1888Sep, 8
In Spain, the first travel of Isaac Peral's submarine.
Peral was the first successful full electric battery-powered submarine, built by the Spanish engineer and sailor Isaac Peral for the Spanish Navy, in Arsenal de la Carraca (Navantia now). The first fully capable military submarine, she was launched 8 September 1888. She had one torpedo tube (and two torpedoes) and an air regeneration system. Her hull shape, propeller, periscope, torpedo launcher and cruciform external controls anticipated later designs. Her underwater speed was 3 kn (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph). With fully charged batteries, she was the fastest submarine yet built, with underwater performance levels (except for range) that matched those of First World War U-boats for a very short period, before her batteries began to drain. For example, the SM U-9, a pre-war German U-boat built in 1908, had an underwater speed of 8.1kn, and an underwater range of 150 km (81 nmi) at 5.8kn, before having to resurface to recharge her batteries. Although advanced in many ways, Peral lacked a means of charging batteries while underway, such as an internal combustion engine, thus had a very limited endurance and range. In June 1890, Peral's submarine launched a torpedo while submerged. It was also the first submarine to incorporate a fully reliable underwater navigation system. However, conservatives in the Spanish naval hierarchy terminated the project despite two years of successful tests. Her operational abilities have led some to call her the first U-boat.Peral was withdrawn from service in 1890 and is now preserved at the Cartagena Naval Museum.
Choose Another Date
Events on 1888
- 16May
Electric power transmission
Nikola Tesla delivers a lecture describing the equipment which will allow efficient generation and use of alternating currents to transmit electric power over long distances. - 31Aug
Jack the Ripper
Mary Ann Nichols is murdered. She is the first of Jack the Ripper's confirmed victims. - 4Sep
Kodak
George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak and receives a patent for his camera that uses roll film. - 8Sep
Annie Chapman
In London, the body of Jack the Ripper's second murder victim, Annie Chapman, is found. - 30Sep
Elizabeth Stride
Jack the Ripper kills his third and fourth victims, Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes.