Isaac Peral

While there, during a visit to the barber shop, he received a small cut in his temple, which caused lasting illness and later became the site of a brain tumor.

There he found time to pursue his idea of a full battery-powered submarine with a system to discharge torpedoes while under water.

His main problems were his need for finance to develop and test his inventions, lack of official support, and especially his arrogance when dealing with superiors with less vision.

[2] After performing several studies and experiments, and having gained support from his superiors and fellow officers, Peral presented his idea to the Spanish navy staff.

After the interview Pezuela y Lobo agreed to finance Peral's preliminary studies in Cádiz with an initial budget of 5,000 pesetas before launching a program to build a full-scale submarine boat.

[3] It was launched on September 8, 1888, and subsequently in a test with naval authorities it successfully made a simulated attack on a cruiser at night without being noticed and returned to port without any damage.

In 1895 John Philip Holland marked a major step forward in submarine development, designing for the first time a mixed internal combustion/electric propulsion system that would overcome the limited range of batteries.

It was kept in the local Arsenal, until it was handed over to the city, displayed from 1965 in different places of the harbour, and since 2012 shown in the nearby Naval Museum of Cartagena.