Complete Civil War submarine C.S.S. Hunley unveiled for first time

Bruce Smith / AP

The Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley sits in a conservation tank after a steel truss that had surrounded it was removed

Once the H.L. Hunley was raised from her watery grave on August 8, 2000, she was immediately transported to the Warren Lasch Conservation Center. As soon as the H.L. Hunley arrived at the Conservation Center, she was placed in a large steel tank filled with 55,000 gallons of chilled fresh water. This was done to minimize bacteria and corrosion activity, to protect and stabilize the waterlogged submarine, and to begin the process of desalination. Shortly thereafter, preparations for the excavation of the interior of the hull could begin. Here, the mysteries of how and why she met her tragic fate will be revealed and the entire vessel will be conserved for posterity, as part of a permanent museum display.

Randall Hill / Reuters

Senior conservator Paul Mardikian checks over the stern of the Civil War submarine H.L. Hunley.

Confederate Civil War vessel H.L. Hunley, the world's first successful combat submarine, was unveiled in full and unobstructed for the first time in 2012, capping a decade of careful preservation.

"No one alive has ever seen the Hunley complete. We're going to see it today," engineer John King said as a crane at a Charleston conservation laboratory slowly lifted a massive steel truss covering the top of the submarine.

Bruce Smith / AP

The first clear view of the sub since it sank in 1864 off the South Carolina coast.

About 20 engineers and scientists applauded as they caught the first glimpse of the intact 42-foot-long (13-meter-long) narrow iron cylinder, which was raised from the ocean floor near Charleston more than a decade ago. The public will see the same view, but in a water tank to keep it from rusting.