to make it dive and then emptied with the help of a hand pump to make it return to the surface. The operator used two hand-cranked propellers to move vertically or laterally under the water. The vehicle had small glass windows on top and naturally luminescent wood affixed to its instruments so that they could be read in the dark.

Bushnell's Turtle was first set into action on September 7, 1776, at New York Harbor to attack the British flagship . Sergeant Ezra Lee operated the vehicle at that time. Lee