War Action
The submarine was brought to Callao under the utmost secrecy, hidden in the transport Limeña. In July 1880, the "Toro" made its first official submersion. Among the passengers was the Peruvian Minister of War. During those maneuvers, the submarine remained submerged for 30 minutes without suffering any damage, proving that it could be used as a reliable weapons platform; the Minister was very impressed. His report to the government about the capabilities of the submarine was favorable, and a decision was made to use it against Chilean warships.
The first task conferred upon the Toro was to advance at night towards either of the enemy armored frigates (Almirante Cochrane or Blanco Encalada), which were anchored at the San Lorenzo Island a few kilometers off Callao, pulling two torpedoes. The submarine was to deploy under one of the battleships and release the torpedoes, which, activated by a time device, would explode and sink the objective. However, as Toro was preparing to attack and already under 36 feet of water, the Chileans, informed by their spies of a Peruvian secret and powerful weapon, moved their battleships to the south and the mission was aborted.
On January 16, 1881, after the Battle of Miraflores and at the brink of the occupation of the Peruvian capital, Blume's submarine was scuttled with the other ships of the Peruvian fleet to avoid capture by the enemy. Some naval war analysts still believe that, had Toro been successful, it would have changed dramatically the course of the war in favor to Peru; however, many modern historians have expressed skepticism that it would be possible.
Read more about this topic: Toro Submarino
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