French submarine Gymnote ( Q1 ) The Gymnote was one of the world ' s first all - electric submarines . Launched on 24 September 1888 , she was developed in France following early experiments by Dupuy de Lôme , and , after his death , by Gustave Zédé ( 1825 – 1891 ) and Arthur Krebs , who completed the project . For the Gymnote , Arthur Krebs developed the electric engine , the first naval periscope and the first naval electric gyrocompass . The name " Gymnote " is French for Gymnotidae . The submarine was built with a steel single hull , a detachable lead keel , and three hydroplanes on each side . She made over 2 , 000 dives , using 204 cell batteries . She was armed with two 355 mm torpedo es . " Gymnote " was partly inspired by the earlier development of the submarine " Plongeur " , the world ' s first mechanically - powered submarine . Construction . The " Gymnote " was an experimental design and so was subject to continuous changes through its lifetime . The original design was commissioned by Admiral Aube , commenced by Dupuy de Lôme before his death and completed by Gustave Zédé before his . Construction work then fell to Romazotti . The keel was laid on 20 April 1887 at Mourillon Arsenal at Toulon operated by La Société des Forges et chantiers , of which company Zédé was a director . Trials began on 17 November 1888 . Control gear . The boat was designed to operate underwater with a small positive buoyancy , so that without power and rudders driving it downwards it would tend to float to the surface . There were three ballast tanks , one in the centre and one either end . water could be ejected either using compressed air or electrical pumps . Continuous adjustment was needed during a dive . It was originally equipped only with a stern rudder , which gave poor control . At speeds greater than six knots the boat would become unstable . At this speed the boat would be angled down 3 - 5∘to maintain depth , so that the bow would be 1 . 5 m ( 5 ft ) lower than the stern . Further rudders were added at the centre of the boat in 1893 , which as well as improving stability meant that she remained more level as it dived . Motor . The original sixteen pole electric motor designed by Captain Krebs to develop 55 hp at 200V and 200A was constructed at the Societe des Forges et Chantiers at Le Havre , was 1 metre in diameter and weighed 2 tonnes . It was connected directly to the propellor which rotated at 250 rpm . The motor was fitted with two sets of brushes , one for forward and one reverse motion . Once installed it was found that the rear bearing was inaccessible and could not be repaired with the motor installed . It was difficult to inspect the armature or repair damage to the insulation . The motor was not designed to come to an immediate halt when power was disconnected , but instead would freewheel to a halt relatively slowly . Reverse power could not be applied until it had stopped moving , so it was not possible to immediately reverse the propeller in case of emergency . The motor proved so problematic that it was replaced with a smaller but more powerful Sautter - Harlé motor . Batteries . The boat was originally fitted with 540 Lalande - Chaperon alkaline cell s which used Zinc and copper oxide electrodes with potassium hydroxide electrolyte , manufactured by Coumelin , Desmazures et Baillache . These were located towards the bow of the ship arranged into six banks of 45 parallel paired cells connected in series . To vary the speed , banks could be connected in different combinations , 6 banks in series giving 150 Volts and 8 knots , 3 banks in series in parallel with the other 3 in series giving 114V and 7 knots , 2 banks in series paralleled 3 times giving 84 V and 5 . 5 knots , all 6 banks in parallel giving 45V and 6 knots . A bank was capable of delivering a maximum of 166 Amps . The whole array weighed eleven tons . A new battery was installed in 1891 using a Laurent - Cely sulphuric acid design having 205 individual 30 kg assemblies of five plates each . Again these were arranged into six banks , now each having 17 parallel pairs of batteries connected in series . At 8 knots range was 32 miles , at 4 knots 100 miles . Another battery was installed in 1897 . Hull . The hull was made of 6 mm steel at the centre , tapering to 4mm at either end with a circular cross section . Internally it was coated with coal tar to provide protection from spilled battery acid . The hull was supported by 31 circular frames with additional longitudinal bracing . Navigation equipment . The boat was fitted with a periscope , but this proved unsatisfactory and its use was abandoned . Diving was delayed by the need to fix or stow the periscope and water seals proved to be unreliable and on a couple of occasions led to dangerous flooding . A small conning tower was added in 1898 . The boats had a compass and gyroscope although these were not entirely reliable . The ship was equipped with two 14 in torpedo tubes . History . Gymnote was damaged on 5 March 1907 when she ran aground . The boat was drydocked but a valve was left open allowing the ship to flood . Repairs were considered too expensive so she was sold for scrap in 1911 .