr. Jim Delgado's supposed "proof" that the submarine USS Alligator became Explorer , there has never been the slightest shred of evidence to even remotely suggest such a connection in the several years of ongoing research conducted by NOAA, the Office of Navy Research, and the Navy & Marine LHA on USS Alligator.

All of this is thoroughly documented and presented at www.navyandmarine.org/alligator. The history and whereabouts of Alligator are known from the minute it was laid down in 1861 in Philadelphia, through its launch, deployment, and refit in D.C. in 1862, and loss off Cape Hatteras in 1863. Eyewitness reports from its final commander and the skipper of the tow ship verify its loss and are transcribed on the website (as well as being part of the Official Records of the Navy)

Similarly, the history of Julius Kroehl's Explorer is also well- documented. The Brooklyn Eagle newspaper of April 24, 1865, reports on the formation of the Pacific Pearl Mining Company and describes Explorer and its intended use. The Dec. 13, 1865, edition reiterates this information and specifically says that the company and the Submarine Explorer are intended for use on the Pacific coast of Panama.

In the May 31, 1866, edition of the same paper, the sea trials of the submarine are reported on - and specifically says that it was designed by Julius Kroehl. Note that USS Alligator had been on the bottom of the sea off Cape Hatteras for three years by this time, far out of reach of anyone intent upon raising and redesigning her.

We also know that the designer of USS Alligator , Brutus Villeroi, spent the post- war years in Philadelphia as a teacher, and had no connection with Kroehl or the Pacific Pearl Mining Company.

All of this information comes from original sources. We have striven to document and research as thoroughly as possible the story of USS Alligator and the world of submarine warfare.

Chuck Veit

President

Navy & Marine Living History Association www.navyandmarine.org