Ictineo II - longitudinal cut

The Ictineo II was invented by Narciso Monturiol (1864 Barcelona,Spain) to help coral divers with their dangerous work. It was the first real

submarine, which actually was far ahead of its time. It displayed a lot of features, which we are used to see in modern submarines today, such as for example a double pressure hull, engines operating under water, and regeneration of the air to allow its crew to survive once the ship was submerged. It used 2 steam engines. The one-cylinder engine in the rear of the submarine served for under water navigation. When the Ictineo was submerged the water in the boiler was heated by a chemical reaction, which also generated oxygen as a side product. This actually allowed the Ictineo II and its crew to stay under water for hours. The two-cylinder engine in the front of the ship served for surface navigation. When running on the surface the water in the boilers was heated by burning coal. The coal was stored in the container in front of the conning tower. The two air intakes (two vertical pipes) were opened to ensure the air supply. The Ictineo II was designed for peaceful under water missions. The model shows the ship equipped with a coral catcher (spear-like apparatus plus

basket mounted on the very front) designed to collect corals under water.

The model was initially based on the Ictineo II kit from Anfora. I quickly moved into heavy kit bashing, ending up scratch building nearly everything. The plans, the understanding of how the Ictineo worked as well as the related details for the model were extracted from a reprint of Narciso Monturiol’s book “Ensayo Sobre El Arte De Navegar Por Debajo Del Agua” purchased in an antiquity book

shop in Barcelona, Spain.