Wooden Submarine Ictineo II LV

by Weston Westmoreland

Title

Wooden Submarine Ictineo II LV

Artist

Weston Westmoreland

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

Ictineo II was a wooden steam propelled submarine built in Barcelona in 1864.
It was the first air independent and combustion powered submarine and the first submarine to overcome the basic problems of machine powered underwater navigation.
The Ictineo II was 46 ft. long, 6.6 ft. wide and 9.8 ft. high, and was built of olive wood with oak reinforcements.
The most important innovation in the Ictineo II was its air independent propulsion for underwater navigation. A six-cylinder steam engine was divided in two; one half was powered by a coal-burning boiler for surface propulsion, while the other was powered by a chemical reaction of zinc, manganese dioxide and potassium chlorate. The oxygen released by the reaction was used for breathing and illumination.
On 22 October 1867 the Ictineo II made its first surface journey under steam power, averaging 3.5 knots (4.0 mph) with a top speed of 4.5 knots (5.2 mph). Two months later, on 14 December, the vessel submerged and ran its chemical engine. Although the prototype was a success it was never used for practical purposes and was finally dismantled and sold as scrap.
There is a real size replica of the Ictineo II outside the Aquarium in Barcelona.

This picture was created from a photograph of the replica. This is the light version. There is a darker one.

Uploaded

May 26th, 2014

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