Probably, only modern children - "generation NEXT" - have not read Jules Verne's novel "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea", and people of the age have certainly read it. And in my childhood, firstly, I was struck by the cover of this book, which depicted a spindle-shaped submarine ship, and secondly, the very word "lee". Sounds, doesn't it, somehow very unusual and attractive. However, only later, having already read the novel "The Mysterious Island", we learn the secret of Captain Nemo. It turns out that he was originally from India, was the son of a rajah and fiercely hated England, which colonized his country. But, if you want to defeat the enemy, find out his secrets, and so the young prince Dakar goes to England to get an education, after which he leads the uprising of the sepoys, and then creates a ship, for many years, and in some ways forever, at the behest of the author, overtaking science and technology available to humanity. That is, the perfect submarine turned out to be the creation of a rebellious Indian! Such, as you remember, is the plot of the novel …
The submarine "Iktaneo No. 1", although a remake, but looks very cool.
But the question is, are there any examples in the history of technology when the same submarines, ahead of their time, would be created by real people, and not romantic heroes on the pages of books? Yes, it turns out, such examples are known, and our story will be about two such submarines today.
"Fish No. 1" and "Fish No. 2"
First of all, let us note that before Columbus discovered America, Spain was one of the most developed and prosperous states in Europe. Moreover, she was famous for her sheep breeding, and for her wine, and for the famous Toledo blades. But, having sat down on the "golden needle" in the form of a flowing stream of precious metals from Mexico, she "lost" her entire economy, and why this happened is understandable. Why produce something yourself when you can buy the same thing with gold elsewhere? After the defeat of the Armada, the Spanish fleet became weaker and weaker from year to year, and by the middle of the 19th century it had weakened so much that it could not stand on equal terms with either France or, of course, England. And as it happens very often, a man appeared in Spain who decided to compensate for the number of ships with a completely new quality and build … a submarine that could not be afraid of either the French or the British fleets! His name was Narciso Monturiol, and it was in 1858 that he managed to build the first Spanish submarine El Ictineo (Fish) in Spain. Its length was over 7 m, and its displacement was about 8 tons. In the port of Barcelona, she made more than fifty dives, sometimes sinking more than 20 m. At the same time, she avoided significant accidents, which was a great achievement in itself! True, her weapon was too primitive: in the nose … a drill to make holes in the hulls of enemy ships! However, Monturiol wanted to put on his "Fish" and a cannon that could shoot under water directly into the hull of an enemy ship. But the impoverished Spanish state did not find money for the boat, and the money given by the sponsors quickly ran out.
"Ictaneo No. 2"
Then he decided to build "Ictineo No. 2", and not only managed to build it, but also to test it. He managed to submerge it to 30 m, and believed that the hull would withstand great depths, but still chose not to test this in practice.
New items ahead of their time …
Surprisingly, the mechanical drive of the submarine was very interesting and original, if not in embodiment, then at least in design. The boat had a single engine for underwater and surface passage, that is, the "motor" on which engineer Helmut Walter worked in Germany during the Second World War! The installation consisted of two steam engines, one of which released smoke into the atmosphere through a pipe, while the second used steam in a closed loop to move under water. On "Ichtineo" No. 2, a device was provided for renewing the air inside the boat - a container with a caustic soda solution that absorbed carbon dioxide, and a cylinder filled with oxygen. The lighting system was also very original: in a special lantern, hydrogen in oxygen was supposed to burn, which made it possible to obtain a bright flame, although such a lamp was explosive. But the reserves of these gases were not stored inside the case, but in metal containers outside. Surprisingly, the one and a half year tests of this boat, as in the first case, went surprisingly smoothly. Perhaps Monturiol was just lucky, or maybe he turned out to be a qualified engineer, "no worse than Captain Nemo."
Nevertheless, this submarine was not accepted into the armament of the Spanish fleet, but was given to creditors for debts. Well, and those in 1867, in order to at least get something back, dismantled it for scrap. This is how this original piece of advanced technical thought, born in a dying empire, disappeared. But already in our time in Spain there were enthusiasts who, according to the preserved drawings, built two copies of the second Ichtineo at once! And now both of these submarines can be seen in their homeland, one in Barcelona on the embankment, not far from the Maritime Museum, and the second - in the exposition of the Museum of Industry.
Test of the Peral submarine in 1888.
The first Spanish torpedo …
The second original Spanish submarine was launched in the city of Cadiz, and it was, as surprisingly as it sounds - the first torpedo submarine in the world! Its designer was Isaac Peral y Caballero, who was born in Cartagena in 1851 into the family of a career soldier. After graduating from the Naval School, he was promoted to an officer, fought in Cuba and the Philippines, and was awarded medals for his bravery, but in 1884 he proposed the "Torpedo Submarine Project", which was built and launched in September 1888.
But now Peral's submarine "bathes" in the fountain. Well it was necessary to come up with such a thing ?! There is a commemorative plaque at the site of the torpedo tube fairing. The bow depth screw is clearly visible, the rotation of which was carried out to trim the boat.
Its displacement was 85 tons underwater, although more than a third of this mass was occupied by a large storage battery, which consisted of more than 600 (!) 50-kilogram lead acid "cans". Moreover, it was possible to charge the battery only at the base, and it took more than a day for this! Two electric motors 30 hp each each propeller rotated, which gave a speed of 7.5 knots on the surface of the water and only 3.5 knots at a depth. However, the main disadvantage of the submarine was not associated with low speed, but with the fact that its cruising range was only 40 miles.
Aft with two vertical rudders and two bronze horizontal propellers. The third screw is similar in function to the screw on the nose.
And again, many very promising technical innovations lurked inside the Perala submarine. Let's start with weapons: for the first time, a submarine received a torpedo tube located inside the boat. And it was Peral's boat that turned out to be the first submarine that, for the first time in history, fired a torpedo shot from under the water at a battleship, even during maneuvers. On June 7, 1890, a 350-mm torpedo from the German company "Schwarzkopf" hit the cruiser "Colon" at anchor from a distance of 2 cables. A few days later, she was able to hit the same target on the move! The Spanish submariners also took the lead in a successful torpedo attack in the dark at night. "Peral" imperceptibly got close to this "ill-fated" cruiser almost right up, although its "conditional enemy" was aware of a possible attack and was actively shining searchlights around him, and fired a torpedo into its side!
"Very perfect instrumentation"
This was largely due to the "instrumentation" of the submarine. First of all, it should be noted that its creator also invented an original periscope that could project an image onto a flat horizontal screen, and this made it possible for the commander to estimate the target's heading angle, the distance to it from the submarine, and, accordingly, determine the lead in the shot. It was a kind of analogue of a modern combat information post, although, of course, in a very primitive design. And on his boat, just like on the legendary "Nautilus" of Captain Nemo, electricity reigned everywhere. The speed was determined by the electric log and, again, the premises of the ship were illuminated with electricity, on which as many as six bulbs were burning, although there were only seven crew members!
The designer provided for two additional electric motors of 5 hp each, rotating two vertical propellers located at the bow and stern, which made it possible to automatically adjust the submersion depth of the submarine according to the data from the hydrostat. That is, it also possessed quite modern thrusters that improved its operational characteristics!
The torpedo tube was located on the boat in the bow and was covered with a special drop-down fairing. The ammunition load consisted of three torpedoes, which was a very solid stock at that time.
This photo gives an idea of the size of this vessel, and you can see that it is not small at all.
But … "there is no prophet in his own country." The Maritime Ministry refused Peral's boat, although she successfully passed all the proper tests. At the end of 1890, in the port of Cadiz, she was disarmed and left … to rust until 1929, when she was towed to Cartagena. Although, why so, it is understandable: the "toy" of poor Spain was simply not affordable. But its creator was very offended, went into politics, and, having become a member of parliament, quarreled with everyone who was involved in the country's maritime policy. It is clear that "technology" has ceased to matter at all here, but a clash of ambitions remains. In 1895, Peral went to Berlin to operate on progressive cancer, but due to unsuccessful treatment, he developed meningitis, from which he eventually died.
Commemorative coin
But then his submarine was restored and placed opposite the building of the submarine base in the port of Cartagena, then moved closer to the sea on the square, and since 1992 it has been adorned already on the main embankment of this city - Boulevard Alfonso XII. And for the 125th anniversary of the launch of the Peral boat, the Royal Spanish Mint even issued a special silver coin. The obverse of the coin features a portrait of King Juan Carlos I of Spain, the text “JUAN CARLOS I REY DE ESPANA” and the year of issue “2013”.
Obverse.
The portrait of Isaac Peral is minted on the reverse, and below, against the background of a stylized image of sea waves, there is a submarine bearing his name. The denomination of the coin is "10 EURO". To the right of the portrait is the name of the inventor "ISAAC PERAL" in two lines, and to the left is also the sign of the Spanish Royal Mint - the letter "M" under the crown.
Reverse.
