One hundred years ago on Dec. 7, 1921, a submarine sunk off the coast of Fairfield in Long Island Sound.

The submarine was built on Seaview Avenue in Bridgeport at the Lake Torpedo Boating Company.

A little ways off the Penfield Lighthouse, the captain decided to take an unscheduled dive.

The boat went down as it got stuck in a 70-foot hole at the bottom of Long Island Sound.

As it began taking on water, the 41-person crew sprang into action. The incoming water mixed with battery acid, creating a dangerous chlorine gas. It was also freezing cold.

One of the members was able to sneak through one of the torpedo tubes as the boat tipped to the surface after some of the pig iron was let go by the crew to get rid of some of the weight.

He managed to get to the surface and then rescue the rest of the crew that was later seen by a passing barge.

All 41 members of the crew were saved.

"It was the bravery of everybody on board. Everybody that either helped with the human chain to move the ballasts or just remained in the stern in freezing conditions, squatting down so the boat didn't rock or sink again. They became human ballasts. Everybody on board participated. Everyone on board was a hero," said local author and historian Michael Biewlawa.

It took cranes and boats almost two weeks to get the submarine out of the water.

The crew spent about eight hours under water and later had to fight gale force winds.