Few Victorian inventions have the grace and charm of the Ictíneo, the series of two wooden submarines built by Narcís Monturiol i Estarrol in the second half of the nineteenth century.
Unlike some of the better known early submarines from his contemporaries in Germany, France and the United States, the Catalan inventor managed to build submarines that operated flawlessly.
The Ictíneo II was the first combustion engine driven submarine ever, pioneering concepts that were only rivalled in the 1940s. Sadly, both submarines were eventually scrapped and Monturiol died penniless and forgotten.
Monturiol’s Ictíneo (derived from the Greek words for fish and for ship) was launched in 1859 in Barcelona harbour to instant success. Monturiol, who possessed no scientific education, became a local hero. The submarine, made of olive wood supported with oak rings and sheathed in two-millimetre thick copper, measured only 23 feet (7 meters) in length and offered hardly enough space for the captain and the four man crew who powered the ship by cranking.
Despite it’s low-tech appearance, the Ictíneo was a marvel of sophisticated technology, decades ahead of its time. The vessel had a double hull - a spherical inner shell that resisted the water pressure, and an outer fish-like shell that protected the submarine and was used for steerage and hydrodynamics.
Between both hulls were four ballast tanks, controlled from within the cabin by valves letting in water or forcing in air. During driving, pitch was controlled by a weight which could be moved along a rail. This micromanagement of buoyancy allowed the Ictíneo to remain at extremely precise depths - a feat which other submarines at that time could not achieve.
Lit by a candle
Monturiol was a man who had safety in mind. Apart from the protective hull, weights could be dropped immediately to surface quickly in case of an emergency. The glass ports on the side, the top and the nose were designed enabling water pressure to push them inside the hull, rendering leaks virtually impossible.
The interior of the submarine was lit by a candle, using up precious oxygen although serving as an integral indicator when oxygen began to run low. Monturiol demonstrated his submarine 59 times, without any adverse incident. The machine could stay submerged for 2 hours and dive up to a depth of 20 meters.
Underwater rowing boat
Monturiol was not the first to develop a submarine. The Dutchman Cornelius Jacobszoon Drebbel built some remarkable vessels between 1620 and 1624 based on the unexecuted plans of the 16th century Englishman William Bourne. Essentially, the vessel was an underwater rowing boat enclosed by a leather-covered wooden frame. His final model which had 6 oars, could carry 16 passengers and stay submerged for 3 hours, travelling 5 kilometres down the Thames at a depth of 5 meters.
Robert Fulton, an American living in France at the time, designed the successful “Nautilus”, which began testing in the Seine in 1800 (illustration above). It could stay submerged for 5 hours by use of compressed air. The German inventor Wilhem Bauer launched his “Brandtaucher” in 1850 and his “Seeteufel” in 1856 (both of which sank). The American inventor Horace Hunley launched “H.L.Hunley”, the first submarine to sink an enemy warship (and the first to sink 3 times itself, killing 25 people) in 1863, a few years later than Monturiol.
No matter how state-of-the-art the Ictíneo was compared to her many contemporaries, she still had the same basic drawbacks many submarines at the time possessed: a limited range as a result of limited air supply, and a very low speed. All early submarines were propelled by human muscle, which made them extremely slow.
The Nautilus was equipped with a sail, but could obviously only be used when sailing on the surface. Underwater, the ship was propelled by a helical screw, turned by hand. The Ictíneo used pedal power, needing 4 men to reach a speed of 1 mile per hour (about the same speed of the underwater rowing boat designed 3 centuries earlier). That pace was not always sufficient to overcome the effect of currents and tides.
When the Ictíneo I was crushed by a freighter while docked in the port of Barcelona, Monturiol decided to design a larger submarine that was driven by steam. The Ictíneo II, more than twice the length of the Ictíneo I, was launched between 1864 (with human power) and 1867 (with steam power). It became the first combustion engine driven submarine in the world.
The thinking at the time was that it was almost impossible to run a steam engine underwater because it would use up all the oxygen and convert the inside of the ship into an oven. To overcome this, Monturiol invented a chemical furnace based on a reaction between potassium chlorate, zinc and manganese dioxide - a process that produced enough heat to boil water to run the steam engine. To complement this ingenuity, the reaction gave off oxygen as a by-product.
Monturiol had successfully resolved the two basic obstacles presented to submarine inventors: air supply and mechanical power. In fact, he devised an early form of anaerobic (air-independent) propulsion only to be repeated in the 1940s with the Walter turbine in Germany, and finally with the first atomic submarine, the USS Nautilus.
The Ictíneo II was the first of its kind providing its own oxygen, without surfacing regularly or using a snorkel, as seen on the Nautilus. Perplexing is the reality that Monturiol, never having patented his ideas, is absent in many maritime records of the progression of submarines.
On account of all the machinery in the vessel, only 2 men could fit in the submarine originally designed for a crew of 20. The Ictíneo II made almost 20 problem free demonstration drives. It could stay submerged for eight hours and plunge to a depth of 50 meters. Monturiol calculated that the maximum possible depth was 500 meters, but chose not to take the risk of diving to this depth.
In 1868, shortly after its launch, the groundbreaking Ictíneo II was seized by the shipyard and scrapped, together with her predecessor. The reason? Monturiol could not pay the bills.
While his competitors devised submarines for military purposes, Monturiol had alternative ambitions. The man was a communist, a revolutionary and a utopian who regarded his invention as a way of improving the life of the working class. He once witnessed the drowning of a coral diver in the coastal village of Cadaqués and he thought his submarine would make coral diving a much safer endeavour. The Ictíneo II was equipped with arms to retrieve objects from the sea floor. According to other sources, Monturiol regarded the submarine as a tool for exploring the underworld of the deep sea and as a passenger transportation device.
When his search for independant funding proved unsuccessful, Monturiol attempted to sell his invention to the military. He mounted a cannon onto the Ictíneo II in a last effort to attract investment from Madrid, but the Spanish monarchy regarded the wooden fish with apprehension and was not prepared to invest any money into it. In other countries at the time, military factions saw little potential in submarines - their use went against their understood etiquette of war in those times.
Monturiol also tried to sell his invention to the American Navy after he read about the Civil War and their attempts to make submarines, but unfortunately for him, the war was over before a decision could be made.
Ironically, only 30 years later, the Spanish fleet was annihilated by America in the dispute over Cuba, and with it Spain lost the final remnants of its 400 year old world empire. The Spanish vessels were infinitely inferior to their American enemy. Speculatively, an army of submarines may have been able to change the course of history.
Replica’s of both submarines are on display in Barcelona: the Ictíneo I in the garden of the Maritime Museum and the Ictíneo II in the harbour (both pictured above).
"Kuna meli mbili za kivita za aina ya ""Ictineo"" zilizotengenezwa na Narcís Monturiol i Estarol katika karne ya 19." Tofauti na baadhi ya nyambizi za mapema zinazojulikana zaidi kutoka kwa wenzake nchini Ujerumani, Ufaransa na Marekani, mvumbuzi wa Kikatalani aliweza kujenga nyambizi ambazo zilifanya kazi bila kasoro. Ictineo II ilikuwa meli ya kwanza ya chini ya maji iliyotumiwa na injini ya mwako, na ilikuwa ya kwanza kuendeshwa na injini ya mwako. Kwa kusikitisha, hatimaye nyambizi zote mbili ziliharibiwa na Monturiol akafa bila pesa na kusahaulika. "Monturiol's Ictineo (kutokana na neno la Kigiriki ""fish"" na ""ship""), ilizinduliwa mnamo 1859 katika bandari ya Barcelona na kufanikiwa mara moja." Monturiol, ambaye hakuwa na elimu ya kisayansi, akawa shujaa wa eneo hilo. Chombo hicho kilitengenezwa kwa mbao ya mzeituni na kuungwa mkono na pete za mwaloni na kufunikwa kwa shaba yenye unene wa milimita mbili, kilikuwa na urefu wa mita saba tu na hakikuwa na nafasi ya kutosha kwa ajili ya nahodha na wafanyakazi wanne wa meli hiyo. Licha ya kuonekana kuwa na teknolojia ya hali ya chini, Ictíneo ilikuwa ajabu ya teknolojia ya hali ya juu, miongo kadhaa mbele ya wakati wake. Meli hiyo ilikuwa na kiunzi cha ndani chenye umbo la mviringo ambacho kilipinga shinikizo la maji, na kiunzi cha nje kilichofanana na samaki ambacho kililinda nyambizi hiyo na kilichotumiwa kuendesha na kuendesha meli. Kati ya mifuko yote miwili kulikuwa na matangi manne ya ballast, yaliyosimamiwa kutoka ndani ya kabini kwa valves kuruhusu maji au kulazimisha hewa. Wakati wa kuendesha gari, mwinuko ulidhibitiwa na uzito ambao ungeweza kuhamishwa kando ya reli. Usimamizi huo mdogo wa uwezo wa kuelea ulimruhusu Ictíneo kubaki katika kina cha juu sana - jambo ambalo nyambizi nyingine za wakati huo hazingeweza kufanya. Kwa sababu ya mwangaza wa mshumaa, Monturiol alikuwa mtu aliyejali usalama. Mbali na kiunzi cha kinga, uzito ungeweza kutupwa mara moja juu ya uso haraka katika hali ya dharura. Vituo vya kioo upande, juu na pua vilitengenezwa kuwezesha shinikizo la maji kuisukuma ndani ya mwili, na kufanya uvujaji iwe vigumu. Chini ya meli hiyo ya chini ya maji, kulikuwa na mshumaa uliotumia oksijeni, ingawa huo ulitumika kama kiashiria cha wakati ambapo oksijeni ingeanza kupungua. Monturiol alionyesha nyambizi yake mara 59, bila tukio lolote baya. Mashine hiyo inaweza kukaa chini ya maji kwa muda wa saa mbili na inaweza kuzama hadi kina cha mita 20. Mashua ya chini ya maji ya Monturiol haikuwa ya kwanza kutengeneza nyambizi. Mnamo 1620 na 1624 Cornelius Jacobsen Drebbel, Mholanzi, alijenga meli kadhaa za ajabu kulingana na mipango ya William Bourne, Mwingereza wa karne ya 16. Kimsingi, chombo hicho kilikuwa mashua ya kupiga makasia iliyo chini ya maji iliyofungwa na muundo wa mbao uliofunikwa kwa ngozi. Mfano wake wa mwisho, wenye makasia sita, uliweza kubeba abiria 16 na kukaa chini ya maji kwa saa tatu, kusafiri kilomita tano chini ya Mto Thames kwa kina cha mita tano. Robert Fulton, Mmarekani aliyeishi Ufaransa wakati huo, alibuni "Nautilus" yenye mafanikio, ambayo ilianza kupimwa katika Seine mwaka 1800 (picha hapo juu). Inaweza kukaa chini ya maji kwa saa tano kwa kutumia hewa iliyofinyangwa. Mvumbuzi wa Ujerumani Wilhelm Bauer alianzisha Brandtaucher mnamo 1850 na Seeteufel mnamo 1856 (zote mbili zilianguka). "Hunley, ""Hunley,"" ni nyambizi ya kwanza kuzamisha meli ya kivita ya adui (na ya kwanza kuzamisha mara tatu yenyewe, kuua watu 25) mnamo 1863." Ictineo ilikuwa na kasoro nyingi, lakini ilikuwa na uwezo mdogo wa kusafiri kwa sababu ya upatikanaji mdogo wa hewa na kasi ya chini sana. Mashua zote za chini ya maji za mapema ziliendeshwa na misuli ya kibinadamu, jambo ambalo liliwafanya wawe polepole sana. Meli ya Nautilus ilikuwa na tanga, lakini kwa wazi ingeweza kutumiwa tu ilipokuwa ikisafiri juu ya uso wa bahari. Chini ya maji, meli hiyo iliendeshwa kwa kutumia msumeno uliozunguka kwa mkono. Ictineo ilitumia nguvu ya pedali, ikihitaji wanaume wanne kufikia mwendo wa maili 1 kwa saa (karibu mwendo uleule wa mashua ya chini ya maji iliyobuniwa karne 3 mapema). Si mara zote mwendo huo ulitosha kushinda athari za mikondo na mawimbi. Wakati meli ya Ictineo I ilipopigwa na meli ya kubebea mizigo ilipokuwa ikisimama kwenye bandari ya Barcelona, Monturiol aliamua kubuni nyambizi kubwa zaidi iliyokuwa ikiendeshwa kwa mvuke. Ictineo II ilikuwa meli ya kwanza ya Marekani kuendesha kwa nguvu za mvuke na ilianza kuendeshwa mwaka wa 1864 na kuendeshwa na watu. Ilikuwa nyambizi ya kwanza ulimwenguni iliyokuwa na injini ya kuchoma. Wakati huo watu walifikiri kwamba haingewezekana kuendesha injini ya mvuke chini ya maji kwa sababu ingechukua oksijeni yote na kugeuza sehemu ya ndani ya meli kuwa tanuru. Ili kuondoa tatizo hilo, Monturiol alibuni tanuru ya kemikali iliyotegemea athari kati ya klorati ya potasiamu, zinki, na dioksidi ya manganesi - mchakato uliotokeza joto la kutosha kuchemsha maji ili kuendesha injini ya mvuke. Ili kukamilisha ubunifu huo, mmenyuko huo ulitoa oksijeni kama bidhaa ya ziada. Monturiol alikuwa amepambana na vizuizi viwili vya msingi vilivyowakabili wavumbuzi wa nyambizi: usambazaji wa hewa na nguvu za mitambo. "Hata hivyo, kwa sababu ya uwezo wake wa kuendesha ndege, aliweza kuunda ""naerobic"" (air-independent) propulsion, ambayo baadaye ilitumiwa katika miaka ya 1940 na turbine ya Walter huko Ujerumani, na hatimaye na nyambizi ya kwanza ya nyuklia, USS Nautilus." Ictineo II ilikuwa ya kwanza ya aina yake kutoa oksijeni yake mwenyewe, bila kuonekana mara kwa mara au kutumia snorkel, kama inavyoonekana kwenye Nautilus. Jambo lenye kutatanisha ni kwamba Monturiol, ambaye hakupata kamwe hati miliki ya mawazo yake, hayupo katika rekodi nyingi za baharini za maendeleo ya nyambizi. Kwa sababu ya mashine nyingi zilizokuwa ndani ya meli hiyo, watu wawili tu ndio waliweza kukaa ndani ya meli hiyo iliyotengenezwa kwa ajili ya wafanyakazi 20. Ictinion II ilifanya majaribio ya maonyesho karibu 20 bila matatizo. Inaweza kukaa chini ya maji kwa muda wa saa nane na kuanguka chini ya maji kwa kina cha mita 50. Monturiol alihesabu kwamba kina cha juu cha uwezekano kilikuwa mita 500, lakini alichagua kutojihusisha na hatari ya kupiga mbizi hadi kina hiki. Mwaka 1868 meli ya Ictineo II ilifungwa na meli ya Ictineo II na kuondolewa kwenye meli. Ni kwa nini? Monturiol hangeweza kulipa bili. Wakati washindani wake walipokuwa wakibuni nyambizi kwa ajili ya matumizi ya kijeshi, Monturiol alikuwa na tamaa nyingine. "Mtu huyo alikuwa Mkomunisti, mwanaharakati wa mapinduzi na mtopi ambaye aliona uvumbuzi wake kama njia ya kuboresha maisha ya wafanyakazi.""" Aliwahi kushuhudia kuzama kwa mwogeleaji wa matumbawe katika kijiji cha pwani cha Cadaqués na alifikiri nyambizi yake ingefanya kupiga mbizi kwa matumbawe kuwa jitihada salama zaidi. Meli ya Ictíneo II ilikuwa na silaha za kuokoa vitu kutoka chini ya bahari. Kulingana na vyanzo vingine, Monturiol aliona nyambizi kuwa chombo cha kuchunguza ulimwengu wa chini ya bahari na chombo cha kusafirisha abiria. Wakati utafutaji wake wa ufadhili wa kujitegemea uliposhindwa, Monturiol alijaribu kuuza uvumbuzi wake kwa jeshi. Alitumia bunduki ya Ictineo II ili kuvutia uwekezaji kutoka Madrid, lakini utawala wa kifalme wa Hispania uliona samaki huyo wa mbao kwa wasiwasi na haukuwa tayari kuwekeza pesa yoyote ndani yake. Katika nchi nyingine wakati huo, vikundi vya kijeshi viliona uwezekano mdogo katika nyambizi - matumizi yao yalipingana na adabu yao ya vita katika nyakati hizo. Monturiol pia alijaribu kuuza uvumbuzi wake kwa Jeshi la Wanamaji la Marekani baada ya kusoma juu ya Vita vya wenyewe kwa wenyewe na majaribio yao ya kutengeneza nyambizi, lakini kwa bahati mbaya kwa ajili yake, vita ilikuwa imekwisha kabla ya uamuzi kufanywa. Kwa kushangaza, miaka 30 tu baadaye, meli za Hispania ziliharibiwa na Marekani katika mzozo wa Cuba, na hivyo Hispania ilipoteza mabaki ya mwisho ya milki yake ya ulimwengu ya miaka 400. Meli za Wahispania zilikuwa za hali ya chini sana kuliko adui zao Wamarekani. Kwa kufikiria, huenda jeshi la nyambizi liliweza kubadili mwendo wa historia. Replica za nyambizi zote mbili zinaonyeshwa huko Barcelona: Ictíneo I katika bustani ya Jumba la Makumbusho la Bahari na Ictíneo II katika bandari (zote mbili zimeonyeshwa hapo juu).