Isaac Peral and the Invention of the First Electric Submarine

The man behind this revolutionary innovation was Spanish Navy Lieutenant Isaac Peral y Caballero.

He was born in Cartagena in 1851 and trained at the Naval Military College of San Fernando, later joining the Royal Company of Midshipmen where he received scientific training.

Isaac Peral's interests made him a scientist who carried out research into various fields including geography and engineering, but his main focus was the use of electricity. He invented a variety of items such as the electric storage battery, an elevator, and an electric machine gun.

Here we can see the design of the total use light projector. This was Peral's solution to the problem of light scattering from spotlights, using particular electric arcs and adjustable parabola-shaped reflectors.

Peral became interested in the idea of building a submarine around 1884.

After the famous Caroline Islands Crisis of 1885, where Spain and Germany almost came to blows over the Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, mathematicians Cecilio Pujazón and Juan Viniegra turned their attention to Peral's work.

He showed his superiors his idea for a torpedo submarine which would be powered by electricity.

The ship had a fusiform steel hull which was 22 meters long and 2.87 meters wide at its midship section. The central turret housed the entrance hatches and a modern periscope.

Peral took a range of internal elements into account, including insulating the inside using rubber flooring and installing covered electrical conduits, internal electric lighting, and oxygen supply systems.

The main innovation was the use of electric power to propel the submarine. The electric motors moved the system of propellers that allowed to advance to the submarine.

One key innovation was the inclusion of weaponry.

Previously, attacking vessels could not remain hidden underwater. However, the Peral Submarine had a torpedo tube that could fire up to 3 torpedoes and be reloaded from inside.

Behind the central turret and at the prow was something called a depth device. The system controlled the propellers to steer the submarine, submerge it, and maintain its depth.

It also filled and emptied the tanks automatically for diving and surfacing.

Another new feature was the periscope, which worked in the same way that modern versions do.

Inside a tube protruding through the turret was a set of prisms that projected the outside view onto the table in the chart room.

This was the flag used by the Peral Submarine.

Both Isaac Peral and his submarine faced a series of challenges including hurdles and time-wasting measures introduced by the new Minister of the Navy José María Beránger, who wanted to derail the project.

The Spanish Navy Board decided to shelve the project despite the efforts of Peral, who even suggested developing a larger submarine.

Despite the success of the trials, the technical board responsible for supervising them rejected the submarine project. Isaac Peral left the Navy and the vessel was abandoned for years at the Naval Station of La Carraca.

The image shows the Peral Submarine abandoned at the Naval Station of La Carraca in 1915.

The vessel's prolonged exposure to various risk factors, including humidity, sea salt, inclement weather, pollution, and water, caused damage that meant its location had to be rethought.

The image shows restoration and preparation work under way.

In its new location, several formerly lost external elements have been re-added where enough documentation is available, such as horizontal rudders and anchors, the upper turret enclosure, the optical turret, the stanchions, the platform, and the air intake.

Whitehead-Schwarzkopf 350 m/m-40 Torpedo.

This was the first torpedo ever launched underwater by the Spanish Navy Submarine Force. It was launched by Isaac Peral in waters off Cádiz on June 20, 1890.