A pensioner from Rijeka created a revolutionary invention
It was in the shape of a fish, it moved under the surface of the water, and it was the first to be bought by the Austro-Hungarian navy...
Ivan Vukić or Blaž Lupis can be found under many names. So some present him as Ioannema Blasium Ignatium Luppis, and others mention him under the name Giovanni Biagio Luppis.
Whatever you call this sea wolf, the most important thing is to mention his talent and achievements.
Namely, Ivan has been connected to the sea since he was a child. He grew up in a family of sailors originally from Pelješac, and attended school in Rijeka. When he finished high school and nautical school, he moved to Venice, where he also finished naval military school. That's how Ivan became an officer.
He spent his entire working life on ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. He retired in 1861, after which he returned to Rijeka. He decided to devote his older days to his life's project - the creation of an unusual weapon called the "Coast Rescuer" (German: Küstenretter).
He envisioned his invention as a spectacular unmanned boat that could attack and destroy an enemy vessel at a greater distance, without harming the soldiers. He also created a model for his invention. It was one meter long, powered by a screw driven by a coiled spring, and was controlled by ropes used to move the rudder from the shore. It was filled with gunpowder, which, upon contact with an enemy ship, was supposed to explode and sink it. He immediately offered it to his longtime employer – the Austro-Hungarian Navy.
The Navy liked the idea, but not the concept. Therefore, Ivan decided to refine his invention. He connected with the British engineer R. Whitehead, then the technical director of the Rijeka Technical Institute, who was a big name in the production of steam engines. The two entered into a contract and, after only two years of work, the new military weapon was ready for use.
Whitehead's construction was original, although it was developed according to Ivan's idea. The fish-shaped weapon moved below the surface of the water, and was powered by a compressed air engine that drove a screw. It was bought by the Austro-Hungarian navy, and the first such weapons bore the name Luppis-Whitehead, better known today as - torpedo.
Soon all the naval powers of the world were looking for him. Thus, the factory in Rijeka became the first torpedo factory in the whole world, and our Ivan earned a noble title for his idea.
