Spanish submarine Peral

Peral was the first successful submarine to be entirely powered by electric batteries and the first fully military-capable submarine in history. It was built by the Spanish engineer and sailor Isaac Peral for the Spanish Navy at the Arsenal de la Carraca, the submarine was launched on 8 September 1888.

She had one torpedo tube and an air regeneration system. Her hull shape, propeller, periscope, torpedo launcher and cruciform external controls anticipated later designs. Her underwater speed was 3 knots. With fully charged batteries, she was the fastest submarine yet built, with underwater performance levels 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 8.1 knots, and an underwater range of 150 km at 5.8 knots, before having to resurface to recharge her batteries.