Francis Lenn
Port Vell
Ictineo II
If you read the plaque next to the Ictineo II, the Spanish script will tell you that the submarine was originally constructed in 1862 from the plans of Narcis Monturiol I Estarriol (1819 -1886), and that the original Ictineo II actually navigated the waters in the Port of Barcelona. What the bronze plaque fails to mention is that the Ictineo II was the first vehicle of its time to submerge and navigate below the surface of the sea, the first “real” submarine.
Constructed on a smaller scale than the Ictineo II, the Ictineo underwent a successful launch and testing in 1859 but then was smashed by a freighter as it was sitting at the dock. Eventually, Monturiol was able to arrange funding for a second, larger Ictineo. When completed, Ictineo II was a two-walled submarine, outfitted with a steam-driven engine able to operate under water. The Ictineo One was operated by man power.
Port Vell
Ictineo II
If you read the plaque next to the Ictineo II, the Spanish script will tell you that the submarine was originally constructed in 1862 from the plans of Narcis Monturiol I Estarriol (1819 -1886), and that the original Ictineo II actually navigated the waters in the Port of Barcelona. What the bronze plaque fails to mention is that the Ictineo II was the first vehicle of its time to submerge and navigate below the surface of the sea, the first “real” submarine.
Constructed on a smaller scale than the Ictineo II, the Ictineo underwent a successful launch and testing in 1859 but then was smashed by a freighter as it was sitting at the dock. Eventually, Monturiol was able to arrange funding for a second, larger Ictineo. When completed, Ictineo II was a two-walled submarine, outfitted with a steam-driven engine able to operate under water. The Ictineo One was operated by man power.